B N.
Yelp
Returning from a Mediterranean cruise to Barcelona on July 1, 2018, we decided to stay 2 days in Barcelona but in a different neighborhood than La Rambla where we stayed before the cruise, just for diversity. We chose Barcelo Sants Hotel based on the description on Hotels.com and its high rating (4.4). We booked online on May 28, 2018. It was a regrettable mistake. The hotel is a big, sleek glass edifice built above a large and very busy fast trains station with connections to many cities in the EU. Its location provides obvious easy access to not only train transportation but also to buses (local, transfers, Hop-On Hop-Off) and taxis.
The train station had many fast food restaurants including McDonald, cafes and shops making it very convenient for a coffee and small snack anytime. There were also many restaurants at walking distance of the hotel but for the price and/or quality most were not worth trying except for one, La Villa restaurant pizzeria. Otherwise, there was no other point of interests.
The hotel's Orbital Bar was over-priced, the restaurant was deserted and might be for a good reason; we took a look and did not dare to try.
The hotel interior has the theme of a space station or star ship. The design is modern, minimalistic, geared toward functionality hence cold and industrial. The facility was very clean. Considering the summer heat in Barcelona (temp. 23-26 C or 75-80's F) the lobby was comfortably cooled however the hallways and common areas on the floors were hot as if there was no air conditioning at all. Our room was cooler than the hallway but not cool and got very warm midday. The thermostat indicated that "auto cool" was set at 18 C (64 F) which certainly was neither true/correct nor energy efficient in the summer. The "auto heat" was also set at 18 C, that would be very energy efficient in the winter. Furthermore, the option to change the settings was disabled. Being both New Englanders and Floridians, we are very familiar with winter cold and summer heat, air-conditioned spaces, comfortable ambient temperatures and energy conservation.
The large window was very nice, allowing natural light and a nice view, but the shade had to down to decrease the heat during midday.
The bathroom facilities were nice, worked very well, especially the shower. However, the set up was not designed for privacy except for the toilet being enclosed. The bathroom set up was designed for a single occupant or for intimate multiple occupants. The beds and pillows were very comfortable.
Check-in at the desk where the actual human interaction occurred, was the most disappointing. Unfortunately, I did not get the name of the desk persons, so I would have to call them Clerk #1 and Clerk #2. We arrived at the hotel around 09:00, we knew it was earlier than the check-in time. We showed our Hotel.com booking receipt to Clerk #1 and was told that check-in was at 14:00, no more, no less. We asked if we could leave our luggage in their hold area. She conferred with Clerk #2 then we proceeded to tag the luggage and put them away. I asked her where to go to catch the Hop-on Hop-off bus, showed her our tickets and she nicely gave me a bus map and pointed out the stops.
Before 14:00 there was already a long line at check-in. Clerk #2 took care of me. Her verbal interaction and demeanor were minimalistic and borderline on rudeness. An AI/automated check-in would have been more polite, objective and efficient. Two incidents occurred during my encounter with her while she was taking care of my check-in, made me wonder if there was a personal issue on her part: first an Asian, English speaking gentleman cut through the line and asked for a parking ticket, she told him he had to make the queue; second a white Spanish speaking man cut the line and asked her for a favor to contact someone, she told him to write down the information and she made the call while taking care of my check-in. Once she completed my check-in, I asked her for information about restaurants, she told me I had to wait 10 minutes and she will speak to me about restaurants.
Since we already paid in full when we booked, Express check-out was painless as all we had to do was drop the key cards in the box at the front desk.
In summary, Barcelo Sants Hotel would be an excellent choice for the overnight/fly-by traveler needing a nice rest, a quick bite before another travel connection. It was not a place to linger. These are just plain facts of our experience, you be the judge.
