Sitges Spain questions

P.S. - spending 4 days in Barcelona too. Looking forward to it! Just wanted to have some beach time and recovery mode prior to super busy tour. Is Sitges a cool place? If anyone has visited, love to get your feedback.

It's been several years since I've been, but it's a nice, fairly modern (certainly by European standards), beach town. Pretty beach promenade lined with palm trees, and plenty of restaurants/cafes in the central area between the train station and the beach. I've not been there in peak season (July/August) so I don't know if it gets too crowded at that time of the year (probably it does), in case you go there during the peak of summer.

Our favorite spot in Sitges was the beach bar Sausalito (yes!), at Passeig Marítim, 55. Googling suggests it's permanently closed (boo!), but you might wander down that way and see if maybe it was a temporary closure or something else has taken its place. It was out of the busy areas, which was part of its charm.

Sitges can be great, but it also gets overrun on party weeks. When will you be there?

Thanks to all for your feedback! I appreciate it.

Will be there in mid- September.

I would not describe it as a small place. It's certainly not an undiscovered wooden village. But it's very nice, with (1987) a very wide, flat beach, I remember that the tap water in the hotel was slippery feeling in the shower, either softened or salty. Even in 1987 there were knock-off "American" tee shirts for sale everywhere.

The biggest party week of the year runs through the 10th of September, so it will be a bit crazy until that winds down. (And way more expensive than normal then, too.)

We go to Sitges for 3-4 weeks every summer (late June to late July). I think you have a great idea to go there to get over jet lag. So, when thinking about going there, the transportation is easy from the airport (you can take the bus, the train, or a taxi). Once you're there, finding a hotel room shouldn't be a problem, but think about what you're looking for before you book your room. For example, location is key. Do you want to be near the epicenter of night life? If not, you can start thinking about other areas. We've stayed at Hotel Santa Maria (second favorite), Calipolis (first favorite), Parrots, Hotel Los Globos (a really nice, small, place), and Terramar (too far from the town center). Budget usually dictates location and amenities (as always). If you'd like to be on the beach, near the beach, near the town center, far from the town center, near the Puerto (nice, but expensive), it's up to you. I highly recommend finding a place with air conditioning (not all places have it). If you're near the town center, you can walk to most places, including museums, churches, shops, beaches and restaurants. The train station (and bus stop) are not far from the town center. It's a short-ish walk to the beach front or the town center.

Do you plan to reach Sitges after check-in time (3:00 or so)? If so, maybe a place a little away from the Calle del Pecado, so you can get some rest. Check out the San Sebastian part of town - Very nice. I'd encourage you to use Hotels.com to read reviews of the hotels.

Buena suerte y buen viaje!

-Marc/Massachusetts

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all of the thoughts and feedback! It looks like I will be there right after the busy festival, so that is a good thing for me! While I’m sure festival is a lot of fun, at this stage of my trip I’m looking for some “quiet time.”
Marc- thank you for all of your detailed information- I truly appreciate the effort you put into your response. I looked at all of the hotels that you mentioned as being in a great location and I’m thinking that the Hotel Calipolis looks fantastic! They all do, but I especially like that I could book an ocean view room. Little splurge for sure- but I have a year before my trip so have some time to save a little extra! Thanks for the advice- this is exactly what I love about being a part of this forum!
Thank you, thank you!
Lisa

P.S. looked at some of the beach located hotels in Barcelona for those dates, and they were INSANELY expensive for my budget. ( for one- 3 days there cost as much as my entire RS Tour)
After more research and all of the advice gathered here, I’m happy to visit a new place, Sitges. Thanks Marc- I booked an ocean view room at Hotel Calipolis. Love the location right in the center of everything, since I won’t have a car. I’ll take the train or bus from the airport- thanks for the tips. It looks beautiful and has great reviews. Thanks everyone else that responded- appreciate it!
From the Ultra- planner (one year in advance haha),
Lisa