Lodging in Barcelona?

[hdoughspender]

Headed off to Barcelona in the end of May... any suggestions as to hotels or apartment rental services? Also probably heading north up the coast for a few days so any recoos for that area would also be much appreciated...

fashion magger addict always in search of a better boutique

[kiteless]

i live in barcelona on and off, where i bought a small flat for the weekends.

hotels are ridiculously cheap and available in all varieties, thanks to high demand. boutique hotels are from 80-90 euros and up -- the ones i would recommend are hotel banys orientals (near c/ laietana) and hotel park (opposite of estacio franca), both in the cosy but lively Born-area of Barri Gotic (old town). There's another hotel in Barri Gotic -- the newly opened Hotel Neri (sister hotel of Madrid's only design hotel, Bauza) which is located in an 18th century palace. Fantastic for drinks also. I would guess it's somewhere around 250 euros. In Barri Gotic there's a million hostels and cheap "wooden panel wall and brass" hotels, most of them are located between c/ ferran and c/ escudellers. they are full of smelly dutch interrailers that should be expelled out of catalunya.

Up in Eixample (uptown from the modernist era), there are several hotels worthy of mention. Hotel Claris, partially furnished by Starck, also holds one of the largest private collection of egyptology. It used to be the only design hotel in BCN and now a bit jaded. AC Diplomat, Hotel Omm are all nearby, close to Passeig de Gracia, the main shopping area and its busy delta made of the avenue and la Diagonal. There's one more hotel noteworthy, which is in Vila Olympico (an area built specifically for the olympics in 1992) called Hotel Arts, which may be the most luxurious (think russian noveau riche) but completely wrong geographically for shopping/galleries.

If you're looking for apartments for short term rent, it's a pretty bad deal as they are either slummed down by exchange students from scandinavia or highly priced. minimum stay for decently priced and a "all mod cons" apartment is for a month or more. still, there are often hefty agency fees involved (expect 500-800 euros per month + utilities).

there are dozens of apartment rental services that charge 100 euros and up for a room per night. check www.inside-bcn.com for an example but it's not very clever unless there are four of you, as you could get a double room in a decent hotel for that money, with standard/service/location that you'd have pay twice as much for in London/Paris...

[kiteless]

And as for "up north" along the coast, I guess you're referring to Sitges. Take a commuter train from Pg. de Gracia, 30-45 minutes. Nothing much to see. Tourist traps and lots of places where you can buy second assortment Dolce e Gabbana and Speedos. I think it's awful. then again, i'm a hetrosexual who wears jil sander.

What you could do also is drive along the coast to the french catalonia (region languedoc-roussillon). it's a beautiful scenery along the rocky coast with towns like montpelier, collioure and perpignan. a few year ago, we went to montpelier with rented vespas and stayed in every town along the way, with st etienne on full blast. classic.

[pharis]

H,

You can try these hotels:

The Ritz - 668 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes

Hotel Regente - 76 Rambla de Catalunya (good location and a short walk to the Casa Mila)

Hotel Majestic - 68 Passeig de Gracia. Shopping is close by

Hotel Claris - 150 Pau Claris (www.slh.com) Modernist luxury

Hotel Arts - 19-21 Carrer de la Marina (www.ritzcartlon.com) Expensive, fabulous views and great service). My home away from home in Barca

Le Meridien - 111 La Rambla (www.meridienbarcelona.com) Smack in the middle of La Rambla. Has evertything but avoid the rooms facing the street at they are very noisy

Hotel Banys Oriental - 37 Carrer Argenteria (www.hotelbanysorientals.com) Highly recommended. It's a boutique hotel and the rooms are on the smallish side. Not expensive but book early!

Hotel Calderon - 26 Rambla Catalunya

LOL,

Pharis

[hdoughspender]

thanks- i think i am leaning towards the french catalonia drive as well. i am going to check out these towns- montpelier, collioure and perpignan- i only have 4-5 days for that leg of the trip so i want to avoid tourist garbage & relax.

i don't have any need for sitges either, i can head over to chelsea anytime for gay men & foam parties

fashion magger addict always in search of a better boutique

[hdoughspender]

p- thanks for the list, Forum 2004 is sucking up all the rooms in town very quickly!

fashion magger addict always in search of a better boutique