Managing in Spain with Halting Spanish
After arriving in Barcelona and marveling at all the neat duty-free shops in the terminal, we took a taxi to the Grand Marina Hotel. With halting Spanish, we somehow managed to convey our destination to our driver. We settled in, shed our traveling clothes, showered, and dressed. We asked the concierge for a recommendation to a restaurant within walking distance. Since most locals eat dinner fairly late, I was hoping that finding a place at 10:30pm wouldn’t be too difficult. He suggested a place called El Nou, which was situated fifteen minutes away in a little neighborhood just past the Plau de Mar. This restaurant is a couple of blocks away from the main tourist area along the harbor. To find it, we had to travel a bit down a little alley. It seemed a little seedy at first, but as when we hit a little row of restaurants, we knew it was an ok neighborhood.
We were greeted by the host, who recognized us since our concierge had called in a reservation ahead of time. We were seated in a rather modern dining area with an almost Western feel. The server spoke English but somehow I couldn’t understand what he was saying about one of the appetizers. Consequently, we ended up getting two types of carpaccio appetizers. They weren’t really that bad. I ordered a steak, which I found too tough, and my husband had the grilled sea bass, which was pretty good according to him
After dinner, we strolled back to the hotel, and noted the abundance of activity along the harbor at night. There were plenty of people hanging out everywhere along the way. We stopped by a little food stand that sold waffles and crepes, most of them chocolate covered! We found out that the vendors were Filipino (the first ones we saw in Barcelona). We felt a little bad for them since one of them was probably TNT, and it was obvious that they held other jobs during the daytime. When we mentioned that we were on vacation, the lady responded by saying that we were lucky to be able to go on vacation. She said she probably send any extra money back home.
The Hotel has a restaurant, 3 bars, conference rooms, a coffee shop, outdoor swimming pool and a fitness center/gym. All rooms are fully equipped with whatever you can think off.
Our first impression when we first walk in was "wow" it's modern and artistic. That was only at the lobby, when we entered our room we where greeted by the view of both city and Mediterranean sea which can be fully enjoyed at the private terrace.The room (which is also considered a suite)is one of the largest we've been in. The decor is elegant and tasteful. One can say that the designers really took their time to give a well-balanced atmosphere that is a perfect harmony to its surrounding.
The Concierge people were quick for suggestions on places to see and visit. In fact the night of our arrival we asked where to eat and they called to reserved a seat for us. However, the suggestions for the restaurant are only as good as it gets. (El Nou a tapas place was unremarkable). The buffet breakfast served on the second floor was nothing like the buffet you will find in America. However, it was carefully picked not for devouring but for enjoying a hearthy, healthy breakfast. The quality is always there for guests to appreciate. The servers were attentive. This however is not the same case at the bar. You literally have to flag down someone to serve you lunch or snack. On our last day we decided to eat at the bar, also located on the second floor. I don't know if they where busy or someone called in sick but my BLT sandwich that I thought would be easy to serve came almost 20 minutes later. They were apologetic about the wait and explained that it was "accidentally" served to the next table. So all in all our dining experience here was good despite the little mishap.
On our last day we explored the rooftop and passed by the gym and we were glad that we did because the 360 degree view was breathtaking. I remember it being a very nice sunny day with hotel guests just lounging in the cabana and swimming in the pool. We really wished we had taken advantage of it. Our experience with Eurostar is truly amazing. We know that it will be on our lists of hotels to consider the next time we are in back in Spain. It indeed deserves the 5 stars and should be highly recommended.
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