Eating and Sleeping in Barcelona

Da Greco came with quite a recommendation; our big boss had been twice and had apparently liked it very much. And he's Italian – so the local guys figured it must be a good Italian restaurant if Marco liked it. So when the monthly business review meeting went to Barcelona, the locals booked Da Greco (well the results hadn't been great in January so thet thought they'd better give the boss his favourite restaurant!)

So we all hopped into taxis and headed into the city. Da Greco has a great location on the Passeig de Gracia (although their business card says Paseo de Gracia). From the outside I would never have guessed there was a restaurant behind the blanked out windows. For all we could see it could have been a shop, an office, or anything else inside. To say it's discrete and unassuming would be fair – if you didn't know the restaurant was there, you'd not be likely to notice it. There's no board outside or menu to tempt you in; it seems to be the sort of place you have to know about in order to find it. It's a little local secret that few tourists are likely to stumble upon.

Once everyone had assembled outside, we opened a heavy wooden door and headed inside. The interior was a real surprise after such an understated exterior. In a traditional Italian style, there were quite a lot of small booths but also a bizarre and eclectic collection of often very large bronzes. One of particular note was a near life-size bronze of a man riding an emu – or was it an ostrich? I always get those two muddled. Either way, a man on a very large bird.

Our table was long and oval in shape but most noticeably it was nowhere near big enough for the number of guests. They'd laid it for about 22 people and the plates were so tightly placed that there was no space for side plates. The chairs were so close together that many couldn't be pulled up to the table properly. It was crazy. We joked that nobody who liked to eat any way other than with their elbows tucked tightly to their sides would survive. Above the table was a very large chandelier – large but also very dusty and desperately in need of a damned good clean.

Normally I would expect to be asked for orders for aperitifs whilst we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. This just didn't happen. Eventually the staff brought bottled water – the horrible Vichy Catalana (which must surely be the most salty mineral water in Europe) and bottles of more acceptable still water. One of the local team chose the wine and bizarrely went for Gewuertztraminer for the white wine – surely a bit of a controversial choice for a large group. It's a wine I like a lot (when it's a good one) but it's a risky choice as most people don't know it and many don't like it. The red was from north western Spain but wasn't a type I was familiar with. Unfortunately the big boss decided the Gewuertztraminer was 'corked' and insisted on sending it back. Personally I'm not so sure but nobody was going to argue with him and even I could tell it wasn't great.

Eventually they came to take the food orders – by this time we'd all polished off the bread rolls which were disappointingly dull bread of the part-baked variety that you wouldn't ever see used in Italy. The local boss chose a bunch of starters so we needed only to pick main courses which undoubtedly made things easier. The menu was strange with a wide variety of prices which didn't seem to make a lot of sense. Many of the starters were as expensive or more expensive that the main courses. The cheaper main courses were very good value with pasta dishes from around €7.50 but bizarrely spaghetti with clams was more than 3 times the price of a spaghetti putanesca.

Before the starters arrived we received two massive lumps of grano padano parmesan each with a little cheese knife sticking out of the top. I'd say each of these pieces would probably have cost about £40-50 in the UK so it was quite a generous gesture. Next the assorted starters arrived with several plates each of caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato slices), large head and shell-on prawns with pink sauce and lots of thinly sliced Spanish ham. Tucking our elbows neatly in, we tucked in to the food. The colleague next to me was still reeling from the shock of the Vichy Catalan water and the saltiness of the starters and commented that before we even hit the main courses, we'd probably had more than a day's worth of salt.

Main courses arrived with some confusion. Each pasta or risotto dish that had been ordered seemed to have triggered a couple of 'spare' plates for everyone else to taste. Thus when the allegedly 'famous' risotto parmesan arrived for those who had ordered it, there were a couple more that the rest of us could taste. I'd ordered spaghetti putanesca and several extra plates of that also showed up. I wasn't at all keen on the parmesan risotto even though it's supposed to be a real speciality of this restaurant. I thought the rice was much too hard and the sauce too sticky. I'd been warned that the putanesca sauce would be 'spicy' but it wasn't noticeably so (except to the Spanish colleagues who don't seem to 'do' spicy). There was an excellent filled pasta with ceps mushrooms that was so delicious that I took a second forkful as it made its rounds. Three people sitting near me had ordered a 'three-pasta' offer which meant they got first a small plate of the filled pasta, then a small plate of the spaghetti putanesca and finally a small lasagne. This seemed like a good option and if I'd been there in a smaller group, I'd probably have tried something like that. The colleague to my other side was tucking into a nice fillet of turbot which he again commented was 'salty'. (I should perhaps explain for any readers not familiar with UK food legislation, that the food industry has been under pressure to reduce the salt content of just about everything in the UK over the last few years so we tend to be very sensitive to over-salted foods as a result).

Desserts were all on the heavy side and most people opted for the relatively light choice of sorbets and ice-creams which came in a wide range of flavours. My over-salted colleague asked me if I knew what Tarte Tatin was and after I'd explained it, I'd pretty much talked myself into having the same choice. Well I guess I can kid myself that the masses of fat and sugar were offset by a hefty dose of apple. Finding a traditional French dessert on an Italian menu in Spain was a bit of a surprise but there were other more predictably Italian options such as tiramisu. The Tarte Tatin was very good and one colleague pronounced it almost as good as her own recipe.

With a few coffees at the end of the meal and the bill paid, it was time to attempt to extricate ourselves from the table, find our coats and hit the cold night air. We had a better look at the bizarre bronzes on the way out and then headed back to the hotel. For me it had been an interesting restaurant but not one to which I'd rush back. It seemed that more effort had gone into the décor than into the (rather second-rate) food and it certainly wasn't up to the standards of even a basic restaurant in Italy.

I discussed the meal with a Belgian colleague the next morning and he told me that he'd popped upstairs to use the toilets and seen a giant and very empty table upstairs that could have easily and comfortably sat the entire group with space to spare. He felt cheated and disappointed that we'd all been squeezed into far too small a space and I was inclined to agree with him. He also commented that he thought all the food was far too salty so it wasn't just us grumpy Brits that thought the chef had been a bit heavy-handed with the salt-pot.

It's always a bit un-nerving picking a restaurant in a foreign city even if it's only for a couple of people. When you need three restaurants on three successive nights and want them to satisfy a very mixed group of people (12 to 36 of them depending on the night) then it's natural to be a bit worried because no restaurant is ever going to please them all. I just accept before I even start that someone will hate whatever I pick but if I'm paying, they can lump it.

Luckily, for our business meeting in Barcelona in September 08 I had the help of the local secretary who's very knowledgeable about good restaurants. I needed a place that was near to the Hilton Hotel and would be easy to find for people arriving late. Part of the group headed off on a coach tour to look at the city whilst the late arrivals got Googlemaps and instructions on how to find the restaurant. Our tables were booked for "9.00 to 9.30" and our tour bus dropped us off at about 8.45pm - a time when no Barcelona restaurant is ready for action.

**Understated or just plain hiding?**

We were dropped directly outside the restaurant and despite standing right outside, we still couldn't find it. To say that Negro is understated is - predictably- an understatement. There's no big sign, no colourful frontage, just a big metal door. From the outside, it could have been just about anything from a bank to a furniture store but it didn't look much like an exciting restaurant.

**Habitat Catalogue**

Inside we found we were much too early to be served but the bar was long and very welcoming even though the restaurant was totally empty. The restaurant is split into two levels - the ground floor is called NEGRO and downstairs is called ROJO and the theme is a fusion of Japanese and Mediterranean. Probably rather wisely we were in the more Mediterranean zone. Whilst I can eat raw fish until I start to develop gills of my own, it's not everyone's taste.

The restaurant was very modern and slightly industrial in appearance with more than a touch of Habitat - high ceilings, lots of big lampshades and some very funky white chairs that looked a bit like they'd been made of origami. Whilst I've been rude about the Hilton for looking like it was furnished at IKEA, saying the same about Negro and Habitat isn't intended as an insult. This is more 'Elle Deco'-pared-down-minimalism plus funky lampshades. In terms of visual impact, Negro delivered something very stylish, modern and quite funky.

**Bottoms up**

For about half an hour the lady behind the bar poured very small beers into very tall narrow glasses whilst the group got to know each other. I kept watch for the other colleagues arriving later since they all walked straight past the door without noticing the restaurant.

**Time to Eat**

At about 9.30 we moved to our tables. With around thirty people to feed, the restaurant had chosen to split us over four or five tables which made it easier for them to serve, and easier for us to make sure everyone had someone to talk to. Negro had also insisted in advance that we had to pick a menu in order to keep things simple on the night so when everyone sat down, they had a print-out of what I'd chosen for them.

There had been three group menus to choose from - ranging in price from €49 per head up to €70 per head. Working on the theory that only the secretary and I would ever know what the choice had been, I just chose the one I most liked the look of which was also the cheapest (although let's be fair, that's still expensive and it's not exactly McDonalds). The price did include wine, water and coffees so it wasn't as bad as it might sound.

We started with an appetiser of a small toast with hummus piped on top - not much more than a mouthful but very tasty and more than welcome. That's the problem with eating at 9.30 in the evening; you're liable to wolf down the table cloth if it's not fixed in place. For starters we had a choice of tuna tartar with guacamole, soy and sesame oil or vegetable and prawn won tons with sweet and sour sauce. As I adore raw fish, there was no question for me; it had to be the tuna tartar. When the plate arrived, the roughly chopped raw tuna was dressed in the soy and sesame oil and perched on top of a broad column of chunky, spicy guacamole. I don't normally order guacamole because I never think an avocado tastes good enough to justify the calories and fat in it, but in this case, I was glad that I'd made an exception. The sharpness of the soy, the softness of the tuna, and the bite of the chilli in the creamy guacamole all combined beautifully.

Those who ordered the won tons were not disappointed either. They each received three of four sizeable fried filo parcels and a healthy dose of chilli sauce to go with them and a few of the guys at our table were thanking god for the tendency of the ladies to be more delicate eaters (i.e. spare wontons for the boys).

Main course choices were codfish carpaccio with 'Santa Pau' white beans and crispy tomato or spicy wok-fried prawns, chicken and vegetables. At this point I did realise that maybe two courses of raw fish might not be greeted by everyone else quite as enthusiastically as by me. In both cases, I'd say the main courses were a bit less substantial than the starters - perhaps that's also a Barcelona thing; eat late and you want a substantial starter more than a big main course. The cod was very thinly sliced, sprinkled with the beans, dressed with oil and little shavings of something black and crumbly which I guessed was some kind of truffle. The crispy tomato was bizarre - as if someone had peeled the skins of a load of tomatoes and then dried them in the oven. On our table, most of the tomato got left on the plates. The stir-fry eaters all seemed happy with their choice but maybe would have liked the servings to be a bit bigger.

When I'd chosen the menu, the pudding was supposed to be a chocolate mousse but luckily for us it had been substituted for massive chunks of moist rich chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream. Several of us looked at the size and said 'We'll never finish that' but the brownie elves must have been out in force and gobbled them down whilst we weren't paying attention. Funny how that can happen.

As the menu included water, wine and coffee, those of us who can still sleep after coffee ordered a mix of espressos, lattes etc and the rest polished off what was left of the wine. My boss kindly offered to pick up the bill so I don't know what the total came to but I was so full of chocolate brownie that I was past caring.

**Service?**

I just realised I've said nothing about the service - and I think that's a sign that it was pretty good. When you don't notice the service, then generally nothing bad has happened. It's one area where not remembering is a positive sign. If a waiter is too obsequious and fawning, I'm likely to hate it - but even with a relatively small amount of wine inside me, I can honestly say I don't remember anything of particular note about the service. The food came at the right pace, the dirty plates disappeared as if by magic and nobody got in a fight with a waiter - not something you can take for granted with some of the people I work with!

**I loved it, how about the others?**

By the end of the week, I'd had mixed feedback on Negro. There was a bit of a split along gender lines - most of the women rather liking Negro, some of the men preferring to sit in a tent by the harbour facing a mountain of seafood. I think the same men were a bit peeved at how tiny the glasses of beer had been too. Fair enough, the portions at Negro weren't enormous but everything was done beautifully - nothing was over seasoned or unbalanced, the surroundings were pleasant and stylish and the wine was great. If I ever found myself at that end of the Diagonal, I'd be only too happy to go back and take a crack at the full menu - perhaps downstairs in Rojo for some sushi.

The Gallery is a hotel that I've stayed in many times on business and it's my first choice when I'm spending my own money to go to Barcelona for fun - but only if I can get a half-decent deal on the room rate. When I first started staying there about 10 years ago, we used to pay about £60 a night. Since the advent of the Euro and the increase in cheap flights to Barcelona, the prices of hotels throughout the city have shot up and this will now set you back a lot more. Just running a quick check on some of the price comparison sites, they were throwing up prices in the 200-250 Euro range, which in my book is a lot more that it's worth.

**Circumstances of Visit**

Our last visit to the Gallery was the weekend before Christmas 2005. My poor husband has to work through Christmas most yearw so I decided to treat him with our own Christmas a few days early. I didn't want anything too complicated so since we know Barcelona pretty well and wouldn't have to do too much thinking or planning we booked dirt-cheap flights with EasyJet for £45 each and two nights at the Gallery for £80 per night. OK, I agree that's not the cheapest of cheap breaks but it's pretty good.

**Location**

The Gallery is in a great location and that's why I love it. It's on Rosello - a block south of the Av. Diagonal and half a block from the Passeig de Gracia - my favourite street in the city. Half a block the other way takes you to one of the broad semi-pedestrian ramblas. It's a good location for Gaudi lovers too - with La Pedrera (the building with the Star Wars storm-trooper chimneys) just around the corner and Casa Batllo just a couple of blocks further down the Passeig de Gracia. It will take you 5-10 mins to walk to the Placa Catalunya if you walk like a steam train (like I do) or 10-20 if you are going to stop and look in all the windows of the fancy shops on the Passeig de Gracia which is a nice way to get a feel for the area.
The Gallery is apparently slap bang on top of a metro station although I'm ashamed to confess I've never really got the hang of the Barcelona metro and I tend to walk everywhere. Some rooms will vibrate when the trains go under - I hadn't actually noticed it until this last visit which probably suggests I'd drunk too much on previous occasions or been on the higher floors. However, I quite like the vibro-room effect and it doesn't happen during the night once the trains stop running.

**Getting there from the Airport**

Cabs are still pretty good value in Barcelona but it's worth being aware that there are several surcharges applied for journeys from the airport. So don't freak when the driver keeps pushing his buttons and the price is sailing up - he's not conning you, it's all kosher.
You can take the train to Sants station and then the underground - but to be honest, that's a pain. Back in December the Airport train station was undergoing 'work' of some kind and so we took the airport bus - just a few Euros, frequent service and it takes you right into the heart of the city, dropping you at the Placa Catalunya a few minutes from the hotel. I believe the bus also makes a stop on Passeig de Gracia but I was too excited to stay onboard by that point.

**Checking In**

The lobby is bright and stylish. They have some Art Deco-style black sofas and chairs that have been there a long time but are still looking pretty good. There are usually nice flowers and newspapers on the tables in the lobby. The reception desk is a big wooden counter on the left as you walk in, with a bank of pigeon-holes behind. The staff who man the front desk are simply dreadful - you really do feel like you are interfering with whatever else they were planning on doing that day.
In most Spanish hotels you have to show your passport - sometimes they keep it for a while and copy the details - so again, don't freak if they do this, it's normal. Because I have stayed many times I am in their computer so once they realise this, sometimes the reception gets a little less frosty - but never ever reaches anything you could describe as 'gushing'.
**The Rooms**

The hotel has 115 rooms on 5 or 6 floors. This includes some suites but I've never stayed in anything other than a standard room. There are plenty of non-smoking rooms and one of my 'top tips' for anyone staying in any hotel is to always ask for non-smoking. The non-smoking rooms are always the nicest and the first to get re-furbished in any re-fit. There's always a better chance that the hotel will run out of non-smoking rooms and have to upgrade you.
The hotel has had a bit of a re-fit since the previous times I've been there and it's all rather pleasant. Definitely in the masculine 'Elle-Deco' vibe - quite minimalist, lots of dark wood, browns and creams and black and white images on the walls. They've also introduced some nice touches like flat screen TV (with lots of channel choices) and a small Hi-Fi unit next to the bed, complete with a CD of soothing ambient music in case you didn't bring your own. You should get maps and tourist info in your room as well and this will help you plan your activities.
There's lots of storage space, a safe for your valuables, generally some nice touches like a bag for your excess shopping or an umbrella to borrow when it rains. There's a mini-bar of course, a desk with internet access and enough chairs to cover your needs. The bathrooms have marble surfaces - the kind that make you really mad that they are cheap in Spain but would cost you a few body parts back home in the UK. There's a really good power shower over the bath, plenty of space and good lighting and being Spain I think they have a bidet as well as the loo but don't quote me on that. They are generous with the toiletries - you can expect a toothbrush, razor and a pack of tissues in addition to the normal shampoo and shower-gel.
CHOCOLATE - there, thought that might catch your eye - they give you the best hand made yummy chocolate. And if you've been there before like I have, you get LOTS OF CHOCOLATE as a thank you for coming back. I think we got a big bar each on top of the standard squares on the pillow.
**Catering**

We didn't eat at the Gallery on this trip because I'm far too tight to pay hotel prices for breakfast. However, when I've been there on business, the breakfast was always worth getting up for. Spanish hotels excel themselves at the breakfast buffet and the Gallery does a really good spread. The bar is also quite reasonable and I have often drunk there.
For food - you have all the bars and restaurants of the surrounding streets. One recommendation if you arrive late and don't want to go to far, go out of the hotel, turn left to the end of the street where it meets the Passeig de Gracia, and try out the little bistro called Samoa. It's good any time of day and great value too.
**Other**

There's a gym - but I've never used it and I can't comment on the quality. They can help you out with car hire, hail you a taxi, store your luggage and all the other things you'd expect from a decent hotel.

**Check out**

I went to the desk to check out - I'd prepaid so it should have been a 30 second job. There was nobody else in the lobby and two desk staff members were on the telephones. I waited and then I waited some more. I coughed - in that nice English way that means "If it's not TOO much trouble, maybe you can actually acknowledge my existence". Nothing. A third desk chappy appeared, avoided my eye and picked up another phone.
At this point I took my key, chucked it on the desk and flounced off. A friendly welcome and a cheery goodbye? Neither, but the chocolate compensates!
But you know the funny thing - I'll still be back next time!

Once upon not so long ago business travelers were mostly men and service suppliers built their products around what they thought men wanted. Hotel décor was of the 'dark wood - black leather - lots of chrome' variety that's apparently supposed to appeal to the boys. If you were a woman staying in business hotels in Eastern Europe might find yourself the only woman in the hotel paying for her room. Being the only 'non-prostitute female' in the hotel is at one end of the spectrum, but less extreme examples of not feeling completely at home include being frequently called 'sir' by hotel staff, getting a trouser press but no iron and finding that there's only one towel in the bathroom.

Then about 10 years ago some more hotel chains twigged that quite a lot of women were passing through their hotels and a few even decided to do something about it. Early attempts at 'feminising' hotels tended to focus more on issues of security and less on comfort. Rooms would have enhanced security features such as door chains, peep holes, even panic alarms. To be honest, I have to say that I found all that sort of stuff a bit over the top and at times a tad silly. The Spanish hotel chain Hesperia has taken a more indulgent approach to the whole 'girly-room' challenge with their 'Pink Room' concept which I experienced at the Hesperia Sant Just on the outskirts of Barcelona.

I'd probably been in the room for about an hour before I twigged that something odd was going on. I'd vaguely registered that there was a glossy magazine on the coffee table but it was in Spanish and since a lot of hotels have magazines. I'd clocked the immense number of freebie toiletries in the bathroom including such non-standard delights as a bath sponge, conditioner, make-up removal towel, lip balm, deodorant, nail file and cotton buds but even with the discrete little box with tampons and sanitary towels, all I'd registered was 'hmm, I wonder if that's standard?' I'd marveled at the black furry bathrobe and wondered how many teddy bears had been slaughtered to give their pelts to that, and I'd doubly marveled when I got out of the shower, grabbed the bathrobe and found a hair turban in the pocket - genius! The thing which finally slapped me in the face that this was a girly room was when I took the bedroom slippers out of the wrapper and found the words 'pink' on one and 'room' on the other.
I discovered that Hesperia had listened to feedback from their women guests and realised that we were sick of massive bathrobes, slippers that were a zillion times too big trouser presses but no iron, the wrong kind of coat hangers, a shaving kit but no cotton wool, lousy lighting in the bathrooms all those other little niggles. Hesperia had then set about designing a more customised woman-friendly experience - and why not? Women travelers statistically spend more time in the hotel, eat over-priced room service meals and spend more time in their rooms - so why not make that a better experience if it means we're more likely to choose Hesperia next time? The hotel also makes a donation of Euro1 per stay to a breast cancer charity. The one thing that was missing - and I think was quite a serious omission - was a peep-hole in the door. With so much attention to the 'little things', Hesperia had missed one of the most basic security requirements for anyone staying in a hotel. Not being able to check who's knocking is one of the features that most hotels put in place many years ago.
And before the boys reading this get angry that the girls are getting special treatment, relax - Hesperia gives you lots of boy-goodies too and just remember that if you want to leave the toilet seat up in your rooms, that's just fine, we won't force you to put it down again and if you want to leave all your stubble shavings in the sink, feel free. We'll be hunkered down in our pink rooms.
**Where is it?**

The Hesperia Sant Just is on the airport side of Barcelona in the suburb of Sant Just Desvern. If you are a glass-half-full kind of person it can be described as 'at the end of the Diagonal' but if you are a realist it's more accurate to say it's 'a bit too far from the centre' of Barcelona. It's a lovely hotel but if you are looking for a place that's handy for the city, I'd have to say this isn't the right place for you. Getting into the city on my second evening took nearly half an hour in the heavy traffic and cost Euro15. Getting back again we were ripped off by a taxi driver who decided to take the long way back which took almost as long as the traffic jam on the way in but cost twice as much. So if you are tempted by this hotel, check out the underground maps and see if there's a lower cost way of getting around - it may still be worth it because these hotels on the outskirts are often a lot cheaper than central hotels.
At just ten minutes from the airport, this is also a good option for anyone with an early flight and I believe it's possible to do your check-in and print your boarding pass at the hotel business centre and express check-outs are available
**First Impressions**
The lobby is a grand open space with high ceilings and plenty of big comfy sofas and chairs. There's a bar and area for light meals, an area set up like a library with two public-access internet computers and of course, a big check in desk and a corridor leading to the main restaurant. The weight-bearing pillars that hold up the high ceiling are clad in a really fascinating textured tiling that I really wanted to stroke but feared looking like I'd escaped from a 'place of security'. The overall impression was stylish and bright.
**Room Layout**
My room was on the larger side of average and laid out essentially the same as almost every chain hotel room I've stayed in recently. There was a king sized bed with a nice upholstered bench at the bottom of the bed - nice looking but I'm not entirely sure what its purpose was supposed to be. In the absence of a case-stand, it became the place where I put my suitcase. There were bedside tables either side, each with a lamp and one with a phone. There was a comfortable arm-chair with a coffee table and a tall reading lamp as well as a desk with lamp and a funky black leather work chair. The TV was a flat screen and there was a mini-bar below. There was a full length mirror on the wall and a small vase with a silk flower - each probably indications of the 'Pink Room' status. The colour scheme was exceptionally beige but pleasant and reminded me of the childhood friend whose family couldn't agree on colours for any rooms in their new-build house and so had the entire place painted magnolia. It was funny at the time but it seems to be the norm these days. There was a large fitted wardrobe with a safe and an iron and board inside.
The door to the bathroom was frosted glass and the bathroom contained a loo, bidet, big broad sink unit, bath with shower over and a set of scales. The sink unit was made from grey/white marble and everything was in great condition although the large mirror was slightly tarnished at the edges. The selection of toiletries, as already mentioned, was second to none.
**Check In**
Check-in was quick and simple - the usual registration documents, handing over the credit card and passport. I pinched a big glossy green apply from the check-in display; it looked like something from Snow White. I was informed that there was free wi-fi although I had to call down from my room later to get the sign in codes. Free Wi-Fi is my favourite hotel freebie when I'm on business.
**Drinking and Dining**
On my second night a colleague and I had a drink in the bar which wasn't cheap, but not overly expensive either. I was surprised in the land of tapas culture that we weren't offered so much as a bowl of old peanuts.
I had breakfast on my second morning and found a really good selection of hot and cold dishes, displayed on several serving areas, thus designed to utterly confuse a half-asleep guest. The breakfast cost Euro15 which is ridiculouse but about standard for a Spanish 4-star.
**Other facilities**
The hotel also offers a gym and a squash court, a business centre and 8 meeting rooms, a sauna, several restaurants and parking.

When my boss came up with the idea of holding a big training session for a bunch of colleagues, he threw in the suggestion that it should be 'somewhere creative', sent out the notification of the dates and then promptly flew off for three weeks holiday leaving the rest of us to try to interpret his vague instructions.
We went through a lot of turmoil. The trainer was determined to do it in Hamburg and then found, several weeks later, that the entire city was fully booked for some kind of trade show. By this point, we had only three or four weeks left to find an alternative.
He then set his assistant to work hunting down weird and wonderful hotels – places with bizarre sculptures and coffins instead of beds but thankfully none of those came off. Then the decision was taken to do it in Barcelona but the hotel was vetoed by the Finance director for being too expensive and so just nine days before the event, we still didn't have a hotel confirmation and then finally, we got a booking at the Hilton Barcelona.
First I think it's only fair to the hotel to say that one's experience of a hotel can be very different depending on the circumstances. Had I been there for a holiday, I might have rated it more highly than I did as a meeting venue - but even so, I really can't imagine I'd have ever chosen this hotel for a holiday.
Location
The first thing that's important to know when you arrive at Barcelona airport is that there are two Hiltons in the city. One is a Euro20-25 taxi journey, the other quite possibly twice that amount. Both are on the famous Ave. Diagonal - almost at opposite ends. So my advice is to have the address written down and give it to the taxi driver if you want to avoid a very expensive mistake. As the other is called Hilton Diagonal Mar, just nodding when you recognise the word 'Diagonal' is not going to help you! You will need to be explicit.
The drive from the airport is about 30 minutes, depending on the traffic. The Hilton stands right on the Diagonal so the taxi will pull off the street onto the forecourt in front of the hotel. It's a tall, concrete and glass building - not particularly memorable, but nothing ugly.
First Impressions
When you enter the hotel through the rotating door (who can resist a rotating door?) the main foyer is filled with the bar area which stretches up as a high atrium. The bar is full of giant curvy purple sofas and bright orange lamps - it's a delicate balance between 'funky' and 'trying too hard' and doesn't really fit with the rest of the hotel. The reception is a long wooden desk off to the left hand side and the check-in staff are some of the friendliest, jokey, pleasant people I've come across in a five star hotel. Considering that my favourite hotel in Barcelona (the Gallery) has the world's most miserable and indifferent staff, this was quite a nice surprise.
After arranging for a porter to take some things down to the meeting rooms, I headed up to check out my room on the 7th floor.
The Room
When you leave the lifts, the corridors are quite jazzy with striped carpets, bold colours and giant mirrors. It does all look a touch dated but nothing too bad. The rooms though are disappointing and reminded me of a student bedroom decorated by IKEA. On the plus side, I was right at the end of the corridor and could just about see the towers and cranes of the Sagrada Familia on a clear day but the level of décor was well below what I'd expect for a Euro175 per night room. Instead of a double bed, I had two singles - funny looking things with tube feet like an IKEA cheap bed. Each had a bedside table and on the bed I chose there was a long anglepoise style lamp above. There was a desk with another wall-mounted anglepoise, a TV suspended from the wall above a case stand with a drawer below. The trouble was that in order to use the case stand you risked banging your head on the TV every time. I can't comment on what the TV coverage was like because I didn't switch it on once during my stay - just spent a lot of time trying not to brain myself on the corners.
There was a large built-in wardrobe with an annoying light that glowed eerily. Inside was an iron and board, a mini-bar, a coffee and tea tray and a safe for valuables. The overall feel and finish of all the furniture was dated, unstylish and cheap-looking.
Other colleagues reported that some had received free bottles of mineral water in their rooms whilst others had been stung €4 a bottle for the same privilege. I was also told that wi-fi was being charged at the ridiculous rate of (if I remember correctly) €27 for 24 hours.
The Bathroom
Wow! Now this was a bit better than the rest of the room - lots of beautiful dark brown marble with gorgeous veiny quartz in it. I'm a sucker for a good bit of ornamental stone and this was good quality and very pretty. The sink surround was really large with lots of space for everything you could ever need in a bathroom and the mirror was enormous and there was a small cosmetics mirror as well. The bath, loo and bidet were all fairly standard and the toiletries were the standard (but very nice) Crabtree and Evelyn blue range. The marble for me lifted the bathroom out of the ordinary and certainly several levels above the rest of the room.
The Restaurant
I didn't have evening meals at the hotel as I'd booked different restaurants all over Barcelona and I didn't use the restaurant for lunch either as we had our meals set out by the meeting rooms. However, I did go in for breakfast on two mornings and found a fairly standard spread containing a good mix of hot and cold. Service was fine although the restaurant was maybe a little bit dark for that time of day.
As a meeting venue?
Oh dear. Why is it that hotels can merrily charge you exorbitant rates for meeting rooms and then put you in the basement with no natural light and walls like paper? The prices were shocking but I wouldn't have minded if the rooms had been better. We had one large meeting room - although I use the term large in the smallest sense - in which the lights repeatedly took it into their heads to turn on and off at random. This was amusing the first time my boss walked in and we were instantly plunged into the black - cue lots of comments on his role as the 'Prince of Darkness'.
On the second day the hotel had put another group in the room next to us and we could hear - if not understand - almost every word that was said. This was such a problem that the quietly spoken trainer struggled to be heard over the noise from the room next door.
In addition to the large meeting room, we had four smaller 'break-out' rooms which again had no natural light and were quite small. What I couldn't understand was that the public spaces around the rooms were enormous - so the only time we weren't cramped was when we were having our coffee and lunch breaks. The food at lunch was variable in quality but there was always plenty of it. However, the charges for coffee breaks were absolutely ridiculous - more than Euro10 per head.
To be fair, the venue was probably no worse than many meeting venues would be but it certainly wasn't excellent.
Other Facilities
There's a small outdoor area - a sort of terrace-garden type space - that can be accessed from the back of the bar. However, I don't think this was part of the hotel - it didn't seem to be in any way enclosed. According to the website there's a gym and a business centre but I didn't notice either.
Recommendation?
For a business meeting, I'd have to say that it was adequate, but nothing special and they could have tried harder. As a place to stay for fun, it's not the most central although the metro station nearby will whisk you into the centre of town in a lot less time than it would take to take a taxi and for a lot less money. However, it's OK and if you could get a deal on the price (let's be honest, Euro175 is ridiculous for B&B) it's not awful. However, it's also not good enough to be considered a 5-star in any other city in Europe.