Spain - Barcelona

2023

We stayed at the meridian this time. Bought one terrace suite and our other room was upgraded to one. Awesome room but again with a kid there was no separate area or anything. The terrace was huge and it had an outdoor shower, but not only did it not look at anything, but the building next door was higher and had a rooftop bar so you really couldn’t do fun things in the shower either. The main bath area was great. Room service was great and mini bar was great but the TV had nada.
This time we explored the Born neighborhood. A decent walk from La Ramblas but it was fun and we found some great venues. The homemade empanadas at El Born Bar were pretty awesome and the place was cute as shit. Had more food at Sensi and although they were snooty pants the food was fantastic.
Barcelona continues to impress.

2022 Update

Barcelona is still wonderful.
This time we stayed at the W, so the beach area and pools were a major part of our trip.
Barcelona itself remains very cool. The beach area is totally different from the downtown area and getting to la rambla was only about 10 bucks. The walk if it’s hot is pretty fucking long.
We ate dinner at Can Fisher which was beachside and killer.
The W beach club is on the rocky side and not really on the water.
We went to that beach club that was down the way and treated us great. It wasn’t much for 4 chairs and 2 umbrellas.
We went to the aquarium (L’aquarium haha). It was ok, it was not great for an adult, but it was pretty sweet for little kids.
Did I list Plaza Real before? Just off la ramblas? I mean those squares don’t really change but they are awesome and it is great that it’s right there. Had a great dinner there.
The baqueria market is better than ever, and quim is still rocking it.'

We went to that one restaurant on La Ramblas twice! Once in the beginning of the trip and once at the end. Food was great.

end

I mean, it’s Barcelona. What’s not to like? La Ramblas may be one of the best pedestrian drags in the world…well maybe, except every restaurant kind of sucks, every street peddler is kind of jerky and expensive, every 5 feet there’s an ice cream hut, and it’s crowded as all hell, BUT it’s still cool! haha. There is a market right off it called the Mercat De La Boqueria which is old as all hell and has some of the coolest most boutique finds you are going to get. They say if there were unicorns, they would sell them here…both morbid and kind of awesome. We got some cool gifts in that market, including the famous torta de casar, which is possibly a dipping cheese but I swear it hardens and becomes a beautiful stanky sliced cheese…the jury remains out. La Sagrada Familia is I am sure Gaudi’s masterpiece, but it always seemed weird to me. The crowds have not diminished, and the building remains under construction…just like it was 15 years ago the last time I was here. The Placa Reial, right off the beach half of La Ramblas, is actually pretty cool. We sat there for longer than we expected just drinking wine and watching people.

Notes to self:

-The bus tour was useful. It is long. Very long. But it oriented us properly and went everywhere we would want to go.
-El Quim De La Boqueria…squid and eggs…and anything else…you’re welcome
-They say the “Gracia” area is old and cool and like New York…or I guess that New York is like it. This is not true. It is boring and boring and boring.
-The Barcelona Cathedral is cool. We got slightly bamboozled by the old ladies out front who said my girl needed to cover up before going in, so we bought a 5 dollar “sheet” to cover her legs. This was most assuredly not necessary, unless you are dressed like you’re a stripper in Vegas, which she was not…at least not that particular morning
-7 Portes has some of the best paella in Barcelona and all of Spain. Just kidding. It most certainly does not. It does however have a great name that everyone seems to know about, a very old school and cool atmosphere, tons of famous people who have visited and whose names they are not ashamed to put up over every seat, and some of the most expensive, mediocre at best, Spanish food in the entire world. Enjoy.
-We considered staying in the W but man that piece was nowhere near anything we wanted to see. They may as well have built it on an island off the coast.

Le Meridien - July 2023

To be fair, this hotel has the best La Ramblas location you could possible get for a great hotel. There might be some equal locations…but there isn’t one that’s better.

W Barcelona - July 2022

The W is an icon for both the city and the skyline. It reminded me of a casino hotel, unfortunately with no casino in the lobby. It is rad, it’s just super busy and you will expect to find people every single place you go. The breakfast buffet is awesome and everything you would expect including a nice included a la carte menu.
The lobby bar is great and dinner at salt was great also. Room service also came in handy a number of times, as did the well stocked mini bar. The spa was renovating its indoor pool but the saunas and hot tub were an adequate pre treatment option.
It did seem like they were a bit understaffed and our daily lobby bar action always came with unhealthy wait times for service. I might also add that the elevator options seems limited for a hotel this size.
The “kids” pool was more relaxing than the larger DJ pool area but both options are nice but the pools themselves are small.
The rooftop bar is pretty sweet as well.
We got the cool corner suite for a thousand a night and it was worth it with the kid. The regular rooms are perfectly good, but the cool corner is gigantic and you get the city and sea views. Only drawback is the living room and bathroom have almost no separation from the bedroom. It was honestly unnecessarily open.

Ohla Hotel Barcelona - May 2015

Hotel is right near the main square at the top of La Rambla. Concierge along with a waiting bar/lounge area and the restaurant are on the first level, the actual lobby is on the second level. The rooftop has a bar and a cantilevered glass wall pool. 24 hour room service. Toilet “room” was like a solid walled cave in the side of the wall. Porn star shower for real! And right in the middle of the room. Mini bar was great. Zero pay per view. French balcony did not open.

La Plassohla is the Michelin starred restaurant in the lobby. Modern decor and good food. We had a good time.
The boutique bar is actually renowned as well, but I found it to be a pretty standard modern bar.
The rooftop was cool as well (we got lucky one night and they gave us a cabana that the reservation had not shown up for yet). It kind of has 2 levels, one with the bar, chairs, and cabanas, and one with the pool and loungers.

Notes

-Maids were excruciating. Like clean is nice, but let’s not clean all day long, on the same floor.

Cuatro Naciones Barcelona - Jun 2002

Wonderfully cheap hotel right on Las Ramblas. We had an amazing balcony overlooking the street. This is no W, but I loved the location and the Bohemian style. However, our bathroom was physically in our room…which requires some scheduling