Review: Hilton Barcelona
This September, my friend from Japan came to London for our annual trip to Europe. This time we went to Barcelona, Spain. This was my third visit, but it was my friend’s first time in Spain, so I wondered how it would turn out. We booked a British Airways flight from Heathrow Airport to Barcelona. We went to the lounge before departure, had some lunch and few drinks, and were in a good mood when it was time to depart.
Contents
Access
Location and Room
Executive Lounge
Breakfast
Useful Information
Access
Takeoff from London Heathrow Airport was slightly delayed, so landing at Barcelona Airport was also delayed accordingly.
There are several ways to get from the airport to Hilton Barcelona, but since three of us were travelling, we decided to take a taxi.
When I saw the very long queue for taxis, I thought we would have to wait for a while, but one after another, the taxis were so quick to pick up passengers and drive off. Soon it was our turn. It took around 30 minutes to reach the hotel and cost about 35 euros.
If you use public transportation, take the L9 Sud line from the airport towards the city centre, change to the L3 line at Zona Universitària station, and head to the nearest station, María Cristina. It is about a 5-minute walk from the station to the hotel.
Location and Room
This time I booked two guest rooms which were the most basic room type. I had made the reservation in April as soon as we decided to go to Barcelona. While I was still curious about the reservation status, I checked it a while later and found that the room price had gone up.
When I arrived at the hotel, I understood the reason: it seemed that the hotel was extremely busy to accommodate groups of cruise ship passengers. I think that’s why many rooms were filled, hence there was no particular upgrade.
The Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona, where I stayed before, was located near the sea, with a cool outdoor pool. I felt the relaxing atmosphere of a high-end resort. On the other hand, the Hilton Barcelona has a different vibe.
Located close to department stores and shopping malls and with good public transportation connections, I recommend this hotel to those who want to stay in a more urban setting. It faces Diagonal Avenue, which runs through Barcelona, and there are a few bus stops just a short walk from the hotel taking you to the main tourist spots, like Gaudi’s main sites in the city, which was very convenient.
- Sagrada Familia
- Park Güell
Executive Lounge
The executive lounge is on the 4th floor, opening up to the 5th floor, and has large glass decorations hanging from the ceiling – a big attraction when we used the lift to go to and from our room on the 5th floor.
During our stay, we were able to use the lounge during cocktail hour to take a break in between sightseeing.
Not only alcohol but also some light snacks were served. On the second day, we had a late lunch after visiting various places. This made us feel still full, so we had dinner in the lounge that day. The next day, before going out for having dinner outside, we enjoyed a light drink quickly. As known by many people, Spanish dinner time is quite late, we saw many guests doing the same thing.
Although the selection is somewhat less than the breakfast venue on the ground floor, breakfast is also served in the lounge. The atmosphere here is calmer since there are fewer people coming and going, and I think it would be good to come here when the main breakfast hall on the ground floor is overcrowded. As usual, we went to the lounge after eating a hearty meal at the ground floor restaurant to have a little something sweet, like fruit and Danish pastries, while checking our travel plans for the day.
Breakfast
When we stayed at this hotel it was still September. We were surprised that the sunrise was later in Spain: it didn’t start to get light until after 7:30.
Upon researching, I discovered that Barcelona is located west of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, so the time zone should actually be the same as the UK.
The breakfast buffet had typical Spanish items such as Serrano ham, Manchego (sheep’s milk cheese), tortilla, and churros. These were lined up together with bread and fruit which looked very delicious.
I regretted that I didn’t feel that hungry in the morning because I ate too much Spanish food every day. The Spanish way to eat Manchego is with the quince jam that can usually be found next to it.
Useful information
There are many shops around the hotel. If you have any favourite Spanish brand, try searching for it on the map. There is a high possibility that you will find a store either in the department store “El Corte Inglés” or the shopping mall “L’illa Diagonal”.
The food section in the basement of El Corte Inglés is also a must-see. You will be overwhelmed by the variety of tomatoes in the vegetable section.
The fresh fish section has many varieties of seafood caught in the Mediterranean Sea. You will never get bored of looking at them. It was also very convenient for shopping for souvenirs such as sweets and other items.
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