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So, Laietana Palace Hotel it was. 200 euro�s a night. This had better be good. A hint of what was coming came with the nondescript faces of the front desk. The elevator did not level so I tripped while stepping in. The hall was poorly lit, most certainly half the lumen that were used when the marketing pics were taken. The coloring reminded me of soviet style choices. The ever present Mediterranean watercolor paintings could not conceal the dead artist who decorated this. Before the lift started we felt a rumbling. The metro. Wow, every 3 minutes! from 5 am to 2 pm. Room 403. Door open and...... a bed! A soft �tabletop� with again a nondescript flat grayish spread. I didn�t measure it. (hey, how low can you go?) It just fitted the room or should I say 'closet'! Around the bed on 2 of the 4 sides was max 2 foot! space and the feet end had some more but then again it had to hold a minibar, chair, table with TV, internet hub, menu and a comments voucher, all nicely stacked for ��..moving. All you need for a 4 star rating.
The bathroom was fitted by the Blind Institute (only in remote India have I seen worse marble tiling, plumbing and carpentry) and most likely the last time they replaced the bathroom kit by was the time they built it. It was full of fungi. Tired of the trip, I took a shower. Alternatively it went from burning hot to freezing cold. Not once but always. Even at full flow!
Fire regulations require a floor plan. On the door, I glanced at our room. Everything was there. The elevator, the hall and all the rooms including the beds. Aha! This was a single person bedroom converted into a double! So, this is a management decision and screaming at the front desk won�t work. I just felt the middle finger of the hotel manager/owner in my face. When passing the elevator we also saw a floor plan and I just wondered why they left out the room details on that one. I now knew why. Too many grinning faces!
So, there I was. My wife booked the trip and I really love her. She assumed, and so did I, that a 4 star would safeguard against such �classic rip offs�. No such luck. I decided it would not spoil my holiday. I took it like a man and my wife did too. We took a risk and trusted the pictures. This was a write off. I decided I would not have a go at the hotel staff but kick this place where it hurts. Their reviews.
Breakfast was in the basement! NO DAYLIGHT! Ever heard of Solatubes? And, yet again, a horrible coloring. What a depressing place. There are plastic coated H-beams with rivets. Why an H beam should have rivets, beats me, but it looked like the high pressure feed hose of a plastic extrusion machine ripped just as the operator was taking a siesta. Granted, the breakfast was OK. �Via Laietana�, the road on which this hotel is resided, is one of the main arteries of Barcelona. 6 lanes of never ending traffic. Even on level 4 with sound stoppers, sleep was virtually impossible. It could have been prevented easy with double layer glass. Probably too expensive. The only good thing about this place is it�s location. It�s close to everywhere and we decided to turn mishap into fortune. It gave us the luxury of hopping to every neighborhood without doing detailed planning.
Despite that, Barcelona is a nice place. I like it better than New York, Paris or London. More beauty, more clean and more laid back topped off with a pleasant sun and good food. If this review will keep off 10 potential guests I�ll be laughing my head off. With this birdie, I guess we�re even, mister hotel manager.
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Room was well furnished, with lots of room to spare. Kept very clean. Staff were very helpful. Overall very happy with the service.
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