Balmes Hotel Barcelona

On the 2nd leg of my trip, this time to Barcelona, I first stayed in a hostel in an attempt to save some Euros. I was not pleased with the money situation no doubt. But, after only a few days, I decided I had to get out of there because I wanted my own privacy and a little bit of pampering. I chose the Balmes because the rooms looked very modern and chic. With wood floors (not really, it was pergo) and little design touches. They even had a museum of African artifacts/art and an Egyptian exhibit (and I had just come from Egypt too). Upon entering the hotel, you can see how nice the hotel looked. There was free internet available (2 computers) near the lobby and if you had a wireless device, with a password obtained from the front desk, one could access free wi-fi from the privacy of their own room. That was convenient. Barcelona is pretty pricey for my frugal a** but the Balmes was the most affordable I could find with the quality I was expecting. There was also a small pool outside, but unfortunately it was too cold for me to take a dip. That was actually a factor why I chose the hotel, so I could practice my swimming, but I don't know why, knowing it was winter time. My only complaint about the hotel was some type of construction going on above my room. I could hear drilling and hammering during the mid-afternoon after a long walk and some much needed rest. Whatever was going on above me was causing some plaster or some type of remnants to fall into my tub. Not nice...good thing I wasn't in the tub lounging. Nearby is Casa Mila, the Gaudi apartment building, and a little further away was the La Sagrada Familia church. To get to Ramblas it was about a 15 minute walk. *Highlights: spending my birthday in the land of the country which colonized my homeland...walking all around the city and exploring all I could cover during my time there...the beach, all the amazing graffiti everywhere, finding the Filipino community/presence, finding Filipinos cookies which was on my "must get" list, the creative architecture, learning about Gaudi...just all the inspiring art and creativity seen everywhere in the city, and of course the yummy desserts. Very artistic city and very inspiring indeed. *Lowlights: I got sick on my 2nd to last day in Barcelona...something I ate, and it carried over to the final leg of my trip which ended in Greece. Too much pork going on in their food. Good thing I'm not muslim. I wanted chicken and there wasn't enough of it that I could find on the menus. Having very little to no Euros sucks, especially when you can't w/draw from an ATM for whatever reason, and relying on the small amount of one's traveler's checks.

Stayed here for three nights Nov 07 as part of a group of 12 friends. We chose it mainly because of its nearness to Las Ramblas.Overall, we were fairly happy with this hotel, but we each had individual gripes as we were scattered throughout the hotel and had differing experiences. All agreed that the noise factor was an issue. ALL the rooms have paper-thin walls it seems and you can hear people speaking in the next room - goodness knows what it would be like if they were rowing!! Also the lack of carpeting means that you hear every footstep, both in the rooms and in the corridors. One couple had a room next to the lifts and heard everyone getting in and out all night. Two couples had rooms that were overlooked by the pool area which meant they had to keep their blinds closed at all times. We had a front facing room which I have to say was only noisy if you left the windows open, but the hair-dryer was broken - reported to reception the first hour we were there- but never repaired. One couple's safe was broken - when reported were told that it had been like that for a while!!!All agreed the reception staff were polite but not particularly helpful or interested. We didn't have breakfast because it seemed expensive when we booked. Lots of cafes nearby offer more choice and better value. The free internet was a plus and the chambermaid was a gem - we could not fault the cleanliness. Overall - great location, clean rooms, noise factor and desk-staff attitude let it down.

If you value peace and quiet don't stay here. The rooms are nice, the staff are fine but this place is noisy: no carpet in the halls so you hear everyone else walking through at all hours; no carpet in the rooms so all noise reverberates. The staff are OK although not as helpful as I have experienced at other hotels in Spain. Avoid the breakfast at this hotel - lthere are ots of options within a few blocks. This hotel has a great location but there are others nearby that I would try first. I won't be staying here again.

The decor of the hotel is quite nice with brick walls in the rooms that end up looking quite stylish. The rooms are sparse and the single bed's very narrow, but also comfortable. The double room was spacious. The toilet is also spacious and has enough space for a few people's toiletries. There is free wifi, you have to ask for the code from the reception. Signal in my room was okay. There is a very small outdoor pool at the hotel, but I didnt get to try it. There is breakfast available for 13 euros, but it's very basic. Any warm food, and there's only three choices (some chorizo and eggs) and none of them were good, so you are better of eating somewhere in the neighborhood. There's tons of little cafe's and restaurants in the area. The hotel area is excellent and it's only about a 8 minute walk to Ramblas and the downtown area. Just far enough that you'll have some peace and quiet at the hotel.

Just returned from Barcelona - cold but amazing place, buildings, shops and food excellent. Our travel agent suggested Hotel Balmes as we could not get availability in Gravina. We looked at reviews on Trip Advisor and they seemed Ok for went for it. This is 3 star and there are good and very bad points depending on your priorities. Our first experience was not the best as we advanced booked a double non-smoking room. When we checked they tried to sell us an upgrade to an executive room for an extra E20 per night, but we did not feel it was necessary. When were taken up to the room it was a twin and stank, I mean stank of smoke. They did not inform us of this when we checked in, but told me when I went to check - they told me were fully booked, no apology - even though they had already offered an alternative executive room!, which as this was their mistake seemed poor and their attitude was totally indifferent. So we slept in it and thank god were moved the next day (or at least we though it would be better). GOOD POINTS - Breakfast great, times good and lots of choice and nice waitresses. - Location excellent for exploring sights, metro, nice shops and restaurants. - Hotel spotless. - Free internet access if you can get on it as only 1 PC. BAD POINTS - The walls are paper thin – we could hear every cough and movement in all the surrounding rooms of which there seemed to be many at every corner of the hotel. We had our fair share of noise some well into and in the middle of the early hours but I dread to think if you got someone who snored next door - then God help you! We thought it was just a one off the 1st night in the smoke room but the noise problem was inherent in the hotel structure as there are clearly no cavities between the rooms. If you are a person who likes sleep – you should AVOID this hotel. - Reception staff could not care less, they did not even say hello when we went in and out of the hotel, it was clear they were not happy in their work! Having said apart from the fact we were quite tired as did not get great sleep Barcelona is fantastic and Hotel Omm is a must for a relaxing drink after dinner.

Hotel was wonderful value for money. Rooms were very clean, comfortable and serviced meticulously each day. Excellent choice at breakfast with a selection of hot dishes offered every second day. Free internet facility in the hotel foyer area and a free safe facility in each bedroom. Two metro stations within easy walking distance - buy a 10-journey ticket at the easy to use vending machines within the metro stations. Ten-minute walk to the top of La Rambla. Agree with previous reviewer about the high quality tapas bar just round the corner. Would also recommend El Glop on the Rambla Catalunya - about 6-minute walk from hotel. Have stayed in a number of hotels in Barcelona - the Balmes ranks among the best.

Friendly hotel with English speaking reception who were very helpful, gave us a map and free entrance to exhibition on arrival. We had a duplex with 2 flat screened TVs - one in the bedroom and one in sitting area. Everything spotlessly clean. Quite quiet room as requested, as previous stay on the Ramblas meant a week of little or no sleep. ( only 20min walk to Las Ramblas though) We preferred this location as we were surrounded by good shops, bars and restaurants. You must go the the Cerveseria Catalana a little way down Carrer de Mallorca - absolutely fabulous tapas and buzzing atmosphere all day. We had breakfast there as we didn't want to pay 13 Euros in the hotel as we both only eat very little in the morning. However, the breakfast display looked impressive. We found the area in the evening great and it wasn't as touristy as further down towards The Ramblas. Close to Ramblas Catalunya and Passeig Garcia for mucho shopping interspersed with cafe and cakes. The Caio Bella cocktail Bar on the corner was good too, with friendly staff and free tapas. Altogether a very good trip and I would cerytainly recommend this Hotel and use it myself again.

We stayed at this hotel for 6 days in August and September of 2007. We had to be in Barcelona and area for business and found the hotel ideally located.We stayed 1 night upon arrival and then had to stay in Tarragona for 1 night, followed by another 5 nights at the Balmes. We asked the staff for the same room upon our return from Tarragona and they were very helpful and gave us an identical room upon return. Very clean,modern and ideally located to everything Barcelona has to offer. Breakfast not included, but -if you sign up for the entire stay- the price is lowered to Euro 6.50 from the standard Euro13.Very nice breakfast buffet and the staff will prepare boiled/fried eggs if desired(as well as espresso or cappucino).Underground parking is somewhat tight, but staff will park car if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.Nice restaurants ( I suggest Tragaluz)in the area and shopping only moments away.Very good value and we will stay there again.

I disagree with some of the negative comments about this hotel. We found this hotel to be very well taken care of and the rooms to be beautifully clean with updated bathrooms and features. The staff was very helpful especially when we needed to find a local gym to exercize at while we were there. In addition, the pool is a great way to rest up in the sun after a long day of sightseeing to get you ready for a night out on the town! They even have free internet in the lobby. The only thing we found amusing was the sound of water in the walls anytime the rooms next to us flushed. We actually found that pretty relaxing as long as you didn't focus on the fact that it was a toilet. Overall, I'd recommend a stay here.

We stayed at the Balmes for 3 nights in August 07. We booked an executive room, which was on the small side but was still very satisfactory. The great benefit of this room was that we had our own private terrace with sun loungers, as well as a table and chairs on the terrace. The hotel in general was very nice. I found the staff to be friendly and very helpful. Having the pool was definitely a plus, especially for the weather in August. The hotel's location is perfect, within walking distance of Ramblas, as well as some really nice shops! I wouldn't recommend the breakfast in the hotel, however - it's not worth it for the price and there are a lot of places nearby where you can get a cheaper but tastier meal! This is definitely above average for a 3star hotel and I would recommend it to others.