Sunday, December 4, 2011

Hotel Continental Barcelona

Barcelona has been great. I definately want to come back one day. I spent most of my time walking around just looking. But I also paid to see a few sights such as an IMAX film and La Sagrada Familia. I opted not to pay for one of the attractions such as the "Spanish Village." Why see that when I am living in one.

I managed to pay only about 50 dollars in food and drinks while being here. It really helped with the hotel I am staying at, Hotel Continental Barcelona on La Rambla, 138. It is a three-star hotel. I am not a hotel connoisseur who knows a lot about different hotels, but this one I have to recommend.

La Rambla is one of the post popular streets in the city and located in the city center. The hotel is just around the corner from three "Corte Ingles" stores and the Hard Rock Cafe. It is easily accessible from both the airport and the city center. The airport bus drops off about three blocks from the hotel. And the metro green line comes up about half a block from the hotel entrance. The red line is across the streets about three to four blocks away. It can also be accessed through the underground tunnels. 

The room is small. There are cracks in parts of the ceilings. The decorations are not very attractive. My room is almost completely pink and the lobby is decorated in floured wallpaper, including light fixtures, siding and the ceiling. But the size, decor and a little wear and tear shouldn't be of a concern. The room is comfortable, it provides a bed to sleep, heating and cooling, a refrigerator, microwave, shower/bath, and a safe. I have had no problems with the room.


Like all of the other European Hotels I have been in, this one has energy efficiency keys. There is a plastic card separated to the room key to insert to have electricity. The only complaint I have is that the "Do not Disturb," signs that are built into the door seem to be ignored. Maybe if the deadbolt were locked and the sign were up they would pay more attention. But my plan was to leave it up for the entire weekend so that they did not replace any of the towels with new ones, helping to save energy, water, and pollution. But this is a minor concern. Four tourists, sleeping late is a waste of precious sight-seeing time so it doesn't really matter.

To further add to the convenience of the hotel, there is free food and drinks 24/7. Drinks include water, tea, white wine, rose wine, orange juice, milk, soft drinks and coffee. There are two meals, breakfast and lunch/dinner. Breakfast was usually quiche, another egg custard, ham and bacon, boiled eggs and cereals. Lunch and dinner were usually a type of pasta, rice and potatoes. Foods such as bread, olives and fruits were available at all meals. There may not be a huge selection of food but it is available and it does taste good. And more than just the food and drink was free: the entire hotel has wirelss internet which allowed me to do necessary banking, contact friends and family, write these blogs, research tourist sites and listen to the Arkansas State Red Wolves football game online.
The hotel was cheap, at 78 euros per night. Everything is about equal in the USA when it comes to price (a coke that is one dollar usually equals one euro, etc.) and this hotel was also. Most hotels in the USA cost around 80 dollars for a cheap one and include a continental breakfast from 6 a.m. to 9 or 10 a.m. They usually include WiFi in the rooms. But they don't include 24/7 free food and drinks (especially alcohol).

And if you don't speak Spanish, you are sure to find someone anywhere you go in Barcelona that can speak English. I practiced speaking Spanish, but because I don't speak perfect Spanish and I look like a foreigner, most people just automatically spoke to me in English, even when I responded in Spanish.

Hopefully I can come back to Barcelona before I leave Spain. And when I do, I will definitely be looking to book a room here at Hotel Continental again.

1 comment:

  1. A perfect place for vacation with family and friends especially this coming holiday season, Christmas!

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