Hotel Arts - Barcelona

We stayed at this hotel during our weekend away. It is a 5 star hotel in the Villa Olympic area of the city - in the old port area that was redeveloped for the Olympics. The only reason we were staying in this hotel is because Jon got us a very good deal through his work for a corporate rate. Otherwise I guess we may have been in the travel lodge.

The hotel is an impressive and modern structure that shoots up on the landscape in the otherwise flat part of the city. It is 30 floors high, and is pretty impressive in terms of the scale of it. Its landmark characteristic, however, is the huge whale like structure at the front of the building which is kind of pale up close but from a distance the sunshine reflects an image of a golden whale rising against the beach front setting.

We stay on the 26th floor and the views are incredible. Depending which side of the hotel your room is will obviously determine your room. My in laws for example have great views out of the city behind the hotel and the famous Gaudi Sagrada Familia but no sea view, whilst our view is out across the harbour and the beach, out into the sea.

The room is large, spotless and luxurious. Mattress toppers and Egyptian cotton bed linen makes for an extremely comfy place to sleep and the 3 room marble bathroom is probably the best I have ever experienced in terms of a hotel bathroom. Seriously there is a separate wet room with jets and a watering can style shower head, a separate loo and European loo thing (can't spell bee day??) and a huge bath with double sink top basins. Everything I guess you would hope for and more from a top hotel in Barcelona.

The service is very good. If not slightly annoying. My siesta Saturday early evening was disturbed by a phone call from reception reminding me we were checking out the following day. I think I already knew that.

Aside from the views though, the most memorable part of our stay was the price list of the mini bar. Considering the euro to pound exchange rate is pretty much 1:1 at the moment, it was 10 euros for nuts, a can of coke and 11 for a bottle of sparkling water. My biggest shock though was the candle I found in the cupboard. How nice I thought, I'll use that while I have the longest bath ever in the 3 room bathroom. Good job I found the mini bar list before I took my bath - 45 Euros for the candle!! Suffice to say we didn't eat or drink here, and I didn't use the spa as they didn't even mention the prices on the list. I am sure the Michelin starred restaurant and spa would have been wonderful, had I a spare grand to spend on such luxuries.

Let me not finish on the negative though - here are a couple of shots of the views from our room - nice.