Le Meridien Barcelona

Le Meridien Barcelona.

We had an amazing experience dining at this restaurant situated in the heart of Barcelona's main avenue. The paella was delightful, and the desserts were even better. The staff were friendly and attentive, and our visit was certainly worthwhile. Highly recommended!

We booked this hotel with the Marriott reservation team to travel with our children (9 year old and 9 month old). One day before our trip we received a message saying that the reservation was made for a wrong room and we needed to pay double the price! Long story short, it was dreadful trying to deal with Marriott as the central reservation team and the hotel team didn’t communicate with each other! The hotel itself was ok. Location is central but it certainly doesn’t live up to the 5 star label. We will not be back and likely will not use Marriott again.

We had read some bad reviews about this hotel but decided to give it a try, and this was a mistake. At around 4am in the morning we were awoken by the sound of mosquitoes. We noticed that I had already been bitten four times. We called the service desk and they sent a guy to spray the fun area and then the rest of the room with insecticide. After this, we had no more sleep.

So the following day, before leaving for the Sagrada Família, we asked the front desk to make sure there were no more mosquitoes in our room. This worked for the second night, but the third day we were so tired when we returned at around 5:30pm that we lay down on the bed and were once again welcomed by mosquitoes, with me getting another bite. We called the service centre, but waited for 30 minutes with no response. We were both getting frustrated and angry with this apparent lack of care. When we eventually got through, we were asked to “talk well” to them.

We explained the situation, and a gentleman came to our room with a pen and piece of paper. However, he told us that the hotel didn't have any mosquitoes! We couldn't believe what we were hearing. We asked if he wanted to see the pictures we had taken on our phones of the mosquitoes on the hotel room wall and dead body of one mosquito we had caught. He said he would talk to the front desk and we would be in touch shortly.

The lady who had asked us to talk well, then called us back and said a hotel staffer had come to spray the room but that we had refused! This was a blatant lie, as it was them who had refused to help. We had to tell them that my husband had lung problems before they eventually offered to move us to another room where they sprayed insecticide while we were still there. We were offered 20 minutes to rest in the lobby, but we refused as this was far from enough to reduce the potential damage to our health. After speaking to someone, we were given another room.

We were so disappointed, as Barcelona is usually so friendly and welcoming. The two people at the front desk when we were checking out had no trace of the welcoming atmosphere of the city. We also noticed that the hotel does not appear to welcome guests travelling sustainably, as we had used the Aerobus rather than a taxi from/to the airport. We want to share our experience to make sure no one else has to go through this.

The location of this hotel is in the middle of a bustling area full of tourists. Although we knew this going in, it was far more crowded and unpleasant than we had anticipated. The room itself was nothing special; though it was supposedly recently updated, it seemed quite dated. The shower/tub had a dangerously high step-in. If you want the room to be cleaned before the hours of 5 to 8 pm, you must make a special request. On the plus side, the room was quiet and we were able to get a good night's sleep. As a Marriott status member, we also had access to a free buffet breakfast with a good variety of food. The best part of the experience was the polite and helpful staff at the front desk and at the doormen. Unfortunately, there were times when the taxi stand out in front refused to take us to local destinations. Thankfully, the hotel staff were always happy to flag us down a taxi who would take us.

Visiting from California, we had an exceptional stay at the recently opened Le Meridien Barcelona Hotel. The Las Ramblas area of town is a fantastic location, with plenty of restaurants and shops nearby. The room was very well appointed, featuring a high end coffee bar and plenty of amenities. The staff went the extra mile when greeting us, being friendly, welcoming and efficient. We had a very comfortable night's sleep, despite some lively conversations taking place outside. We would wholeheartedly recommend staying at this hotel, and would definitely stay here again.