Vincci Maritimo Barcelona

I stayed at the Vincci Maritimo in Barcelona for an extended weekend along with a good friend of mine. On arrival we have been warmly welcomed and had been able to choose a non-smoking room (1st floor is non-smoking floor, upper floors are smoking). The room's design truely has been beautiful, very modern, with dark wood, glas, nice lighting (See the halogen spots above the bedside table and especially the illuminated glass painting between the bed and the cupboard.). The bathroom also has been amazingly designed, the washstand has been surrounded by tinted glas, although itself had been made out of transparent glas. Despite the design the room has been nicely equipped with a mini bar, color TV (a lot of international TV channels), one phone in bed room and one in bath room, air condition (with personal temperature and fan control), specially coated windows (Nobody could sneak a peek in your room, but you could look outside from the inside.). The breakfast had not been included in our rate, but has been reasonably priced. The selection of bread, rolls, cakes and pastries, fruit, yoghurt, cold cuts, cheese, cereals and hot stuff (sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs) was a bit above usual central European standards. The restaurant and the public areas as well as the rooms themselves have been very clean. Even the glass washstand looked shiny as new after the room had been serviced. The hotel is very closely situated at a tube station ("Selva de Mar" on the L4), from where it took you 4 stations to one of the major nightlife hotspots ("Ciutadella Villa Olimpica"), 5 stations to the trendy beaches ("Barceloneta") and 8 stations to the downtown ("Passeig De Gràcia"). By the way, the underground trains are all air-conditioned. Anyhow the Maritimo hotel itself is also within beach reach.

I've just come back from a five night stay at the Vincci Maritimo, a hotel I got through a deal with expedia. The hotel is well situated if you don't mind a walk into town or a quick and cheap metro stop. Near the beach, close to a shopping centre (including a supermarket where I bought breakfast foods instead of paying the 12-15 Euros charged by the hotel which was too large for my budget), next to a park, and near some stunning architecture, it has lots to recommend it. Some comments on the size of the showers already on trip advisor - just to clarify, this refers to the showerheads, which are the size of small dinner plates and give a tropical-waterfall type shower. They were amazing and come highly recommended! We had problems with our air conditioning which were never fully addressed, although I did not complain so much as it wasn't such a major issue for us. However, the hotel did respond quickly in sending a handy man who tried his best to get it fixed. Our taxi from the airport cost 31 Euros, which was worth it to avoid the hassle of dealing with public transport in a strange city. However, returning to the airport we caught the metro (one change) to Placa Catalunya and then the train out. You could do this for 6 Euros, and it's an easy option for travellers on a budget. Next time I go to Barcelona, I'd go straight on the public transport. If you arrive late at night, I'd recommend heading to the restaurants in the shopping centre as it's so close. They're a bit 'chainy', but cheap, and there's a variety of choice. For a snack, the ice cream (Dino's) on the bottom floor is amazing, and cheap - about 40 different flavours! Avoid the Port Olympic restaurants, where we felt hassled by the waiters into eating a sub-standard meal with a service charge of 3 Euros each... Barceloneta has a nicer atmosphere and a better variety of eating places. In short, unless you're totally impatient about getting into town, don't worry about the location, it's an easy journey to the main sights and being away from the city centre, close to the beaches and the shopping centre, and with good transport links (I'd choose the metro and walking over the expensive tourist bus) has a lot to recommend it. It appears to be an up-and-coming area and I'm sure the hotel will take advantage of it!

The hotel is situated in a newly developed area of Barcelona, Diagonal Mar, only a short walk from the Metro, Selva De Mar. The hotel is new with modern decor with a restaurant, cafe/bar and japanese style garden with outdoor seating. The hotel is very clean and the staff are pleasant. Unfortunately the staff are not the most efficient of people. The restaurant and cafe/bar seem to share too few staff resulting in very slow service. The maid service resulted in the room being kept very clean, but irritating things such as the minbar not being refilled and the soap, shampoo, tissue paper not being replenished means our recommendation for this hotel can only be that of average, which was disappointing.

Just arrived back from this hotel. Had a wonderful time, it is slightly out of 'town', but very easy to travel back and forth too. Metro is about 4 minutes walk away, so is a large shopping mall, Diaganol Mar. Use the touristic sightseeing buses, very good value especially if you buy a two day ticket, you can use the green route to get back to your hotel as well. The beach is nearby and really clean and relaxing. Really lovely restaurant in Diaganol Mar called Munchos de Barcelona, dont be put off by the naff logo, food, staff, price were excellent. Go to the little fruit market just off Las Ramblas and have a drink at the back with the locals rather than the expensive bars along Las Ramblas themselves. T10 metro ticket is good value, 10 trips which can include the bus within one trip if the total travel is under an hour. Can be used by two people which is convenient. Cost 6.30 euros, as opposed to 1.15euro per trip to the centre of Barcelona. Hotel is stylish, quiet, and comfortable, lovely bathroom, overlooks a park. Would definately stay again.

My husband and I stayed at the Vincci Maritimo for a week in early May. The location is very handy - the train and subway are just a short walk away, the mall is a block and half away (and contains a huge grocery store), and a nice park is right next door. The service was kind of weird - for example, we were told we should have tapas in the bar, but the bar was always completely deserted, with no tapas or drinks whatsoever. And the concierge was very pleasant and willing to help, but never provided any actual useful information. And there was no free coffee in the lobby early in the morning (although it was prominently advertised). We did enjoy the restaurant and breakfast, however, which was a little overpriced but convenient and tasty (dinner menu offers something translated as "duck tights" - anyone know what that might be?). They played "Rod Stewart Sings the Classics" over and over and over again the entire week we were there. The neighborhood seemed a little sketchy at first but is actually just fine. Barcelona just has a lot of big apartment complexes and graffiti! We had no problems at all. The area is very quiet too - pleasant, with families walking little dogs in the park and so forth. The room was clean and the bathroom was nice but the bed was very, very hard. The bed seemed OK at first but after a couple of nights I almost couldn't stand it anymore. I actually had a bruise on my hip from sleeping on my side. It was very miserable to come home from a long day of walking and sightseeing and not have a comfortable place to sit or sleep. As a result, I would not stay at this hotel again.

If you like the minimal feel of this hotel you will love it but unfortunatly the minimal also applies to the standard of service.On arrival i decided of to take drink of beer from the mini bar only to find it full of "toilet water" after being sick and complaining for 48 hours I finally got to see the manager the free meal that resulted in the empty restaurant (ts like a ghost town) resulted in the wrong starter being delivered and a waitress stood next to our table talking loudly for 45 mins to the only other diner who was clearly a regular.Very very poor on customer service Location fine, tube close,beach close but i will not return. Barcelona,guadi breathtaking!!!!!

Lovely modern hotel , rooms clean & well presented , huge beds , staff always friendly & helpful , location ok if you want to be nearer the beaches felt like a very safe location . We only ate breakfast at the hotel but found the choice excellent which we always had outside in the Japanese Garden. Quite near is the metro ( line 4 yellow line ) which got us wherever we wanted to go , also buses 7 & 36 stop close to the hotel. The Park Diagonal Mar is fine for a stroll on your way to or from the Beaches, we preffered the 2nd length of beach because the sand seemed cleaner , we also went to the little beach bar/cafe on the Mar Bella beach where we got a drink or meal at night , a nice way to round off a busy day sight seeing! The Diagonal shopping centre is just along the road from the hotel , and is open quite late. We had no trouble with pick pockets at any time during our holiday , just use your common sense and keep your belongings secure and be aware of whats going on around you. There are a few grotty areas , and building works going on but overall Barcelona is a lovely place with lots to see , and a lovely climate . We had a Barcelona Pass card for most public transport , which is a must to see the city , apart from the open top bus which an great way to see all the sights when you first get there.We would certainly go again & stay at this hotel.

My girlfriend and I went to barcelona for a nice get-away and stayed for three nights in the Vincci Maritimo. Vincci Maritimo is located somewhat outside main the sightseeing area of Barcelona, but it's a five minute walk to the subway station, from where it is around 15 minutes to the Ramblas. The area is still under construction, so at certain point the neighbourhood can look a bit crappy. But there is a big mall in the neigbourhood for shopping The room was clean and spacious. I didn't liked the floor, because they have used vinyl instead of carpet, it felt very cold when walking barefoot in the morning. The big shower in the bathroom was great. You really feel refreshed after taken the shower. I didn't feel very comfortable with staff of the hotel, they just weren't friendly. Conclusions: lovely hotel, but the staff should improves it's service.

Superb hotel and fantastic room with great cleanliness. Food in the hotel was generally good with a wide variety to chose from. Some staff were helpful whereas others were not at all. Great swimming pool with an amazing view from balcony (worth checking out at night can see the whole of Barcelona) Perfect chill out area and had the privilege of staying up there till midnight. The only negative comment I would have to express about this hotel is that there is absolutely no privacy in the bathrooms, a clear glass slide along door was provided (not to nice when you want some privacy to go to the toilet) In my opinion this was a very peculiar set out, this might be worth future customers noting because the staff were not to keen on room switching. Also check out time is at noon - if your flight is not till the evening then this might be worth noting too as they do not provide a separate shower area before the journey home which is a bit annoying when your sweating in that heat! However luggage is looked after at reception until departure time. The hotel is a little out of the way of the main sites of Barcelona but is only a few minutes away on the metro or tram (both well air conditioned). It is always a little overwhelming being in a big city which you don't know much about where no one speaks your language, but to be honest it is like any big city where there is always the chance of danger i.e being mugged etc but my guess is, is that is probably safer than London! I didnt notice anything mega scary at all about the location of the hotel, just be extra wary at night if walking back to the hotel and cling on to your bags firmly and use common sense! If you like shopping and the beach then this hotel is perfect as shopping centre Diagnol Mar is only 5 mins away from hotel as the same for the beach! Shops fantastic and lovely centre with a variety of restaurants. Enjoy your stay overall we had a great time despite the little inconveniences.

Before going to Barcelona I was at my wits end about which hotel to choose, as there seems to be so many in lots of different areas of the city. I ended up choosing Vincci Maritimo Hotel. I was concerned by some of the reviews but I have to say that I really do disagree with the negative ones. I am 24 and enjoy walking around and exploring a city, however I went with my mother who has a bad back and doesn't always like to walk so much and in the end we both felt that it satisfied what we both required from a holiday and this was mainly to do with the location of the hotel. The point is that the subway in Barcelona is excellent all the lines connect to each other one way or another meaning that you can get everywhere. If you don't like taking the subway then don't stay at the vincci, but it is worth mentioning that the subway is clean all sorts of people use it both young and old. I was advised by someone who lived in barcelona to stay on the yellow line which is one of the subway lines and the Vincci Maritimo is literally on the next block to the subway stop Selva de Mar which is on the yellow line. This takes you to passeig de gracia which is the street with the different houses created by gaudi and others (casa batilo is lovely), you can change trains to get to a stop right next to la sagrada familia as well. All of this is within 7/8 stops from Selva de Mar and therefore just takes about 10 mins max. There is also a pick up point for the main tourist bus in the city just on the other corner, which takes you all round the city to all its sights. So it is very well connected. On the matter of the 'dodgy' neighbourhood. Yes the hotel is out of the centre therefore there are residential areas which are not 'souped up' for tourists that surround the hotel. But there are some beautiful apartments behind the hotel too. Nobody seems to have mentioned the park diagonal mar, which is a lovely park that has some abstract metal sculptings that maze all the way round it, which are lit up at night and there are varying types of water features, swans even seem to swim on the man made pond. Just behind this park is the Diagonal Mar shopping centre which is like a shopping mall with lots of clothes stores which is open until around 10 I think, again this takes around 4 mins to walk to at a maximum! The shopping centre has a range of restaurants inside as well and we eat in the italian one and believed it to be one of the best meals we had all holiday! There aren't that many restaurants in the area which is a little sad, but I think this area is up and coming and may well in the future. Beyond the shopping centre is the magnificent forum centre where there are important meetings held etc, but is an angular shiny building that is worth looking at if interested in design. The beach is about 5 mins slow walk from the hotel and always has a lifeguard. There is a nice bar/cafe on the sand which serve snacks just at the point where you would walk onto the beach from the direction of the hotel. I think it depends on what you want from Barcelona if you want to be right in the core of the city and out enjoying the nightlife every night, maybe you should stay closer to the centre. But the thing I liked about the hotel is that I could leisurely walk to the beach, like I was having a beach holiday but also jump on the subway (or the tram = very nice) and find myself in the centre of barcelona with las ramblas only mins away and all the sites I needed to see. The hotel is nice itself, very clean and well kept. All the staff we spoke to except one woman at reception who I think is just a bit grumpy - were extremely polite and welcoming. The breakfast was a buffet of fruit, cheese, breads and pastries, cold meats etc pretty standard but very enjoyable. The only let down was the absence of a pool, but you don't really need one because the med is round the corner! I think that some of the reviews of this hotel have been a bit narrow minded and I believe that if you get your bearings quickly you will realise the potential it has. Hotels on passeig de gracia seemed very nice and i'm sure if I was willing to spend huge amounts of money I would have stayed there too, but I liked being near the beach out of the madness. Hope this helps! Enjoy Barcelona it has everything! x