Description: I stayed at the Montblanc in Barcelona about 6 years ago. At that time the company I worked for had an office nearby and this was the hotel where they had a preferential rate. This was regrettable becuase the Montblanc was without doubt one of the worst hotels I've ever had the misfortune to stay in, whether in Barcelona or anywhere else.
The hotel is located on Via Laietana, just north of the point at which the road splits in two arms. On paper this is a great location in easy walking distance of most of the downtown sites such as Placa Catalunya, Bario Gotica and the Cathedral - off the paper and into the real world it's hell on earth for anyone who's less than profoundly deaf.
I was admittedly particularly unlucky to get a room on the front of the hotel overlooking the busy road outside. Little detail of my stay stuck in my mind (it was like a bad experience that your brain chooses to try to wipe from your memory) other than the unending and unremitting drone of traffic. I have never slept as badly in a hotel room as I did in this place and I was grouchy and tired the whole of the next day as was my colleague who stayed in another room on the same trip. I'm normally pretty easy going but I grumbled about the Montblanc so much that I think the company I worked for stopped using it for visitors shortly afterwards.
The noise was utterly unacceptable. The room was of an adequate size but rather old and shabby and much in need of refurbishment. During my stay the heating was over powering and there was no option to relieve that by opening the window because of the noise levels.
Barcelona is full of great hotels and these days the prices are better than ever so there's no excuse for picking this one.
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