Catalonia Barcelona Plaza

“I wish I could give more stars!!!”

TL;DR: EXQUISITE hotel, facilities and service - HIGHLY recommend! This hotel literally has everything. There are some very odd reviews below stating 'no warmth or genuine greetings' which is so odd to me, every staff member went above and beyond in our experience. And a comment saying the food ... more

TL;DR: EXQUISITE hotel, facilities and service - HIGHLY recommend! This hotel literally has everything. There are some very odd reviews below stating 'no warmth or genuine greetings' which is so odd to me, every staff member went above and beyond in our experience. And a comment saying the food was 'average'? Please ignore this - the breakfast was so exceptional we looked forward to it every day! The hotel itself is breathtaking and has been newly refurbished to an extremely high standard. We were blown away. The green tiles around the reception area are stunning. The downstairs area is so chilled and relaxing, with indoor greenery and chilled out spaces, used for breakfast in the morning and general use during the day, with coffee and juice stations accessible for residents any time. The rooftop pool, bar and chill out area is amazing with fantastic views and there is a 'spa' (massage only) available too. The bar staff were lovely, all the different people I spoke too, very helpful and friendly (as well as the hostess who gave us some vouchers for welcome drinks as well as the ones from reception as my friend is getting married and was there on her hen do!), shout out to my Guinean friend (I didn't get his name) that I mistook for Jamaican, I had so much fun chatting with you! Such a nice guy. THE BREAKFAST - OMG, a challenger for one of the best hotel breakfast selections I have experienced in my say, 35 years of travelling since childhood. There are 5 amazing stations - a fresh pressed juice station (I had fresh peach juice every day which was amazing) and plant based milks, a tea station with a hot water decanter and little jars with fresh ingredients such as lemon, peppermint, ginger, honey etc to make your own fresh tea, a station with 8 different granolas, 6 different yoghurts and various bowls of chopped fresh fruit and whole fruit (like apples), a hot station where you can pick out the usual hot foods with a made-to-order omelette station, fresh pastries from croissants to donuts, 2 toasting machines with an array of bread and bagels to toast, assisted by fresh spreads, meats and cheeses such as hummus, a tzatziki/feta blend that I was OBSESSED with and freshly chopped veggies such as peppers, onions, tomato and avocado. I WISH I'd have taken pictures of the stations but we were too excited by breakfast each morning to think about it! The rooms were spotlessly clean and actually have a window that opens, which is a welcome change! We didn't need to open it as we had air con, but it's a nice option to have. The beds were super comfy and we loved the long pillows! I want some of those at home now. The TV was operated by Chromecast, which I haven't used before but was super easy and a great idea for residents to be able to access their own apps without having to mess about with logging in and out. Other bonuses - a GOOD, proper hairdryer with a nozzle (none of this rubbish attached to the wall junk that does nothing productive), an ironing board that sits on the bed with an iron, a stocked fridge (easy to use for your own things if you wish, a safe, coffee machine and cups. The bathroom was lovely with a great shower (rainfall and standard) with shower gel and shampoo attached to the wall along with complementary, eco friendly bits and bobs for convenience. The location is beyond fantastic, with two metro stops, the stops for the hop-on-hop-off buses, a huge shopping centre with rooftop restaurants and a street with shops and bars right outside, there is literally nothing more you could want on your doorstep. There is even a pretty little park next to the shopping centre (we had two meals on the rooftop in two different restaurants and they were both amazing! Very convenient if you don't want to venture too far). Taxis are also available all day outside the hotel too and are on a meter, very reasonably priced. The one issue our other room had was a smell from the drains that they came back to which was dealt with as soon as reception was called and the team went above and beyond to correct the issue as best they could. Not ideal, but it is more about the solution than the problem, because issues and problems happen, that cannot be avoided sometimes, and it was dealt with immediately. The only points I would raise for management (which are NOT issues to me, more for you to be aware of) - 1. On our floor for 3 days, it absolutely stank of cannabis. Now don't get me wrong, I use medicinal cannabis myself and love the smell, but I go outside to use it out of courtesy and following hotel rules and I believe it to be wrong for others to flout these rules especially for residents that may not like it and those with children. I also saw quite a number of people leaning out of their windows smoking cigarettes, which stinks even worse. This needs to be monitored more closely. 2 - For your international clients, I would make tea bags and milk more readily available. Our second room asked for milk and were given the Spanish Inquisition about why they wanted it, which was a little odd. Our experience was 5 star, and this was taken even further by the manager, David, going above and beyond for me personally. I asked on Saturday if they were showing the F1 (British Grand Prix), he told me that they were not planning to, but if the singer/band that was performing in the communal area at 1pm were finished that he would put it on the big screen for me - which he did, just for me! I cannot tell you how much I appreciated this (especially being an incredible race!) and how this accelerated my opinion of the hotel, even though I was already bought it. It is this kind of 'above and beyond' behaviour that keeps customers returning time and time again, and I for one cannot wait to return to this hotel after visiting with friends so that I can bring my husband. Thank you David and everyone at the hotel that made our stay so relaxing and enjoyable! We will be looking at other Catalonia Hotels in the various locations they are if we visit those locations before anywhere else, based on this experience. You have set the bar high for the other hotels in your chain!

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