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| Hotels
Spanish VAT (IVA) is 7% and is added to all hotel bills – usually at the end of the stay, although sometimes it is included within the prices given.
The prices quoted below are for double rooms, either an average price over the low and high season or the starting price for a double room, as stated. They do not include breakfast or IVA unless otherwise specified.
Business
Catalunya Plaza
A friendly hotel with a personal touch, the three-star Catalunya Plaza is located at the very centre of the city, with excellent access to the airport and main traffic routes. It is housed in a pretty noucentista (19th-century) building, colourfully but tastefully decked out with seasonal themes, featuring stunning stained-glass windows in the reception area. Each of the 46 rooms is fully equipped and includes a fax and generously sized desk. Meeting rooms of various sizes all overlook Plaça de Catalunya and include a multitude of services including technical back up and audiovisual equipment. Breakfast is a veritable feast and comes with a choice of newspaper.
Plaça de Catalunya 7
Tel: (93) 317 7171. Fax: (93) 317 7855.
E-mail: catalunya.plaza@h10.es
Website: www.h10.es
Price: €210.
Hotel El Rey Juan Carlos I
Situated on Avenida Diagonal, Barcelona’s vibrant commercial nerve centre, near the Palacio de Congresos, the five-star Juan Carlos exudes gravitas, comfort and tranquillity. The 375 rooms, including 37 luxury suites, are spacious, decorated in modern, subtle hues and enjoy panoramic city and sea views. Easy access from the airport coupled with top-notch meeting rooms and facilities make the hotel an obvious choice for visiting politicians and financiers. A tranquil patio restaurant, fringed with palm trees and exotic Mediterranean flora, is just one of a number of excellent eating areas. Leisure facilities include a first-class health and fitness club and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Avenida Diagonal 661–671
Tel: (93) 364 4040. Fax: (93) 364 4264.
E-mail: hotel@hrjuancarlos.com
Website: www.hrjuancarlos.com
Price: From €350.
Hotel Fira Palace
Situated on a quiet, leafy street midway between the Fira de Barcelona exhibition halls and cultural attractions, including the Olympic Stadium and the Miró Museum, the four-star Fira Palace has the best of both worlds. The modern and elegantly designed rooms have Italian marble bathrooms and contain a desk, telephone and fax. An impressive business centre includes separate working areas offering full office services and a number of versatile meeting rooms holding 18 to 2500 delegates. Eating facilities range from restaurant El Mall, specialising in regional and international cuisine, to the relaxing Piano Bar for snacks. A pool and squash courts are also on site.
Avenida Rius i Taulet 1–3
Tel: (93) 426 2223. Fax: (93) 424 8679.
E-mail: sales@fira-palace.com
Website: www.fira-palace.com
Price: From €264.
Hotel Princesa Sofia Inter-Continental
The five-star Inter-Continental is a business hotel par excellence. Situated on Avenida Diagonal, it is the largest hotel conference venue in Barcelona. Decorated in Mediterranean-inspired blues, the light, spacious bedrooms operate as fully functioning offices, featuring large work desks, ergonomically designed chairs and sockets for an array of technology. A superb business centre, comprising 28 meeting and banqueting rooms accommodating ten to 1200 delegates, comes with a full range of secretarial services. A relaxing terrace restaurant, luxurious indoor swimming pool and health club, plus proximity to excellent shopping centres, make it an ideal choice for the seasoned business traveller.
Plaça Pío XII 4
Tel: (93) 508 1000 or 1050 (reservations). Fax: (93) 508 1001.
E-mail: barcelona@interconti.com
Website: www.interconti.com
Price: €200 (including breakfast and IVA).
Luxury
Hotel Arts
The product of a hugely successful collaboration between New York design and Barcelona money, the Arts has been showered with awards, including several for ‘Best Hotel’. Forty-four storeys high, it enjoys a relaxing beachside location and all 483 rooms have Mediterranean views. Decorated with flair and originality throughout, rooms are light and spacious, with full-sized desks and Internet access. Works by leading Spanish artists adorn the public areas. Among the astounding array of services and amenities are top-class restaurants, a fitness club and exceptional business facilities. An in-house conference service team is on hand, as are around-the-clock secretarial services and ‘technology butlers’.
Carrer de la Marina 19–21
Tel: (93) 221 1000. Fax: (93) 221 1070.
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com
Price: From €270.
Hotel Ritz
Despite recent changes of name and management, the Ritz has maintained all the elegance and grandeur that has made it a by-word for glamour since its opening in 1919. Huge chandeliers, opulent fabrics and a luxurious ambience throughout make it the preferred choice of the rich and famous. The bedrooms are handsomely decorated, with unusual marble bathrooms modelled on ancient Roman spas. The Scotch Bar Parilla is ideal for pre-prandial drinks followed by dinner in the pretty Restaurant Diana or alfresco in a peaceful interior garden. Business clientele are also well catered for; the conference suites, although traditional in style, benefit from cutting-edge technology.
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 668
Tel: (93) 318 5200. Fax: (93) 318 0148.
E-mail: info@ritz-barcelona.com
Website: www.ritz-barcelona.com
Price: From €297.
Moderate
Hostal Jardí
A perennially popular budget option in the busy hub of Barcelona’s old quarter, the two-star pensión Jardí has recently undergone extensive reformas, including the addition of a hitherto non-existent breakfast room. The character and original features of this fantastic little hotel have been maintained. Overlooking the shady, café-lined Plaça Sant Josep Oriols and the classic Gothic architecture of the medieval church of Santa Maria del Pi, the Jardí is pretty much unbeatable in terms of price and location, although the improvements have necessitated price rises. All rooms are en suite.
Plaça Sant Josep Oriols 1
Tel: (93) 301 5958. Fax: (93) 318 3664.
Price: From €50 (including IVA).
Hotel Peninsular
Located in a narrow street near the Liceu opera house, the Peninsular is a Modernista gem. Built on the site of a former convent, it is one of the oldest hotels in Barcelona, currently managed by the young, humorous offspring of the original owners. Rooms are simple and clean, although not all have their own bathroom facilities. Full of interesting architectural detail, such as the dining room’s Moorish-inspired arches, the real pièce de résistance is the wonderful interior balcony. Adorned with hanging plants and wicker tables and chairs, it has a serene, almost oriental atmosphere. Booking well in advance (approximately three months) is almost always necessary.
Carrer Sant Pau 34–36
Tel: (93) 302 3138. Fax: (93) 412 3699.
Price: €65 (including breakfast and IVA).
Other Recommendations
Hotel España
Designed by one of the leading lights of the Modernista school of architects, Domenèch i Muntaner, and once patronised by the likes of Dalí, the two-star España enjoys a privileged location close to Las Ramblas and the Liceu. Recently renovated, some rooms are superior to others but major compensations include Ramón Casa’s striking mural depicting underwater scenes and the elaborate craftsmanship in the high Catalan dining room. The 90 bedrooms are fully equipped; private rooms and a patio garden for meetings and celebrations are also available. It is also one of the few central establishments with parking facilities.
Carrer Sant Pau 9–11
Tel: (93) 318 1758. Fax: (93) 317 1134.
Price: €80 (including breakfast and IVA).
Hotel Oriente
Situated on the bustling thoroughfare of Las Ramblas, the three-star Oriente is one of Barcelona’s original ‘grand’ hotels. Constructed on the site of a Franciscan monastery, in 1842, the 142-room hotel was once the haunt of the great and the good, counting Maria Callas, Toscanini and Errol Flynn among its illustrious guests. Although recent renovations are perhaps a tad characterless, the grand dining room and arched ballroom (now a lounge) are still potently redolent of its glorious heyday. Today, the hotel is largely aimed at the business traveller and offers extensive support facilities and 12- and 24-hour ‘convention packages’.
Las Ramblas 45–47
Tel: (93) 302 2558. Fax: (93) 412 3819.
E-mail: horiente@husa.es
Website: www.husa.es
Price: From €131.
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General
