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In spite of the efforts made to increase hotel capacity for
the 1992 Olympics, in terms of accommodation, Barcelona is
still the most problematic place in Spain. This is true at
all levels, from budget pensions up to the 4- and 5-star hotels
on these pages, which makes booking ahead essential. What
is more, Barcelona is a very popular conference centre and
when a number of conventions coincide, the "no vacancies"
sign can go up for virtually the whole city.
Comparing price-bands, Barcelona is quite well provided with
4-star establishments, and you may find yourself obliged to
use a hotel of this category when you really wanted a 3-star
place.
Practically all the hotels on these pages are bookable either
through Hotel Club or through the Venere reservation service,
of which this site is a partner (see the bottom of the page
for more information). I do not wish to list only Hotel Club/Venere
hotels, however: if you think your establishment should be
included, drop me an e-mail.
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| Abba
Sants |
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| Why would a Spanish hotel chain choose
the name of a Swedish pop group? Whatever, they tend to
be modern, business-oriented affairs, and this is no exception.
The reservation service on the hotel's own website
uses that same wobbly engine again, and the price it gives
is so low I find it difficult to believe, so you would
probably do better to book through Venere. |
| |
| AC-Diplomatic |
|
| AC hotels are often ultra-modern, though
I am not sure about this one. It is very well situated
and certainly looks comfortable enough. Its web
page, like the whole of the chain's website, is inexplicably
in Spanish only, and at the time I checked the prices
given by its online reservation service were a swingeing
50% above those given by Venere. |
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| Ac-Front
Maritim |
|
| The hotel's name refers to its excellent
location, on the seafront next to the Olympic Village.
The hotel's web
page is not very inspiring or informative, but at
the time of checking, the rates given by its online reservation
service were a tiny bit cheaper than Venere's prices.
|
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| America |
|
| I have not found this hotel's website,
but thanks to this brief article
on Sonar 2002, the electronic music festival, I know it
is an ultra-modern affair, with design conspicuous all
around. |
| |
| Aparthotel
Acacia |
|
| Another establishment for which I have
found no website, but I know it is well located. |
| |
| Aparthotel
Atenea Valles |
|
| A new hotel, well located, with an uninteresting
web
page. Note that it offers a cheaper rate at weekends,
the sure sign of a business-oriented establishment. Venere's
rates are competitive, so compare. |
| |
| Aparthotel
Mariano Cubi |
|
| I have not found this hotel's web page,
though it seems to belong to the same chain as the Atenea
and Atenea Valles above. It looks quite splendid on its
Venere page, though. |
| |
| Atenea |
|
| I have not found this hotel's web page,
either, though it must belong to the same chain as the
Atenea and Mariano Cubi. |
| |
| Balmoral |
|
| A smart hotel on the Via Diagonal. Booking
is much cheaper through Venere than through the
hotel's own website. |
| |
| Barceló
Sants |
|
| A nice website for a very swish, business-orientated
hotel, which may even be cheaper booked through its own
website
than through Venere. I would compare if I were you, though. |
| |
| Barcelona
Universal |
|
| A splendid new hotel on the Avenida Paral.lel,
with the added attraction of a roof-top swimming pool,
if the photo on the hotel's otherwise uninformative website
is to be believed. Cheaper through Venere, but don't take
my word for it, check. |
| |
| Bel
Air |
|
| Another new hotel which has a nice website
with a few good tourist information links. The rates offered
by Venere are only slightly cheaper than those of the
hotel's online reservation service, so you would be wise
to compare. |
| |
| Best
Western Dante |
|
| If you are a Best Western addict, I suppose
you might be prepared to pay the exorbitant prices given
on the Dante's website,
not to mention the extra charges for parking. Sane people
should book through Venere or go elsewhere. |
| |
| Colón |
|
| Perfectly placed for exploring the Gothic
Quarter, with views of the cathedral from the evidently
more expensive upper rooms. The prices given on the hotel's
website
are similar to those offered by Venere, so compare. |
| |
| Condes
de Barcelona |
|
| A very swish, recently renovated hotel
in the business district. Venere's rates look significantly
cheaper than those on the hotel's web
page, but don't take my word for it. |
| |
| Cristal
Palace |
|
| Recently renovated, well priced for its
category (at least through Venere), well situated... Unfortunately,
I cannot find the hotel's own web page. The combined English-Spanish
spelling in the hotel name must be the result of it having
been bought up at one time, which would also be true for
the next hotel. |
| |
| Fira
Palace |
|
| Relatively new and recently renovated,
this hotel has a very old-fashioned web
page which has very little content and no real online
booking (though in this case, the Venere option is not
much better, providing prices only on request). |
| |
| Gallery |
|
| I have not found this hotel's own web page,
but from Venere's page, it would seem to be a fairly standard,
somewhat overpriced four-star. |
| |
| Gotico |
|
| If, understandably, you want to stay slap-bang
in the middle of the Gothic Quarter, this hotel seems
like a good choice and is not too expensive for its category.
Venere's prices are similar to those given by the reservation
service on the hotel's website,
so compare. |
| |
| Gran
Hotel Barcino |
|
| Another hotel in the Barri Gòtic,
with the same website
design as the Hotel Gotico. Its reservation service is
the same as well, and gives competitive rates. |
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| Gran
Hotel Havana |
|
| A very pricey hotel (at least through Venere
- I have not been able to find the hotel's web page) on
the Gran Vía. |
| |
| Guitart
Almirante |
|
| Guitart
is a Catalan hotel chain, specializing in moderately sized,
excellent value beach hotels. Its two Barcelona hotels
are slightly grander, and you will probably get a better
rate through Venere (over 33% less at the time I checked). |
| |
| Guitart
Gran Passage |
|
| See above. |
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| H10
Itaca |
|
| H10
is a Barcelona-based hotel chain specializing in beach
hotels, especially in the Canaries and on the Costa Dorada.
The Itaca is a new hotel which looks like very good value.
You may even get a better price through the hotel's rather
nice website
than through Venere. |
| |
| Husa
Arenas |
|
| Husa
is a large, Barcelona-based chain of four and five-star
hotels, all of which are high standard. They are by no
means cheap and you will probably get a better price through
Venere. In spite of its sandy name, the Arenas is a business-travel-orientated
establishment. |
| |
| Husa
Avenida Palace |
|
| The Avenida Palace is a very central, very
comfortable, very expensive hotel which Husa
describes as "a classic in Barcelona" which
"maintains its classical art deco from the old days"
even though it has been fully modernized. At the time
of checking, slightly (around 12%) cheaper through Venere.
|
| |
| Husa
Barcelona |
|
| The Barcelona is a more moderately sized
and priced hotel than the Avenida Palace, but is still
expensive and you should get a much better rate through
Venere. Pet-friendly, if that is what you are looking
for. |
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| Husa
Barcelona Mar |
|
| Not surprisingly, the Barcelona Mar is
near (200-300 m, depending on which web page you believe)
the sea. At the time of checking, the Venere rate was
considerably better even than the special offer announced
on Husa's
website. |
| |
| Husa
L'Illa |
|
| The L'Illa is to be found in Barcelona's
shopping district. It is expensive, but not really available
through Venere ("price on request"). |
| |
| L'Ambassador |
|
| This is one of the many hotels in Barcelona
which were specially built for the 1992 Olympics; indeed,
they advertise that the Dream Team stayed there. Central,
comfortable, expensive, though I have not found its web
page. |
| |
| Laietana
Palace |
|
| A very attractive hotel in a neoclassical
palace in the Barri Gòtic. At the time of checking,
the rate given by the reservation service on the hotel's
website
was slightly better than the price offered by Venere. |
| |
| Majestic |
|
| When a hotel boasts of being exclusive,
you know you are going to feel it in your wallet. The
Majestic is a classic, well located for any kind of visitor,
and has a most enjoyable website
(love those reception-desk bell buttons). Venere's
rates are much better than the hotel's rack rates,
though I recommend checking for special offers. |
| |
| Millennium |
|
| An attractive, well located Best Western
with an excellent website,
which at the time of checking offers even better rates
than Venere. |
| |
| Minotel
Abbot |
|
|
Minotel
International is a curious organization, a kind
of Franco-Swiss-British supra-chain which oversees the
quality of the independently owned hotels which belong
to it. The Abbot
is a medium-sized hotel which looks comfortable enough,
is centrally placed next to the Sans railway station
and unusually has a flat rate all year round.
|
| |
| Núñez-Urgell |
|
| The Nuñez-Urgell is another medium-sized,
business-orientated hotel near the railway station. Probably
slightly cheaper through the reservation service on the
hotel's own unremarkable web
page than through Venere, but do compare. |
| |
| Regente |
|
| The Regente will appeal to Gaudi fans.
It is in a modernist building, "la casa Evarist Juncosa,"
on the Rambla Catalunya. I have not found the hotel's
own web page, but special offers are sometimes available
through Venere. |
| |
| Rekor'd |
|
| A business-orientated hotel, with a lot
of suites. I have not found its web page. |
| |
| Rivoli
Ramblas |
|
| If you want to absorb Barcelona's atmosphere,
you could not find a better located hotel than this one
at the top of the Rambla. It is evidently a luxury establishment,
though I have not found its web page, but Venere's rates
look quite attractive to me - check for special offers. |
| |
| Royal |
|
| The Hotel Royal is also located on the
Ramblas, across the road from the Rivoli Ramblas. Unfortunately,
it is not pretty - not even its own very well designed
website
manages to make it look attractive - but it has fabulous
views and first-class facilities. Unfortunately again,
it is not really available through Venere ("price
on request"). |
| |
| St.
Moritz |
|
| The St Moritz Hotel occupies a nineteenth-century
building, listed as historic, in the centre of Barcelona.
I have not found its web page - if you book through Venere,
don't forget to check the special offers. |
| |
| Turo'
de Vilana |
|
| This is a small (20-roomed), modern hotel
in a suburb of Barcelona. The rates given on its website
have not been updated since 2000, but even if they were
still valid, Venere's prices would still be considerably
better. |
| |
| Victoria
Hotel-Suites |
|
| As the name suggests, at the Victoria,
all the rooms are suites, even if junior ones. I have
not found its web page, and it is one of those "price
on request" places not readily available through
Venere. |
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* Many of the hotels on these pages
belong to the Venere or Hotel Club online booking services,
of which this site is an affiliate, in which case I link to
the booking service. I have tried to make fair comparisons,
but I cannot check all the different possibilities - season,
number of rooms, room type - so you should make your own.
I do not want to give a sales spiel, but in general Venere
or Hotel Club present advantages for you, especially the convenience
of online booking and, in many or most cases, a reduced rate.
For example, the price for a night in a double room in the 4-star
Hotel Mayorazgo in Madrid in September as given on the hotel's
web page is €170 plus IVA (value-added tax), whereas
the rate advertised by Hotel
Club is €125, including tax. And I get a little commission
which helps towards the upkeep of this site.
If you have any complaints about the either the Hotel Club
or Venere booking service, I want to know about them - e-mail
me at complaints.
And if you have a gripe about your hotel, by all means feel
free to let me know, though I am not in a position to do anything
about it.
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Flights
Expedia.co.uk
As well as flights, Expedia offers hotel booking, car rentals...
Mainly but not only useful for UK residents.
Airline
Tickets!
Booking from the US, especially, you may find cheapflights.com of
interest. They run a search for the cheapest available flights on
your chosen date, and even suggest alternative airports.
Rail
Travel
Rail
Europe
Get rail passes, buy tickets or simply check timetables and fares.
The links for non-US visitors are at the top of the page.
DIY
Packages
Spain
your way!
Eurovacations is an interesting website allowing independent
travellers to put together their own packages.
Group
Travel
Bell
Wether
is a company specializing in business group travel, for meetings,
conventions and the like.
Travel
Goods
Magellans.com
Not just luggage. Remember, for example, that you will need a voltage
adaptor if you want to take your laptop or other electrical appliances.
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