Reviews

five star hotel , five star experience

We booked joint flight and hotel deal and the Palace more than lived up to fairly high expectations. It is...

Period hotel close to downtown

Stayed there for three nights in March and had a great time. Rooms were top quality as is to be...

?Wow! Incredibly beautiful, luxurious hotel at an exceptional price!!

We reserved El Palace for our last night of our tour of Spain. I had read that the hotel had just completed a renovation, which is what I always look for in hotels (new always trumps worn). What I didn't realize is that El Palace used to be the Ritz, so the renovation went all out luxury.

Before I describe the room, etc., I should say that this hotel is extremely well situated, just a few blocks from the Gaudi buildings and the Passeig de Gracia. You can easily walk to everything from here.

For no reason at all, we were upgraded to a junior suite, which was one of the most spectacular rooms we have stayed in. The king-sized bed had the requisite fine crisp sheets, ample pillows, and super comfortable mattress. The room was large enough to have a love seat, coffee table, and two chairs for relaxing in. Blackout silk drapes assured total darkness over large soundproof windows (that opened!), but the most sophisticated lighting system I have seen in a hotel room assured plenty of light at night. The suite had a huge closet/cloakroom with a full length mirror and tons of storage. The limestone clad bathroom was so spacious and perfectly clean and new, I could have lived in it. Two sinks, a jacuzzi tub, toilet in its own stall, and a huge shower, with double rain-head showers, a long bench and two handheld showers created all this comfort. What luxury!

In the morning, the breakfast was delicious (as it was all over Spain). However, I have to give special kudos to the pastry chef. I am a food writer specializing in bread, and had some of the best chocolate croissants I have ever eaten. Also, the bread in Spain tends toward mediocrity (why?), so I was delighted to finally get some delicious crispy, very fresh, whole wheat rolls. The buffet was served in the garden room, with a full array of juices, cured meats and fish, fruit, hot beverages, English breakfast items like baked beans, eggs, and sausages, and of course that incredible bakery.

Completing this experience was of course a very professional and competent staff.

Did I say that our room was under 250 euro? How is this deal possible with this level of luxury and service?

Beyond excellent!

This is one of the best, if not the best, hotel we have ever stayed in. Everything was perfect - service, staff, assistance, cleanliness, location, bar, restaurant .

One of the greatest hotels:

This hotel is a great place and it is realy five star hotel. We stayed there for a weekend in April, it was gift for my girlfriends birthsday. We had wonderful stay in this hotel and Barcelona is a beautiful city.

Perfect location, good service, great rooms:

We stayed here at the start of our Spain/Portugal trip with daughters aged 9 and 11. The location is great - good, safe neighborhood, close to the Placa Cataluyna, easy walk to the Gaudi masterpieces, Gothic quarter, and everything else.

We requested: connecting rooms, high floor, away from elevator, breakfast included, and a ride from the airport. All were attended to perfectly.

Our rooms were very large and connected as requested. Check-in was efficient and helpful. The concierge made a reservation for us at El Gran Cafe, per my request.

The beds were very comfortable. Although the hotel is on a busy street, our room was very quiet due to excellent soundproofing.

The second night, the concierge recommended a restaurant called Windsor, which was a taxi ride (we could have walked, but it's a longer walk). The food was excellent - and they were very helpful about modifying the items for kids' palates (our kids eat fairly adventurously, but things like ensuring fries as the side went over very well!).

We ate lunch in the hotel restaurant one day - I wouldn't recommend this. The food was good, but it was rather expensive and I think we would have done just as well to explore on our own. It was convenient, however!

The breakfast was very good - many choices of foods and beverages. The room in which they serve breakfast is lovely.

The hotel doormen and bellmen were great about getting taxis, loading our suitcases, and so forth.

Old World Glamour + Modern Amenities

The Palace Hotel definitely stands out among the numerous contemporary, chic hotels with minimalistic aesthetics. The lobby and the rooms are elegant and romantic, and equipped with all sorts of modern amenities. The decor was elaborate but tasteful, evoking old world glamour. While the room we had wasn't particularly big, the bathroom (double vanity, separate tub and shower) and the walk-in closet were so spacious that it felt like a mini-suite. The garden in which breakfast was served was lovely as well - bright, airy and beautifully furnished.

This Hotel is in the perfect location if you are looking for a good place to eat at night, close to Playa Cataluna.

We booked a double room for the two of us and our 3 year old son, we arrived a bit early (11:30am), but we were told they would have our room ready in 15 minutes, which they did. We got an upgrade to a suite, which was fantastic. The bathrooms in this hotel are amazing.

We didnt eat breakfast here, there are many cafes and bars 5 miuntes walk, just walk down to Playa cataluna and turn right up the main road, here are all the expensive shops and good places to eat.

Excellent Hotel, worth paying that bit extra for the location. Staff are very friendly and can answer all your questions.