H10 Montcada Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

The location is just fantastic. You can walk about 5 min and be in the Ramblas (overrated I thought) but the Gothic quarter where the hotel is based is full of character and interesting narrow sidewalks. Wonderful during the day but a bit spooky at night as the little corridor of shops provide a maze like experience. We got totally lost but found our way using the cathedral as a compass and people were very friendly.
Right by the cathedral turn right and there is a wonderful, cheap Italian restaurant with candles illuminating the tables at night. We didn’t realise the marina was so near too, we got a taxi and it took about 2mins to get to the sea life centre there! Also worth a visit just to see the sharks swim above you.
The hotel staff were very friendly, spoke good English and the breakfast buffet was superb. They had everything from bacon and eggs, to fresh strawberries, muffins, cereal and salmon. The room, a twin was small, but I had expected this as I had read other reviews, the location was more important. Saying that the bathroom was a good size and the room was very clean. One problem I had was the smoker I was with tried to open the window but it was sealed and we had to ask reception to come up each time we wanted it opened or closed. In the end we just left it open to the noise of the city, in the distance but nevertheless I am not used to honking and beeping in the early hours and it did keep me awake. It is NOT a noisy hotel at all but a city doesn’t sleep and with the window open I could hear it all.
Downstairs there is a nice little sitting area for having a coffee and snacks, a good place to plan your journey with lots of tables. We used the bus system ...the tourist bus (the receptionist explained it all) is so cheap and you can basically go anywhere.....we saw so much this way. Don’t miss Gaudi's architecture, his park, the house he designed, the cathedral that is still being built called the Sagrada. The cathedral is jaw dropping...huge, magnificent, like a sculpture of wet sand of stalactites....go there and see for yourself!
There are plenty of places to eat, not so many street cafes, but it wasn’t expensive there at all. We were warned about pickpockets but had no problems ourselves. but we had them lassoed around our arms! Anyway Barcelona was terrific, and the H10 Montcada Hotel was too. So good in fact that my sister in law, who I went with, has recommended it to her father who is out this summer. Remember rooms are small but clean, very clean and the location is a MUST MUST MUST!!!! Have fun.