1898 Hotel Barcelona

Hotel 1898 is located on Las Ramblas in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) in downtown Barcelona. It is very well situated for walking around downtown, both during the day and in the evening.

The hotel is inside a beautiful old stone building, and is very modern on the inside in both decor and amenities. The rooms are decorated using the same theme (deep green or maroon walls accented by crown moldings), have very high ceilings, and are controlled by electronic panels on the walls.

The bathrooms are absolutely beautiful. Ours was decorated with white and green marble. The shower had a full bath, a handheld sprayer and a large "rain" showerhead. I think the shower was almost the best part of the hotel -- besides its location and great rooftop.

The beds in my room and those of all of my travel companions were twin beds pushed together (but made separately with their own sheets which left cracks between the beds). We were on the second floor, just above La Rambla but the noise from outside was not a problem because the windows and balcony door had thick glass and soundproofing. I posted a picture of what the view of La Rambla looked like at night from my room.

For amenities, the hotel has free wireless Internet access (WiFi) in all of the rooms, an indoor pool, a gym, a restaurant and a beautiful rooftop terrace with tables and chairs, a bar, an outdoor pool, and cabanas. The roof has great views towards the port and the surrounding hills, including the rooftops of the area buildings like La Catedral (see the included skyline pictures taken from the roof). The cabanas are great for napping in the sun or relaxing with a cool drink and enjoying the views.

Their rooftop bar serves both drinks and food, but be careful with the prices: most of the drinks on the menu are priced around 12-14 euro each. The drinks just outside the hotel on La Rambla are half the price (or less), of course you don't get the fantastic view or the pool down on Las Ramblas Promenade.

On the first floor of the hotel is an indoor pool, which looks like it was built in a wine cellar that has a beautiful brick arched roof (see the included pictures of the indoor pool). Also on the first floor is a small gym and a restaurant.

The staff is very nice and spoke English very well for the guests in the party that did not speak Spanish.