Hotel Arai

We loved this hotel so much, I'd go so far as to say it is my favourite ever. The welcome was warm, the place is pristine and the rooms lovely. They are large enough so that if (like us) you have the sofa bed pulled out it can stay out without getting in your way. The sofa bed is also a very good quality one and my daughter was really comfortable in it.||Our room was on the 3rd floor overlooking the square - for the first 3 nights you could only hear a 'hum' of conversation and it didn't bother us at all. On the last night it was awful because a couple of groups decided to start squealing at 3am. But I honestly don't think you could find anywhere in Barcelona that isn't at risk of hearing street noises.||Super powerful shower which never ran cold, small kitchenette (which we didn't use).||The rooftop pool was a delight - small, and only a handful of loungers/chairs but just perfect to have a cooling soak after the heat of the city. There's no real shade up there though, which would have made it perfect. The hotel provide towels for the pool and they are lovely big waffle towels, it would perhaps be an idea to leave these for guests in the room as sometimes there were none out. It would also have helped as you could use it to give yourself some modesty when walking up to/back from the pool.||You can get breakfast delivered to your room, but we opted to walk to a bakery for coffee & pastries in the mornings. There are countless places to eat close by, but if you're unsure the hotel staff will point you in the right direction.||On our last day we checked out and asked the hotel to store the bags as we didn't leave until after 7pm. They happily did this and also made it clear that we were welcome to continue to use the pool, shower etc until we left Barcelona. This was really appreciated!||Thank you Arai, if we come back to Barcelona this is definitely where we will stay x

I visited back in April, but wanted to leave a review because I had a phenomenal experience at this hotel. Decided to book a night in a deluxe suite for myself after a very long travel day to decompress. After two connecting flights, each being 9 hours each, (and trying to figure out the metro system after being awake for 32 hours) it was an absolute delight to finally check in, being greeted so warmly, and to see such a beautiful space waiting for me. The concierge was absolutely delightful and pleasant, with the room being an absolute architectural marvel. Due to the location (being within a central courtyard) it may get a little noisy outside but it honestly wasn't an issue as everything else more than made up for it. The deluxe suite had an inclusive kitchenette with complimentary beverages and a thoughtful note. The room had an included smart TV, temperature control, full lounge seating, fridge, and multiple appliances. The exposed brick wall in conjunction to the vintage charm of the columns and sconces was such a gorgeous aesthetic choice. The bathroom was also to die for, with the rainfall showerhead and built in lighting adding a beautiful serene touch. I felt as though I was on a honeymoon by myself, and left feeling fully recharged & ready to start my vacation. Couldn't recommend this hotel more if you're looking for a comfortable stay central to Barcelona. Will definitely be back next time, and for a much longer stay 😊❤️

Absolutely Horrible Stay. Do Not Book Here. I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and it was the worst experience of my life. On my last day, I discovered that my safe had been tampered with. I had locked it multiple times (I double-check constantly due to OCD), and yet when I went to check out, realized it was open as I heard no metal sound when I inputted my pin. My $5,000 diamond ring and €1,000 in cash were stolen. When I reported this to management, they were dismissive, offered zero help, and essentially brushed me off. No concern, no investigation, nothing. Completely unprofessional and uncaring. To make matters worse, the hotel itself is low-class and not worth the price. The service is cold and unwelcoming, and after this theft, I felt unsafe and extremely disappointed. I spent 2.5 weeks in Spain staying at multiple places and never once had an issue — only here. If you value your belongings, peace of mind, or basic hospitality, stay far away from this place.

Sewer smell and maintenance at 11pm. Unfortunately, we had a sewer like smell in our room (5th floor) that would come/go in our room when we had the AC running. The staff was never able to figure out why the smell was in the room during our 4 nights. If I had to do it over again, I would have moved to a Marriott property (where I have been Gold Elite for 10+ years). While the staff gave us a 15% discount for 1 night stay, it was still disappointing to have this smell linger in our room. Also, one elevator did not work for most of the stay (which was not a big deal), but it was unfortunate they were doing maintenance at 11pm (and after) right outside of our room. I asked the worker if he could quiet down given the hour and I also asked the front desk for their help. The hotel is in the middle of the city, so I would expect noise, but I would not expect noise to come directly outside of our room by a hotel maintenance worker. We slept with ear plugs in that night. Overall, the location is great. Unfortunately, we will remember the smell of our room the most.

What a fantastic place to stay. The service was perfect, attentive, informative and nothing was too much trouble. The rooms are so quiet and you can’t hear people in the other apartments at all.||The pool was like a little slice a peace from the busy-ness that is Barcelona. A wonderful, peaceful and cool place to come back to after wondering around the surrounding Gothic Quarter.

Absolutely loved our stay here! The staff was amazing, especially Horacio! It was quaint & quiet with an upscale gothic style making you feel you’ve transformed into another era. It’s location was perfect for walking distance to everything! The beds were very comfortable! It is a smaller boutique style hotel but provides everything you will need. While it’s a small hotel with only 3-4 rooms per floor it makes you you feel more like a small studio apartment. It was a perfect location to stay with our family of 4! We felt very safe and loved the accessibility to everything (walking distance to The Cathedral, Picasso Museum, Las Ramblas).

I have stayed in many fancy hotels. The character of this place outshines almost all of them. The hotel is beautiful and perfectly located in the gothic quarter. That staff are some of the friendliest people I have ever met and happily go above and beyond for any request. I couldn't imagine recommending another hotel if you are staying in Barcelona.

Very nice hotel with spacious rooms and great equipment for everything u need for shorter trip to Barcelona. We stayed four nights and had there really nice time. Stuff was extremely helpful and easygoing. Bed are comfortable and small kitchenette is handy when it comes to quick morning coffee or storing water bottles. But cook you will probably not. Around in Gothic quarte there are so many places to eat and explore

Arai hotel is a 4 star hotel with 5 star accommodations. It is located in the heart of the gotchic quarter of Barcelona, making it easy to get to other areas of the city, including the beach. The staff is incredible and love to help with any questions or requests. My mother and I stayed on the top floor which included a large balcony and a hot tub that we could fill at our own leisure. The room itself, while lacking the old charm of the rest of the building, was still gorgeous and spacious, with a large walk in closet and kitchenette. The top floor also has a rooftop pool with a large patio area for lounging after a long day of site seeing. The gym area has a beautiful sauna with windows, so you can admire the charm of the masonry. My only regret is that we could not stay longer

Truly one of the best hotel experiences I've ever had. We arrived in Barcelona exhausted after an early morning flight. The service from the hotel staff was impeccable from start to finish. Javier and Denis went out of their way to try to get our room ready early. When they heard it was our honeymoon the put us in a gorgeous corner room with two balconies, one which overlooked Plaça George Orwell and topped it off with a gift of a bottle of Rioja! The room was so large, comfortable and luxurious that we looked forward to returning to it in the evening and had a hard time leaving it in the morning! It even had a fully equipped kitchen with Nespresso coffee and complimentary water daily. The location in the heart of the Gothic Quarter was amazing. We were able to easily walk or take the metro anywhere we wanted to go in the city. We will surely return when we have the chance.

The hotel is perfectly located in the gothic section of town. The room is super clean, modern and charming. Our room and balcony overlooked the street which a was fun. The customer service was exceptional. We travel a lot and Chavy stood out as providing amongst the best customer service we have ever had. He was so welcoming and helpful every time we saw him. He gave great restaurant recommendations which followed and loved. Cheers to Chavy and the staff. Thank you and happy holiday season

I picked this hotel because it had a little bit of history yet modern at the same time. I didn't get to read much about the building itself but when we got to the room , I was told that there were bits and pieces of the original place ( ie the flooring was kept as part of the back drop for the wall; and the old windows were used for the dresser). The room: very comfortable! I loved the interior of the room! It was a perfect little apartment for a few days . We had a stove / microwave / fridge for us in case we wanted to stay in. Location : decent location in that it's pretty close to the metro/ the markets/ restaurants. However there are lots of dark alley ways to get to the hotel. There were also a lot of graffiti around and at night random people around the neighborhood would offer invitations to "coffee/ smoke shop". It may not be the best places to walk around with kids. However the hotel does feel very safe. I think in general it's not a bad neighborhood.

This was by far one of the best hotels I've ever stayed at. Not only is the hotel beautiful the service of the staff was exceptional! The hotel staff was unbelievably genuine and very helpful. From our first night of stay to the last everything was just amazing! I would most definitely visit this place again and would recommend it to anyone who is visiting the city. The location is very ideal and close to almost all attractions and bus stops. The ambiance, lobby and hotel rooms are very beautiful and clean. The bed was comfortable.

This location can't be beat. We struggled to decide between a hotel and an Aparthotel and we are really glad we picked this Aparthotel. Wow, as they say, location location location... periodically while sitting on our cute balcony we would see small tour groups coming through so the guides could show off the 1600s facade and beautiful restoration of this wonderful building. The rooms have cavernously high ceilings (think 16 feet) and come with a small induction stove, a microwave and a sizeable refrigerator. Great water pressure in the shower, and a MUST in Barcelona - excellent black out shades! Excellent toiletries provided as well. The particular location is perfect - on a quaint little square nestled deep in the gothic quarter. The marble steps and the features point to a bygone era of Beauty and Craftsmanship. The rooms are generous with only one drawback - the minimalist design left us with not much surfaces to put belongings on as we "moved in" for three days. No problem - the cheerful staff quickly located us a couple folding chairs so we could spread out some of our stuff. But the real highlight of the aparthotel??? The full service staff / concierge services that are cheerful, accommodating hosts that work tirelessly to get you the best visit possible to Barcelona. They were so full of knowledge and worked the phones tirelessly for us on restaurant reservations (same day for highly in-demand restaurants!). I arrived on the day of my 10 year anniversary at 11am without a dinner reservation and we really wanted to hit one of the 2/3 Star Michelin restaurants in Barcelona that night (can you say HUGE ask?!?!?)... what can I say - we gave them a list of 4 different 2/3 Michelin Star restaurants, they suggested 3 others and tried all the restaurants periodically through the day to get to each as soon as the staff arrived in the restaurant to grab any cancellations that became available. WOW. Service! Ala the Waldorf! But in a beautiful aparthotel! The outcome? They secured us a reservation at Moments (a must try) and a 2 Star that seems to be headed towards its third star despite only having been open for less than 10 years. Can't say enough good things about the staff at Arai, especially Xavie in the AM, and Luciano, the afternoon/ early evening concierge. Someone in management - take note - your team is providing excellent service!

Great Location nestled in the tiny charming streets of the Gothic District. The design is atheistic, and the natural stone and marble everywhere really makes this place feel super classy & chic. The staff is extremely helpful, prior and during our stay (recommendations, directions, free umbrellas during the rain...). The room was beautiful, bathroom large, and the shower was INCREDIBLE! We enjoyed windows that opened to the lively courtyard, but still could easily sleep in peace. Las Ramblas, Boqueria, Catherdral, all within 5 min walk, and hundreds of wonderful stores, cafes, and restaurants line the streets. Also within walking distance to the metro. The rooftop pool was also a treat. Beautiful views. A little pricey but wirth it for a special occasion. You will definitely be in good hands here and be impressed with the professionalism, beauty and comfort the hotel has to offer. I would give it 5 stars, but I was slightly disappointed by the very small fitness center.

Very accommodating staff, very clean rooms, super safe, an amazing location, and the decor was funky but awesome. We loved our stay here.

The location can't be beat, right in the heart of the Barri Gotic! The hotel was amazing. The staff were amazing! The rooms were amazing! We originally booked the family room, not many places have a room with 2 kids, but they upgraded us to the suite when we checked in. Both rooms had balconies with hot tubs, it was great. One of the nights we stayed there, there was a celebration at the nearby plaza and we watched fireworks directly above us from the balcony, would definitely recommend a stay here!

Amazing and chic boutique hotel located right in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. We paid around $685 USD for three nights divided between three people and I found that to be a bargain. The hotel is within walking distance from Las Ramblas, Boqueria Market, and many Cathedrals. The metro is also right around the corner and can bring you to all parts of town. Basically you're paying for a studio apartment with all hotel amenities. The rooms are huge and can sleep up to four people comfortably. Our room had a king size bed and two couches that also served as sofa beds. I personally claimed one of the smaller sofa beds for myself because it was that* comfortable. There's also a small kitchen stocked with cooking utensils and that was great for my friends and me.!We utilized that kitchen for breakfast and late night munchies in the AM. Amenities and space aside - I also loved the decor and layout of our room. Color scheme was very neutral and we had a room with great natural light shining in during the day. A little loud at night, but it always died down before bedtime. Then again, bedtime for three girls on vacay is like 2-4AM, ha. BUT WHY 4 STARS? This is a small boutique hotel so there's less than a handful of front desk staff and it's not hard to recognize who is who. Everyone was great and seemed genuinely friendly and open to helping us; except for one. The woman we checked in with was rude, and remained rude during the remainder of our stay. At first we thought it was the accent, but why didn't anyone else sound so bitchy? She was always so abrupt when speaking and her tone was always harsh and sort of condescending as if we were stupid. GF, were TOURISTS. Were bound to ask questions. Anyway, another irritating factor was we checked in early Saturday and we asked her about the water show at the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. It's one of Barcelona's top attractions and I til now do not understand how she was able to screw up so hard. She told us the show was from 9:30PM-11:30PM and gave us a map. Great, we thought. That was until we realized she relayed ALL the wrong info. The show is only Fri+Sat from 7:00PM - 8:30PM. She works in a "4 star" hotel in the heart of Barcelona for gods sake. How the hell did she turn 7:00PM - 8:30PM to 9:30PM - 11:30PM? Well thanks to not only a rude woman, but also a woman of no knowledge, my girlfriends and I missed the show on our stay in Barcelona. This one woman alone is enough to knock all the stars off Arai, but she is lucky that the hotel itself and her coworkers made up for all her flaws.

Great hotel. Quiet at night so you can actually get a good night's sleep, but right in the midst of all of the Gothic Quarter greatness. The staff there was fantastic and very hospitable. Would definitely stay there again!

Amazing hotel in every way. Well designed and chic, lovely staff, perfectly appointed rooms, excellent location...what more can you want from a hotel? We traveled with our two young children and the family suite met our needs perfectly. The seating area in the living room became two twin beds at night, which really helped them to sleep well. And when you're traveling internationally with kids, quality sleep is essential. The rooftop deck offered spectacular views of Barcelona. It even had a pool, though we didn't use it. Great hotel!