Clean, fantastic location although a bit noisy
Written: Nov 10 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic location - close to all the tourist areas, pleasant, well-informed staff
Cons: Noisy
The Bottom Line: Great location, clean, pleasant rooms. Excellent value for the area!
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| NicoleZ's Full Review: Regencia Colon Hotel |
I had the wonderful opportunity to spend two weeks in Europe in June, 2004. Half of my trip was a do-it-yourself journey where I flew into Paris, spent five days there and then jetted from Paris to Barcelona for two days prior to joining a cruise of the Mediterranean.
Having never been to Europe before, I was both thrilled and petrified when it came to making hotel reservations. I spent countless hours surfing the web trying to find someplace safe, clean and also featuring my ever-important air conditioning and private bathroom.
I ran across the Regencia Colon purely by mistake, but a good mistake it turned out to be!
The Regencia Colon is located in the Bari Gotic (Gothic Quarter) of Barcelona. This is an area centered on a cathedral dating back to 1298. The neighborhood was previously notoriously dirty and unsafe, but since Barcelona hosted the Olympics, the area has seen a radical rebirth and cleanup. The area is laden with narrow passageways lined with gaslights. It's truly romantic and breathtaking. Restaurants, bars and tourist shops abound.
We arrived at the Barcelona airport and took a taxi to the hotel. The driver was extremely polite and as my husband speaks Spanish, we had a smooth transfer. The ride from the airport to the hotel took approximately 25 minutes.
The Regencia Colon was completely remodeled in 1999 and done very tastefully. Colors of peach and green (with a lot of awning stripes) go through the entire hotel. The immediate lobby area is simple, but comfortable and very clean. There is an elevator and stairs to the rooms. The hotel features 50 rooms, all with bathroom with hair dryer, safe-deposit box, mini bar, satellite TV, heating, air conditioning, and telephone with PC/modem connections.
Our room was on the second floor on the street side (the back of the hotel overlooks the building behind, but no street.) Our view was not much besides racing vespas and taxi's, but it was still nice to see pedestrians. However being on the street-side of things did pose it's problems. Constant honking horns and police sirens permeate the air in Barcelona. The hotel does have hurricane-type shutters which can be opened and closed. Unfortunately we didn't particularly note this feature until I played with unmarked switches on the wall. Our first night was quite noisy because of this, but the second night was much more peaceful.
Rooms are quite generous here considering most European hotel rooms are the size of a broom closet - at least compared to your local Holiday Inn in the United States. I would say our room was 25' x 15' in dimension. We had a desk, two occasional chairs and a lovely built-in armoire with plenty of storage and racks for our luggage. We also had our own private en-suite bathroom with toilet, bidet, sink and a tub/shower combo. Everything was spotless.
Decor in the rooms was soft and welcoming. The floors were of a maple colored laminate with dark wood furnishings. Very classy and tranquil.
One thing that was off-putting were the numerous signs posted that we should lock all luggage and guard our purses and/or wallets with our lives. Though we personally had no problems, it was easy to spot kids and adults on the street trying to fool tourists. At least they wanted us prepared!
The Hotel Regencia Colon, though not advertised, does feature a nice breakfast room. There was fresh juice (at least three varieties,) coffee, milk, tea, fresh scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, an array of sweet breads, toasters for toast and various cereals. The base price to eat everything was only 8 Euro or if you had simple breakfasts they charged pretty much 3.50 Euro per person (coffee, an egg, a croissant, for example.)
The sister hotel to the Regencia, the Hotel Colon, is directly in front of the Regecia which sits on the main square in front of the Cathedral. This hotel has a formal restaurant and bar service and is the much pricier hotel. Rooms at the Regencia Colon were 85 Euro per night whereas the Hotel Colon starts at 185 Euro per night. As we could see directly into the hotel, I think we had the better value as our rooms were larger than those at the Colon. You can get single, double or triple rooms at the Regencia - we had a very lovely double.
The staff was reserved, but pleasant. They were kind enough to locate a local laundromat for our use and were excellent at providing directions. There was the typical array of tourist brochures by the front desk.
If you get the chance to go to Barcelona, definately check out this hotel. The prices are good and with comparable hotels running at the 125 Euro per night and up, a true value. The hotel is safe, well-run and clean. Local attractions are mostly within walking distance. Taxi's are always available.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
NicoleZ
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Member: Nicole
Location: Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 7 members
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