Silken Diagonal Barcelona

I have never written one of these reviews before but I find them very usefull when going on Holiday , So here goes. The world is so small these days, a 4.00 A.M Start and Easyjet flight from Liverpool, and you are checking in to your Horel by 10.00 A.M. The Silken Diagonal is fine for the Job. A nice modern hotel, that ticks all the right boxes. The decor is very modern, and clean. It is supprissing however, how quickly a Hotel starts to look a little shabby on the Edges, The shower leaked, the Pipes, were visable in the Bathroom and the veneer, was peeling away in the Bathroom. but that said this is an excellent Hotel. They are taking the P### a bit in Chargeing 16Euros, for Breakfast. If you go over the road to the Shopping Arcade you can get 2 Cups of Coffee and a Sandwich, for about 3 Euor's . If you have sampled the many resteraunts, that Barcelona has to offer the night before , thats about all you would want anyway. A few tips, for travelers to Barcelona. At the airport buy a T10 ticket at the train station this will allow you 10 trips on all metro's, tram's and busses,It costs about 6 Euro's, Great value and Hassle free. Buy an art ticket at the main Museeum's and this will allow you access into the main museum's in Barcelona including, the Piccasso Museem and the Maccba modern art one. ( However, give this a miss unless you really get the Modern art stuff ) I don't. Go for the set meals at the resteraunts, we ate at La Fonda, by the sea one night and for 15 Euros, we had a great 3 Course meal, with wine water and a Liquer, great value. If you wish to go to Parc Guell, dont take the Metro, find a Bus, Its a long walk from the Metro station. November is a great time to visit this Great, young and Vibrant City, It was warm , quiet, plenty to do, the resteraunts, were quite,and were very welcoming. If you wish to know anything further please contact me on lloydjames@talk21.com.

Even though I read mixed reviews on this hotel, i still booked it because I like the post modern look of the rooms and the hotel. I was not dissappointed! The hotel is located just next door to the controversial Akbar Tower ,the 35 story cigar shaped public building just north of the downtown center.THe hotel was clean and very striking both inside and out. Hand hammered copper tiles surrounded the lobby reception area as well as the elevators and the corridors were lit by blue/back light offset with unusual mirrors and awkward angles to the exterior of the rooms. It was a very avante garde look ,but pleasing all the same. The rooms were simply appointed with white walls, dark wood fixtures, and a retro 70's floral white and brown design above the headboard. Additional appointments were a fabulously well stocked mini bar, a high quailty safe hidden inside the wardrobe, slate tile in the bathroom, and an amazing translucent shower area completly encased in plexiglass. Though amazingly unique , the bathroom also was the only flaw i could find as the tub enclosure was a mere 12 inches of plexiglass coming out from one end. It was virtually impossible to take a shower without soaking the floor. Granted the floor had a drain in it , however another 12" or so of "surround" could of eliminated that problem. The electric sun shades were a welcome and unusual touch! The restaurant and bar were simple and elegant, albeit a tad on the pricey side. The bar was right as you come into the lobby and was illuminated in all in blue, glass and mirrors with overstuffed white retro viny chairs scattered about.Tragically hip on any scale the whole vibe was Mary Quant meets Picasso in a stunning yet very functional space.. Service was consistent all throughout the stay and room service and laundry services were superlative! Very clean hotel and well kept up! Next time I come back to Barcelona I will surely stay here again!

Stayed for 2nights and one of the best 3 stars hotels I have seen. Excellent staff,good location and lovely large comfortable rooms. Metro stop at the front door and a supermarket next door as well. Got a room for 65 euros room only and would definetely recommend this hotel!

From anywhere you should arrive in Barcelona, you can't miss it: it's right next door to the new Agbar tower on Aveginuda Diagonal. And the view from the room is just great if you are facing this side at night, as the color scheme of the tower is just brilliant. Very modern indeed, all the 4 star facilities, every detail right in place. The glass partition between the bedroom and the bathroom is altogether nice and unusual. The area around the hotel is very decent: lovely and lively shopping center just opposite the street, and a brand new tramway stop just in front of the hotel. This takes you either to the olympic port, or to a new renovated-cum modern area by the sea (well, this is barcelona, isnt'it ?). Staff polite at best -only flaw of an otherwise brilliant place.

The service was just terrible. The location was far removed from everything. I've never been so disappointed. The 'pool' is literally the size of a bathtub. To it's credit, the room was pretty. The business center was 'out of order'. They messed up our reservation so only 1 of us was on the guest list for the breakfast then tried to say that they should be charging us more for our room. I can't believe I rationalized staying here for 2 nights. We also stayed at the Hotel Jazz which had an amazing location and was very well kept with free internet access and friendly staff. I highly recommend staying there instead. The Silken Diagonal had no soul...you had to walk along the freeway after taking the metro there. There is nothing around it besides a mall. You can't walk to anything...etc. etc.

I am writing this while at the Silken Bilbao which is a wonderful hotel, however, my fiance and my exerience at the Silken Diagonal, was one of the most incompetent I have experienced. It is as if they designed this great funky hotel, then left a bunch if kids who didn't care in charge of it. We also stayed at hotel 1898 while in Barcelona which I highly recommend. Here is our experience in a nutshell. No one to help with bags (i take that back, they just watched while we struggled with ours.... .)... we called for bathrobes three different times and each time they said no problem... and we waited... (it became a bit of a standing joke over a three hour period...). The next day, when we physically went to the front desk, they told us that robes could not be lended unless we had a superior room (this was not a language problem as my fiance is fluent in spanish....).... to get them to order a taxi was akin to torture..... I think I heard the word "not possible" about 280 times while at the hotel. Again, this is not a "Silken" problem as the Gugenheim service is top notch. this hotel has fun design features and cool bathrooms, but if you need any degree of service, avoid at all cost. Please also note that this hotel is located in an area of redevelopment, which will be wonderful in about 5 years, but now has numerous junkyards etc. around it...

Just got back from this hotel and I must say I thought it was great. The whole place has been 'designed' and looks terrific. The rooms themselves have been arrange to make the best of all the space and, together with the crisp white linen, are a great retreat after a long day of wandering this cool city. Outside the rooms the 'minimal' hotel is just as good, everything is relaxed and effortless.... the bar especially is great with cheap drinks and chilled music. Another thing you can't fail to like if design is your thing is the massive 'gurkin' looking building next to it.... again, another well designed landmark. The hotel is only a short walk from Glorias metro stop so you can be in the city in a matter of minutes. Can't wait to go back!

I stayed at this hotel with my husband for my 25th birthday. It is absolutely stunning in it's mimimalist decor. Staff were very efficient at check in and out. Gorgeous rooms with the bathroom in a glass cube (toilet behind a further wooden door for privacy). Great hotel for a romantic break. Enjoy

I stayed at this hotel in early December with my boyfriend who booked it as a suprise birthday present. I cannot fault the hotel as I found it great. The only fault (if I really had to give one) would be location but not all hotels can be in the centre of town and its only a few minutes on the metro in to the centre of Barcelona. The staff were very friendly. It was quiet when we were there so staff hadn't a lot to do! The room was very clean, bright and quiet. I can understand how the cool, minimalist and funky design would not appeal to all tastes but I liked it. Our breakfast was included in the rate and I found it to be excellent each morning. Well stocked and fresh with bottles of cava if you fancied a glass in the morning! And I did on the morning of my birthday after a night out in a nearby club!! All in all I really enjoyed my stay here and thought it was very good value for money.

Just returned from 4 great days in Barcelona, and the Silken Diagonal made it that much more enjoyable. The hotel's lobby is futuristic looking with a back-lit lounge right out of a glossy magazine ad. There are soft purple lights in all of the corridors, which work surprisingly well to comunicate a "cool" asthetic. The (standard) room I was in was quite large, and yes, came equipped with the glass-walled shower referenced in other reviews. I actually found it to be very appealing. Power shades on the windows were controlled by bedside buttons, as were the room lights. My deal included breakfast, which turned out to be a very nice spread. Only negative was some loud metallic banging when it rained--I think the decorative metal structures on the outside of the hotel were responsible. Location was great--steps away from the Metro, within walking distance of the Sagrada Familia and Music center. The hotel came as part of a package, so not sure what its normal price would be, but was certainly worth the money on this trip.