Recommended Hotels in the Center of Barcelona – For all Budgets

On this page :

  1. Recommended Hotels in the Center of Barcelona
  2. Hotels in Barcelona by Zone
  3. And what if you can’t find an Hotel in Barcelona at a reasonable price ?
  4. Hotel near the Airport or the Train Station
  5. When are the lowest Prices for Hotels in Barcelona ?
  6. The Transport and the Hotel

Recommended Hotels in the Center of Barcelona, by price category :

These hotels are located in the most central part of Barcelona (see Zones) + they received very high rating on Booking.com, by guests who stayed at the hotels. With these hotels, you can hardly go wrong. If you can’t find availability in these hotels then look at the next section : Hotels in Barcelona by Zones.

  1. Normal Price Hotels in the Center of Barcelona
    1. HCC Montblanc
    2. Hotel Turin
    3. Hotel Nouvel
    4. Violeta Boutique
    5. Serennia Exclusive Rooms
  2. High Category Hotels in the Center Barcelona
    1. Colón Hotel Barcelona – 4 stars
    2. We Boutique Hotel Barcelona – 4 stars
    3. Hotel Granvia – 3 stars
    4. Hotel Barcelona Catedral – 4 stars
    5. K+K Hotel Picasso El Born – 4 stars
  3. Budget Hotels in the Center Barcelona
    1. Hotel Cantón
    2. Ramblas by Pillow
    3. Hotel Ginebra
    4. Hotel Lloret Ramblas
    5. Hostal Operaramblas
  4. Dormitories in the Center Barcelona
    1. Black Swan Hostel
    2. St Christopher’s Inn Barcelona
    3. TOC Hostel Barcelona
    4. Hostal Excellence
    5. Hostel One Batlló

Hotels in Barcelona by Zone

1. Gótico + El Born + La Rambla avenue + Plaza Cataluña

The Hotels that I recommended before are located in the most central zones for a Tourist. I’m talking about the Gothic (Gótico) and El Born. See the following Map :

These two quarters are adjacent to the famous Rambla avenue. The Gótico is probably the most interesting quarter of Barcelona (visit the attractions page). Both the Gótico and El Born are beautiful, elegant, central and with the best nightlife of Barcelona. From here you are at a walking distance to a lot of attractions, including the Barceloneta Beach. Plaza Catalunya has the most central Metro Station and the bus to the airport.
If you can, try to find an hotel in this part of Barcelona.

Other quarters to stay in Barcelona

Look at the following Map :

2. Raval

As you can see from the Map above, the Raval quarter is adjacent to the famous Rambla avenue. In terms of location the Raval is almost as central as the Gotico. Big parts of the Raval are inhabited by immigrants (with low income) and as always it makes the neighborhood less pricey. The neighborhood is safe. So, if you are looking for an hotel close to La Rambla but at a lower price compared to the Gotico, then consider the Raval.

3. Plaza de España

Between Plaza de Catalunya (which is the most central square of Barcelona) and Plaza de España, there is a long and nice avenue called “Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes” and along this avenue there are a few good hotels. The distance between the two squares is four metro stations, which is about 30 minutes walk. At Plaza de España (see Map above) there is a very nice mall which was once a bullring + the Magic fountains at night + The Pueblo Español museum+The Art museum + you can make an excursion into the Montjuic hill. The Airport bus has a stop at Plaza de España.

3. Eixample

Eixample is a big neighborhood above plaza de Cataluña (see Map above). It is basically a residential area without tourist attractions but we are in Barcelona and not in the suburbs and so the streets are beautiful and with lots of shops and cafés. Some of the best dancing clubs are here (Mojito and Antilla Salsa clubs for example). Eixample is not too far by foot from Plaza de Cataluña so it may be a good choice for the hotel.

4. Sagrada Familia

Probably the most famous attraction of Barcelona. See location on the Map above. There are several hotels in this area and they are supposed to be cheaper than the hotels in the Gótico. From the famous church, there is a very nice avenue that leads to the Sant Pao hospital museum and this avenue is animated with cafés and restaurants. The downside of living here is that you need to take a short metro ride in order to arrive to the more central part of Barcelona (to Plaza de Cataluña, 5 metro stations).

5. Barceloneta Beach

This is the most animated beach of Barcelona and the closer to the city (see Map above). Adjacent to the beach is the Barceloneta residential neighborhood, which is very nice but calm at night. There are not a lot of Hotels on the Barceloneta beach (the city of Barcelona is just not built like that). There is one very prominent hotel directly on the beach, the famous W Hotel.

6. Gracia

A very cool neighborhood. A student neighborhood with lots of “street food” and beer. Unfortunately not a lot of hotels in this area. See location on the Map above

7. Poble Nou + El Maresme Forum

Poble Nou is a residential area, on the beach line, to the north. El Maresme Forum is the high Tech Zone of Barcelona (just after Poble Nou). See location on the Map above. There are several hotels near the high tech zone and you may want to search an hotel here in case you don’t find one in the center of Barcelona. There is a Metro line (the yellow line) that brings to the Gotico in just 7 stations.

And what if you can’t find an Hotel in Barcelona at a reasonable price ?

There may be times when the demand for hotels in Barcelona is extremely high (see later the section about it) and as a result you cannot find the hotel you want. The solution may be to go to sleep for one or two days, in an attraction close to Barcelona.

Look at the following Map :

Sitges is one obvious choice. Sitges is an attractive small city on the beach and the distance from Barcelona is just 32 Km. There are suburbans trains every 30 minutes and the travel is just 40 minutes. See details in the Transport page.

Another possible stay is in Girona. It is a very cute medieval city with a photogenic river. The travel by train is between 1 and 2 hours. See details in the Transport page.

Lloret del Mar is the famous seaside town in the Costa Brava. It takes a little bit more time to reach Lloret del Mar (compared to Girona), but if you prefer beach and party over a medieval city, you can do it. It takes about 2 hours to reach Lloret del Mar by suburban train. See details in the Transport page.

More possibilities :

There are smaller towns on the way to Lloret del Mar, directly on the beach and much less touristic. Just make sure the suburban train has a stop there, before you book an Hotel.

For example, on the R1 suburban train line to Lloret del Mar, there is the village Calella.

What about an Hotel near the Airport or the Train Station ?

The Airport of Barcelona – “El Prat”

The Airport of Barcelona is located just 13 Km from the city. The transport to the center of the city is good and fast (See details in the Transport page) and you will hardly find a situation in which you will prefer to sleep near the airport. In case you do prefer to sleep near the airport, there are hotels.

The main Train (+ Bus ) Station of Barcelona – “Sants”

The station is located near Plaza de España. See location on the following Map. It may be a good idea to sleep at a walking distance to the station when you need to catch a long distance train or bus. The area is very safe and located just a few metro stations from Plaza de Cataluña. The hotel may result cheaper than more central areas.

When are the lowest Prices for Hotels in Barcelona ?

Barcelona has become a very, very popular tourist destination and unfortunately the prices of the hotels have gone up in a significant way. The cost of living in Barcelona is relatively low compared to the north of Europe, but the Hotels is another story. There are simply not enough hotels for the quantity of tourists who want to visit Barcelona.

A few years ago, there was at least the winter as low season with low hotel prices but now Barcelona has become a popular destination also in winter, so you can expect full occupancy on some week-ends in winter. Still, there is a higher demand in the summer (peak in August) and a lower demand in Winter.

As for the price difference during the week : Barcelona is one of those cities where prices are going up significantly during the week-end. There are people arriving to party on Fridays and Saturdays. People are coming from the suburbs of Barcelona and people are arriving with flights from all over Europe. The prices are relatively low on Sunday night and  then they climb during the week and on Friday there is a big step Up.

See the previous section : what if you can’t find an Hotel in Barcelona at a reasonable price

What about the Transport to the Hotel ?

The Transport in Barcelona is excellent. Visit the Transport page for details.
If you book your hotel in one of the zones mentioned above, you will only need to travel short distances with the Metro. In most cases you will simply walk because the streets are beautiful and the weather sunny (yes, Barcelona is sunny most of the year). There are in Barcelona also Night Buses and they are also efficient.

star See All the Hotels in Barcelona.

star More on Barcelona :

star If you have specific questions about Barcelona, you can ask them in this TripAdvisor Forum.

star On Thailand :

star Other Stuff :

star If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

alien