In The City (Hotels in Barcelona in general)

Member Name: michaelhudson

Product:	Hotels in Barcelona in general
Date:	23/06/03 (1077 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See Text

Disadvantages: See Text

Standing on the corner of Las Rambla Sant Josep and Boqueria, which links the main artery of the city to the Barri Gotic, the modernist Hotel Internacional is supremely sited just a few footsteps from Liceo metro station and the Gran Teatro del Liceo.

RECEPTION AND ARRIVAL

Built in 1890, renovated for the 1992 Olympics, the wide street level entrance to the elegant four-storey building has a clean marble-effect floor and mirrored walls. The large lobby is up a single flight of stairs along with the bar and TV and breakfast areas. A reception desk faces a couple of armchairs arranged on either side of a coffee table, and Spanish newspapers and hotel pamphlets are neatly arranged on tables leading to the green carpeted staircase up to the rooms.

THE ROOMS

Bright, clean, whitewashed and strikingly basic, my room was lit by a wall-mounted lamp above a cheap, mahogany effect headboard and a light hanging from a chain fixed to the ceiling. A carrier bag is roughly folded over the rim of a bin decorated with horses, a framed print of an airy forest clearing provides token decoration, and a small window at head height opens to a view of a grey drainpipe and the lower six inches of someone else?s laundry. A black safe box sits above a desk and fake leather chair, while a wardrobe is hinged to the wall near a slightly tattered board detailing laundry rates, emergency telephone numbers and fire exits. A mustard coloured direct dial telephone and a squashed tennis racket shaped electric fan stand on a bedside chest of drawers, both looking as if they've been in existence for quite a few years longer than I have.

A wooden door with a fragile looking bolt opens into the narrow oblong shaped bathroom. The first view is of the miniature sink - big enough to fit both hands in - and a ceramic shelf with two upturned glasses and a wicker basket full of soap and shampoo. Just above is a rectangular mirror, a 125V socket for electric ra
zors and a strip light, while to the left a second window looks out on the first one above a toilet facing a branded curtain and a nice shower that requires a little tweaking between arctic cold and solar hot before you hit the optimum temperature.

The overall effect is something less than impressive, though considering the price, location, and the fact that it would be foolish to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary in your hotel when you?ve got the whole of Barcelona outside, it's definitely more than satisfactory.

BREAKFAST

Glass doors open to a wrought-iron balcony of circular metallic tables overlooking Las Ramblas. White tablecloths cover indoor tables for four arranged in rows around a central buffet heaped with watermelon triangles, slices of almond cake, hot omelette squares, bread rolls, thick slices of cheese and ham, glass bowls of cornflakes, croissants and flour sprinkled pain au chocolate, mineral water in an ice bucket, tomatoes, a pyramid of yoghurt pots and a few low hills of honey, marmalade and butter packets. Hot water dispensers, jugs of milk and orange and pineapple juice and sachets of coffee and hot chocolate stand on a corner table below the customary framed Gaudi prints. A single waitress darts in and out taking room numbers and replenishing dishes while cleaners mill about in front of reception. Get downstairs before ten o'clock if you want one of the balcony tables, or before half past eight if you want the room virtually to yourself.

DETAILS

Hotel Husa Internacional, Ramblas 78 - 80.

One Star, Tourist Class.

Telephone: 93 302 25 66 Fax: 93 317 61 90

Email: hinternacional@husa.es

Latest check out time is at noon. Earliest check in is listed at the same time, though I doubt rooms would be ready much before 2pm. The front desk is open 24 hours a day.

Breakfast is from 7.30 until 11.00.

The hotel has sixty bedroo
ms, twenty of which face La Ramblas. Book early and request a room with a balcony.

All rooms have heating and direct dial telephones. There is one lift in the hotel and parking facilities are 100 metres away.

There is no air conditioning in the rooms, making things a little uncomfortable in the heat of June, July and August. You certainly won't need those extra sheets on top of the wardrobe!

Within a five-minute walking distance: Las Ramblas (crowds, the St Josep covered market, crowds, souvenir shops, restaurants and crowds), Port Vell (Old Port and shopping), Placa Catalunya (more crowds, El Cortes Ingles department store and airport buses), Barri Gotic (cathedral and medieval quarter) and the Palau Guell (Gaudi designed UNESCO World Heritage site).

WEBSITES

www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/

www.spain-barcelona-hotels.com

www.hotel-barcelona.com/husa.html

www.eurocheapo.com/barcelona

www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d2387 18-Reviews-Husa_Internacional_Ho tel-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

I booked two nights at the Internacional in mid-June through Octopus Travel ( www.octopustravel.com ) for £109 for two people on the 11th and 12th of June 2003. You could stay at the two star Santa Marta or the neighbouring Hostal Del Mar (Barceloneta metro station) for slightly less, but the location and breakfast give the Internacional the edge.

GOOD IF?

You're on a budget, want something just a bit better than basic for a couple of nights, don't plan to spend too much time in your room and would like to stay as close as possible to Las Ramblas.

BAD IF??

The temperature's over 30.

Also recommended: Hotel Peninsular, Carrer Sant Pau.

www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d2371 53-Reviews-Hotel_Peninsular-Barc elona_Catalonia.html

WHAT TO SEE??

1. La Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia metro station)

>Gaudi's unfinished grotesque fantasy is overpriced, over-hyped, unforgettable and unique.

2. Parc Guell (Vallcarca or Lesseps)

Fifteen hectares of fauna and Gaudi overlooking the city.

3. Las Ramblas (Catalunya, Liceu or Drassanes)

Flower stalls, people watching, sex shows, human statues and fake football shirts.

4. Barri Gotic (Liceu or Jaume I)

Dust and darkness within Roman walls and enclosed courtyards.

5. Montjuic (escalator from Espanya, funicular or cable car from Port Vell)

The Museum of Mosern Art, shaded gardens and Olympic stadia.

6. The Eixample (Diagonal or Passeig de Gracia)

Shopping, the 'Block of Discord' and the Casa Mila.



WHAT TO READ?..

Barca - A People's Passion (Jimmy Burns).
Fascinating insight into the history and politics of the Catalonian national team, FC Barcelona.

Homage to Catalonia (George Orwell).
The definitive first-hand account of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona.

Barcelona (Robert Hughes).
The essential guide to the city.

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