The last leg of our trip was four days in Barcelona, at the Hotel Alexandra, located in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona.  This followed our awesome stay at the Conrad Algarve, by way of Lisbon Airport, where we got to check out the TAP Premium Flagship Lounge. Now, back to Barcelona! There are three Hilton hotels in Barcelona: the Diagonal El Mar on the beach, a flagship Hilton in the business district, and the Alexandra, a Curio Collection.  We ultimately decided on the Hotel Alexandra because its central location was ideal for our heavy sightseeing (vs. relaxing) itinerary and it had generally positive reviews.  Did it meet our expectations?  Find out below in our Barcelona Hotel Alexandra review! 

As a reminder, for internal “house” reviews, we score on the same 1-3 scale we use elsewhere. A 3 indicates that a given category exceeded reviewer expectations, a 2 indicates it met expectations, and a 1 failed to meet expectations. We evaluate the categories we believe are most relevant to the flight, hotel, or lounge experience.

Details

Dates: 9/11/19 – 9/15/19

Room Type: Modernist Room

Price: 960 euros total, via Hilton Honors promotion summer sale (240 euros per night)

Room – 2/3

We booked the Modernist Room, which is the largest non-suite room available.  I have very mixed opinions about the room.  As a room on its own, it was great, if a bit small.  It had a small area for work, a king bed, and a large bathroom – although oddly there was no full-length mirror, much to Mrs. PTI’s dismay.  I really enjoyed – and actually made use of – the balcony, which overlooked Rambla de Catalunya.  The art in the room was also quite nice.  What I did not like was that we had the largest non-suite room, and the room size was comparatively average. 

Perhaps I am naïve to Barcelona city hotels, but I thought the room was a bit small for the room type.  Compared to New York City hotels like the Renwick and Martinique (both Curios), the room was of what I would consider an “average” size.  Compared to other city hotels like the Conrad NYC (FiDi) or the Conrad Seoul, it was a small room.  I think I was a bit disappointed simply because I had splurged for a larger room and it wasn’t that large.  In addition, the room could have used a fresh coat of paint – marks near a bench where guests clearly put their luggage, as well as water stains in the bathroom near the sink, seemed a bit low class for a Curio property. 

Bathroom – 3/3

Excellent bathroom with a large, multi-jet shower, a medicine cabinet which provided good storage, and a separate commode.  The only critique was a single sink vs. double, though Mrs. PTI also noted the lighting was not ideal for putting on makeup. Unfortunately, due to reflection and glare, I only had one usable picture of the sink area.

Breakfast – 3/3

While not as over-the-top as our Conrad Algarve stay, the breakfast was excellent, with lots going for it.  The buffet covered all of the hot food basics, including scrambled and fried eggs, vegetables, fried potatoes, and multiple types of sausage.  A large spread of cheeses and cold cuts, as well as other standard cold options, were also featured.  Finally, a number of pastries – including churros on our last day – were available.  Everything was quite tasty.  All in all – a great spread. 

Status Benefits – 1/3

This is where I’ll be (perhaps?) a bit harsh.  The status benefits for this hotel were decidedly mediocre.  They included two water bottles at check-in (and that’s it – they were not restocked, even when I asked), breakfast (a standard status amenity), high-speed internet (a standard, and often irrelevant, status amenity), and an upgrade if available, (one was not, but they looked after I asked).  That was it.  Perhaps it was because I was coming off the excellent Conrad Algarve benefits, but I was deeply disappointed that a Curio hotel had such minimal benefits. 

Hotel Facilities – 2/3

The hotel featured a gym (not reviewed), a restaurant, and a fantastic patio which included a pool and a bar.  We did not use the pool, but we did use the terrace area for drinks and hanging out with friends who met us in Barcelona.  For a city hotel, these were perfectly acceptable, if average, facilities.

Service – 2/3

Everyone at the hotel was polite, but the service didn’t “wow” in any way.  I found this a little odd since many reviews noted how great the staff were and how they’d “take great care of you.”  No one was bad, but no one amazed me — or even tried to amaze me — either. 

Location – 3/3

The location is where this property really shined, and it was the primary reason we chose it.  The location had several things going for it.  Located off of Passeig de Grácia, the hotel was very near mass transit, including the train (with direct airport access) and metro. It was an easy ~15 minute walk to La Rambla and the Gothic Quarter.  There were numerous excellent restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs nearby.  The location was probably the high point of the Barcelona Hotel Alexandra. 

Barcelona Hotel Alexandra Review Bottom Line – 2/3

The total score is a tough one when it comes to my Barcelona Hotel Alexandra review as I feel like I’m deep in #firstworldproblems land.  The hotel was nice, the room was clean, and we enjoyed our stay.  But for a Curio property in a city full of great hotel options, the “wow” factor simply wasn’t there.  The stay didn’t make me feel like I was dying to come back to the property.  I think the bottom line was I had to pay extra for what was supposed to be a high-end room to get what I would consider a “normal” room size.  The one “wow” on the room was the balcony, which was great… and I forgot to take pictures of it.

For comparison, our friends stayed at the hotel in a standard room and had a very small room that also had maintenance issues – the shower drained poorly (corrected after they alerted staff) and had hot water issues.  But they were distinctly underwhelmed with their room as well. 

So would I recommend the hotel?  I wouldn’t NOT recommend it – it has a lot going for it, notably the location and breakfast.  If I were to come back, I’d probably look more aggressively at prices for the regular Hilton as well as the Hilton at the beach before rushing back to the Alexandra.