Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BALCONIES, VIEWS AND NOISE
Almost all hotels and
pensións
in Barcelona have at least some rooms with a
balcony
over
the street or square. These tend to be the brightest rooms in the building and, because of
the obvious inherent attraction, they usually cost more than the other rooms. However, it
can't be stressed enough that rooms facing onto Barcelona's streets are often noisy. Traffic
is a constant presence (including the dawn street-cleaners) and, in a city where people are
just getting ready to go out at 10pm, you can be assured of a fair amount of pedestrian
noisetoo,particularlyintheoldtown,andespeciallyatweekends.Soundproofedwindows
and double-glazing deal partly with the problem, but you tend not to have this luxury in
cheaper
pensións
-wherethrowingopenthewindowsmaybetheonlywaytogetsomeair
in the height of summer anyway. Bring earplugs if you're at all concerned about having a
sleepless night.
Alternatively, ask for an
internalroom
(
habitacióninterior
). It's true that most buildings
are built around a central air or lift shaft, and your view could simply be a lime-green
wall 1m away and someone's washing line. However, some places are built instead around
an internal patio, so your room might overlook a pot-plant terrace or garden - and you
shouldn't get any street noise.
THE RAMBLAS
Hostal Benidorm
Ramblas 37 933 022 054,
hostalbenidorm.com
;
Drassanes;
of young tourists. Plain rooms are available for one to five people, all wit
h sa
tellite TV and
a/c, bathtubs or showers, and a balcony and Ramblas view if you're lucky.
€75
Hostal Mare Nostrum
Ramblas 67, entrance on c/de Sant Pau 2 933 185 340,
hostal-
marenostrum.com
;
Liceu;
map
.
A cheery Ramblas
pensión
whose English-speaking man-
agement offers comfortable double, triple and family rooms with satellite TV and a/c. The
recently updated rooms - all are en suite - are
mode
rn and double-glazed against the noise,
and some come with balconies and street views.
€100
Hotel Eurostars Ramblas Boquería
Ramblas 91-93 933 435 461,
eurostarsramblas-
boqueria.com
;
Liceu;
map
.
Snappy little boutique rooms in a small three-star hotel right
outsidetheBoqueriamarket.There'snotmuchspace,butallyouneed
ison
thedoorstep,and
the soundproofing is good so you get a street view without the racket.
€150
Hotel H1898
Ramblas 109, entrance on c/de Pintor Fortuny 935 529 552,
hotel1898.com
;
Catalunya;
map
.
TheformerHQofthePhilippinesTobaccoCompanygot
an eye-popping refit, adding four grades of rooms (the standard is “Classic”) in deep red,
