Grand Central Barcelona

Booked a three night stay here the week before we decided to go & got a great deal on a City Suite.

Location could not be better, the port is a ten minute walk away as is Las Ramblas & Place de Cataluna.

If you like old world glamour & style this is not the place for you, on the other hand if you like your hotels modern & cutting edge this is about as good as you'll find in Barcelona.

Check in was easy, our bags were taken from the taxi straight to the room.

We were on the third floor & had a corner room, which meant the room had lot's of natural light.

One point I should make, although it's called a "City Suite" it is not a suite there is no separate seating area.

The room was large, wooden floor, big bed, flat screen tv, CD/DVD player, the bathroom was big with slate tiles on the floor & walls.

Even with the double glazed windows & acoustic blinds you could still hear traffic noise so be warned, although to be fair we did not find this a problem at night.

The breakfast buffet was superb, with just about anything you could wish for available, full cooked breakfast's can be ordered if you wish.

The rooftop pool area although small was more than adequate, although I suspect it get's very busy in high season.

We didn't use the gym although on inspection it looked fine.

The staff were brilliant & although we have read bad reports on this site about them, we always found them to be friendly & helpful.

We will definitely stay here again.

Definitively not a 5 star hotel. Our 3 rooms were all equally gloomy, rather small and very basic for a hotel of this category. We all love minimalist/design decor, but this one is simply depressive and lacking in details. The furniture in the room looked cheap, the lighting poor, no sitting area to relax except for a small tub chair, no mini-bar (just a couple of warm bottles of water left in the cupboard), no safe, a minimum amount of toiletries in a rather basic bathroom, a nice TV but no choice of films or alarm clock, no books, external guides or even a hotel guide/services list. We all found our showers took forever to deliver hot water, which was irritating when rushing in the morning to catch a flight, after the concierge failed to wake us up at the time requested. There is no lounge in the hotel, only a grey sitting area in the extended foyer with the lifts doors for a view. The "Library" resembles a small school library with a table and chairs around and a TV permanently on. We decided to meet at the bar, which is part of a restaurant decorated in the least inviting way, but after a glance we all agreed to go outside in search of a more welcoming and happier atmosphere. The service, in line with the hotel concept, was nice but minimal - we only met two receptionists and one waiter. No one else was there to help us with the luggage or to find our rooms on arrival. Good overall, if it were a 4 star hotel, and well positioned for the Barri Gotic, but only recommended for a quick sleep over.

In our opinion, our room at the Grand was very spacious and comfortable, albeit we did upgrade at the time of booking to an executive room which didn't cost that much more.

Comfy beds, great shower, free mini-bar (ok, only coke and water but still free!)

Breakfast was good with plenty to choose from and open until 11am ( for those that enjoy a lie in).

The pool was great but absolutely freezing, although I imagine this would be a blessing in the hotter months. My only reservation was that the area around the pool wasn't big enough to accomodate the number of guests. Then again, get there early and you won't be dissapointed.

I thought the location was great. A minutes walk from the metro (which I found easy to navigate), 10 minute stroll from "Las Ramblas" and in the heart of the old city.

Staff that we spoke to were very friendly, courteous and helpful.

My only bit of advice is be careful on the beach at "Barceloneta".

Whilst we were very careful with our property, some local "ner' do well" decided to have it away with our bag. Very inconvenient as our clothes were in the bag, but the police gave us a lift back to our hotel.

What more can I say. Would stay there again.

We have just returned from a 3 night stay here. A good location, good breakfast, okay rooms (even on the 6th floor you can feel the rumble of the metro)but absolutely abysmal service.

Our rooms were not ready when we checked in at 5.30 pm and we waited 15 minutes for one and over 40 minutes hour for the other. They messed up on getting us a taxi one evening but did nothing to rectify this. We had to stand outside the hotel ourselves for 15 minutes until an empty taxi happened to come past.

The final straw was when it came to checking out. We had booked through the hotel's own web site and been quoted a price which included breakfast and a Sunday night reduction, both of which the hotel disputed until we showed them the reservations web page on one of their computers and our own print out.

It could be a great hotel but unless they improve staff training and communications with their central reservations office, it will never be one.

I loved the decor and ambience of this hotel - very cool and laid back. However, the staff were not laid back - they could not have been more helpful in advising on where to go/what to see/where to eat. The latter being particularly important as the one downside to this hotel is the restaurant; although modern in style, unlike the reception area and rooms, the decor and furnishings in the restaurant just do not work. The breakfast buffet was excellent in content though, but I would not want to have had lunch or dinner here. I couldn't find a bar either, but as I was staying with my young daughter, it didn't matter to me.

However, it is ideally situated in the Barri Gotic area, so there are numerous cafes, bars and restaurants very close by.

The rooms are not large, but the beds are extraordinarily comfortable, and the power shower was great. Again, the decor was spot on, and very calming.

The high point is the roof-top pool, which was quite stunning - shame it wasn't heated though, because we had a couple of sunny days in March, but the water was still freezing.

In short, fabulous location, amazing trendy decor, and friendly helpful staff. Highly recommended.

Very close to the gothic area. Excellent location. Cathedral 5min. Helpful staff. Fashion decoration very "cool". Our first time in Barcelona and our best experience

If you like modern, minimalist hotels, this one has plenty of potential but it doesn't quite make the grade as a new five star hotel should. The rooms are small and basic and the staff didn't even know that ours didn't have a safe (apparently it should have had one).

The bathrooms are dark and have heavy sliding doors, which would certainly wake your companion if closed during the night (if you could manage it at all). The alternative is to use the toilet in direct eye line of the pillows.

The staff did their best to be helpful but on several points got their facts about Barcelona wrong. They didn't even know that there was a Dali exhibition two minutes from the hotel.

Breakfasts were good, with plenty of choice and cooked options available at no extra charge.

Pillows horrible. (Why do so many hotels get that wrong?)

Needs someone to come in and polish up this offering around the edges.

Would probably try somewhere else next time.

Just returned from a 5 day trip to Barcelona. 3 days were to be spent in the Grand Central and 2 days in the Hotel Arts. I was so disappointed with the Grand Central that we checked out the day after arriving. I normally only book hotels if theyve been given a good rating on Tripadvisor as i find the reviews works very well, but because its a new hotel there was only 1 review on here when i booked (It had received a good review in the Telegraph hence thought it a safe bet!)

The hotel has absolutely zero atmosphere and there were practically no other guests there (no wonder!) there is no buzzy bar area or lively reception... just nothing. The room had to have been the smallest i have ever been checked into, it was a box room. The room was so hot and the air conditioning clearly didnt work (why?! the hotel is only a couple of months old) and we couldnt open the window as it was locked. I called rececption and they sent someone up who 'fixed' the air conditioning and we were told that we had to call reception every time we wanted the window open (yes even if its 3am!) in case we threw ourselves out of the window (tempting after spending a few hours in the room i must admit!) .... never heard anything like it. the 'free minibar' consisted of a couple of small bottles of coke.

Tried later that afternoon to get reception to book a couple of trips for us for the following day (be warned there is no concierge) but they failed in this very simple basic task. We were getting rather fed up at this point especially as when we had returned to our room the air conditioning hadnt been fixed and the room was as hot as when we had left it. However, it was the expereience in their 'acclaimed' restaurant Actual that evening which was the final straw. The restaurant was completely empty (no surprise there!)and no one expected according to the waitress. We were told that we 'had to have the set menu' at a set price. You couldnt have less courses you had to have the set menu.... in a hotel that is meant to be acclaimed with a top chef i found this most extraordinary. They were most unhelpful and totally unprepared and/or unable to help with my request for a vegetarian dish and when i agreed to have the omelette but without the fish i was told 'that was not possible as it was already pre done'!! well here was me thinking that an omelette has to be the easiest, quickest, freshest dish to make. We walked out of the restaurant at this point.

We went immediately to the 'business center' and booked the Majestic online for the next 2 nights until we finished our stay in Barcelona at the Hotel Arts. We informed reception we would be leaving the next morning which was of no interest to them. Upon checkout the next morning the manager didnt even bother to ask what the problem was..... i am sure we werent the first and am convinced we wont be the last. We travel all around the world in 5 star hotels and are not of the nit picking mentality but please beware this hotel is 3 star not 5. Save your money and book into a decent hotel

I've stayed in numerous hotels in this great city, but this hotel is by far and away the best I've experienced. The location is fantastic (facing the Gothic Cathedral and steps from the metro), the staff were all great, and the hotel itself is gorgeous. There were some great touches (such as flip-flops in the bathroom, late check-out and free minibar), but best of all, the free transfer back to the airport was via a chauffer-driven limo. I came back feeling refreshed, relaxed and with the feeling that I'd been spoilt. What more could you want?

If you like the W or boutique hotels, you'll love this hotel. Great location, very friendly and helpful staff, small but clean, modern rooms. Great roofdeck with pool (although it wasn't done when we were there) would definitely stay again!