Renaissance-boenden i Barcelonès

As a designer of hotel interiors who spends most of my life staying in hotels, I’ve experienced my fair share of accommodations, and this one certainly had room for improvement. It’s hard to believe that, in this day and age, getting a simple cup of coffee for breakfast can be so difficult. I was told I could only enter the restaurant if I was having breakfast, but when I explained that I don’t eat breakfast and just wanted to sit, catch up on emails, and have a coffee, I was told no and offered a takeaway paper cup instead, like some sort of sub par citzen, not worthy of a seat at the table unless I was willing to eat there. I was told I could have gone to the empty hotel bar and sat in an armchair, hunched over my laptop, waiting until the bar opened at 9 am. I complained to the front desk staff, who listened attentively to my experience, but mid-sentence, they walked off to assist a guest with a faulty key card. So, not only was I desperate for coffee, but I also felt completely invisible. On top of that, the hairdryer stopped working almost immediately, and the gym was small and poorly lit. That said, there were some positives. The wardrobe had plenty of hangers (which is a personal pet peeve of mine, so I’m grateful for that). However, the window cutout was a real disappointment. Instead of a beautiful, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window that would have made the most of the view, we got a strange, aggressive-looking cut-out that blocked the view and didn’t align with the room’s style at all. Choose a room away from the lifts as they are noisy and busy. Overall, there’s potential here, but improvements are definitely needed. Certainly not what I expected from a 4 star Marriot brand.

Good service. Friendly people (baring one). Allowed early check-in, which was nice. Rooms are great. Gym was not unlocked, so need to arrange access - bit of a pain. Breakfast good too.