Good day travelers,
Need, B&B, Boutique Hotel or good hotel recommendations for cities in Spain: San Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona
Hopeful budget of 100-200 euro per night.
Your thoughts about which areas in the above cities we should concentrate our search in would be very helpful.
We are traveling by train.
Many thanks.
Re: Barcelona
Depending on the dates you're travelling, 200€ is not that much. Not so much because of high/low season, which these days seem not to exist anymore, but rather because of which events are around the dates you're visiting (ie. local festivals, international congresses, etc.). At certain times during the year, despite the high number of hotels in the city, prices skyrocket outrageously. In any case, most of the times 100-150€ is a decent budget for a good hotel.
For how long are you visiting? when? which are your preferences in hotels?
Thanks,
We should be in Barcelona in Mid-May for three/four nights.
Prefer centrally located, historic, boutique hotels ideally with outdoor patios. Have had good experiences in B&B's, too.
Loved Hotel Constanza near the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. Very close to the Urquinaona metro and not far from Placa de Catalunya, where the airport buses stop. It is a boutique hotel with a patio, where I met and hung out with some very cool German architects. About 100 euro per night. Lots of places for breakfast nearby.
I did Airbnb in Madrid and had an EXCELLENT loft apartment owned by a landlord with several properties. The neighborhood was the La Latina neighborhood which can't be beat for restaurants and nightlife. PM me if you'd like the exact details.
Emily
Well, if you want to investigate, this is a map I've compiled over time with the BBs and hostals (hotels with basic ammenities, different from "hostels") most recommended by visitors at the Barcelona TripAdvisor forum.
http://bit.ly/hostals_and_BBs_in_BCN
And this would be a map of districts of the city: http://bit.ly/BCNdistricts (and their hoods: http://bit.ly/BCNhoods) so you can get your bearings. Albeit Barcelona has different 'centres' so to speak, the one considered "the centre" would be Plaça Catalunya, in the border of l'Eixample and Ciutat Vella. These two districts do concentrate about 75% of accomodations chosen by visitors. Note though that the city grew out of absorbing exisiting neighbouring towns, each one with its own centre, shops, etc. so outside the above mentioned districts you have plenty of choices that are not residential-only areas but areas with life of its own.
Btw, albeit Barcelona receives tourism all year long, mid May is not a particularly "troublesome" time for visiting the city, you should find good accommodation in the lower range of your budget.
As per boutique hotels -these are never too cheap!- you could have a look at a few here:
http://www.greatsmallhotels.com/spain/barcelona/boutique-hotels
..and if you're looking to splurge yourself, check these: http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/24/the-10-best-hotels-in-barcelona-afitz/ but note these are not within the budget you mentioned.
Wow, thanks Enric and Emily.
Will follow-up on pm info Emily and Enric, you've provided a roadmap for visiting Barcelona; having
dug around for days in past looking for those kind of important links to other destinations, you've saved me and others reading a ton of work, your research is greatly appreciated,
Sundance
My pleasure sundance. Feel free to ask anything else you want.
Madrid Hostal Acapulco. one block off Gran Via and near Puerta del Sol.
Barcelona El Balcon de Born...in the heart of the Born district, old building, with elevator, great hosts...
Hotel Jazz in Barcelona looks good. We currently have a reservation for May at 165€ without breakfast. We are hoping to get into the Spanish club that has an affiliation with the Marine Memorial Club out of S.F., otherwise we'll be at the Jazz.
Whilst I stay privately in Barcelona I have heard LOTS of good things about Hotel Jazz
For San Sebastian I can recommend La Galeria after staying in 2004 - I hope its still as good.
http://www.hotellagaleria.com/
For Madrid I can recommend Hotel Suites Viena after staying in 2009 - it was fantastic.
http://en.suitesviena.com/
In Barcelona we have booked the APARTHOTEL NAPOLS, in Eixample, for under 100 Euros a night for a one bedroom apartment.
We are staying Violetta boutique mid May. I'm excited about the location.
Hi, I don't know about San Sebastian.
But here is a bit of info on Barcelona and Madrid.
In Barcelona I recommend to stay in Gracia. The district is less touristic (traps, pickpockets) than the Ramblas area and still full of life, bars, typical restaurants and central. You can find accommodation between 100-200 easily in this area (see http://bit.ly/1aZmx9D). If you arrive at the centr<al train station Sants it is a few stops (take the Metro L10 and switch in Paralel to L3).
In Madrid everything is very centralized. The closer to "Sol" or "Callao" (Street "Gran Via") the better.
I would suggest Hotel Apartosuites Jardines de Sabatini. Close to Debod Temple, Plaza España and The Royal Palace.. all MUST SEEs ;) See for yourself !! Arriving at Atocha (central train station) is makes sense to take a cab. The distances = prices are manageable.
In Madrid I was very happy with the Hotel Cason Del Tormes. It's one block off of the Gran Via and Plaza De Espana on a quiet side street. I have stayed there twice and will go back again.
