By Metro to Hotel From Barcelona Sants Estacion

Depending on where your hotel is, you might be better to take the airport shuttle bus. It stops at both terminals, near Sants (at Placa Espanyola) and at Placa Catalunya. It's also cheaper and faster. From there you can take a taxi. I recommend the taxi since you will be new to town and it can be hard to find your way around at first, will be hauling heavy luggage and sometimes just paying a little extra is well worth it.

I agree that you should make it easy on yourself by taking the Aerobus, and then a taxi if you need it within the city, which would not likely cost more than 10 euros. Save the subway for days without luggage.

Barcelona's airport is reasonably close to downtown and its taxis relatively inexpensive.
Do not make things too stressful or strenuous for yourselves for the sake of a few euros.

While indeed there are some stations without elevators/escalators to the street level, most do. Same with the bus network, most buses are adapted for wheelchairs -not your case I know, just pointing it out.

But as Douglas, Laura and djp_syd mentioned, it's best to get a taxi. A taxi from the airport to a central destination will cost around 35-40€ (under normal circumstances). Save your energy for the metro for when you don't carry any luggage.

Still, if you wanted to go by other means, please provide the exact address and I'll be pleased to suggest a route.

As per map of the metro network... there's this "unofficial" map created by a local guy which indicates which station might be more "complicated". Note the map's rather oriented to wheelchair users so a "skull" doesn't mean for example there's no escalator to the street: http://www.mapametrobarcelona.net/mapas-metro/mapa-metro-barcelona-accesibilidad-2014-01.jpg

My thanks to all for their advice. Clearly, the use of Metro with luggage appears to be a non-starter! Will likely combine best ideas for lowest cost by taking the Aerobus to Placa Espanya , and a cab to our hotel , the NH Barcelona Eixample on Carrer de Valencia, about eight blocks away. If someone feels a a taxi from Placa Catalunya is better option, please let me know.

Aerobus is 5.90 euros one way per adult.
Perhaps email your hotel and ask them the approx taxi fare to both airport and Plaza Catalunya.
Weigh up the difference, and weigh up your luggage too !!

If you rather take the Aerobus:

1.) Aerobus departs from both T1 and T2 at the airport, but are different lines. Tickets are bought on board and paid cash to the driver.

2.) Your stop should be: Gran Via-Urgell (http://www.aerobusbcn.com/en/lines)

3.) then there's a short walk, four blocks, to the hotel (http://bit.ly/1KUE6FW)

For info -and for other calculations when walking the Eixample district-, as a rule of thumb, a block is considered to be around 130 yards...

Extra info: map of districts http://bit.ly/BCNdistricts and map of neighbourhoods http://bit.ly/BCNhoods

I agree with the others that the AeroBus is the easiest way to travel in from the airport. There's a large luggage rack in the middle of bus where you can place larger luggage items.

One other suggestion. If you could switch your reservation to the NH Barcelona Centro, that's within easy walking distance from Placa Catalunya (about five minutes once you learn the route), and located one street off La Rambla. It's a great location!

The Aerobus is the best and it leaves about every 5 minutes! I found the Metro to be confusing. Sometimes I would be looking to transfer from one line to another only to find that I had been on a commuter train (looked the same to me) and had to leave the station, walk to a different entrance and enter the Metro area. I seemed to have read that there are 3 companies that operate Metro lines so it's a bit overwhelming. Buses are often an easier option if you can find a bus map. Metro maps are everywhere but buses, not so much. I took the bus to Parc Guell and Montjuic and it seemed easier than the Metro and got you closer to where you need to go.

I'm afraid not Dave, the metro system is operated by a single public company: TMB (Metropolitan Transports of Barcelona), same than the city day bus network -with exceptions: some lines going to the suburbs, the Aerobus and the hoho buses. Having said that, note that aside the metro, there are two train companies (which travel underground once in the city, but not to be confused with the metro): FGC which runs provincial trains and RENFE/Rodalies which runs regional trains.

For bus maps, simply look for them in the bus stops, most do have them. They're located in the back of the glass panel -that is, facing outwards, not inwards.