HotelChatter - Stories about W Barcelona

Barcelona: Ditch the W Barcelona (for a bit) to Explore Barceloneta

AnneLise — 2010-06-09T13:50:49-05:00

We just can’t resist starting out with this playful jab: The Marketing Wizards at the W Hotels have been busy. Check out the W Barcelona website, where the registered trademarks fly fast and furious: There’s Bliss�, Whatever/Whenever�, WET� pool, SWEAT� Fitness Center, and PAW – Pets Are Welcome™ What’s next? Experience the REAL� Barcelona?

Actually, yes. That’s because even though it’s minimally advertised on hotel literature, the W sits just slightly out of the way from the noisy tourist trails (in a kind of a redevelopment area), and near one of our favorite, still pleasantly local neighborhoods: The old fishing quarter of Barceloneta.

Barcelona: The W Barcelona's Eclipse Nightclub is on Strict 'Barcelona Time'

juliana — 2010-03-09T16:58:13-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/W_Barcelona_Reception_2.JPG" class="top"> Yesterday our tipster enlightened us on the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/3/8/162512/0978/hotels/Work_the_Catwalk_As_You_Enter_the_Mandarin_Oriental_Barcelona">catwalk at the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona.</a> Today, he returns with a brief review of the brand-new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/W+Barcelona/local/1420">W Barcelona</a> which is celebrating its <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/w-hotels-worldwides-european-flagship-w-barcelona-hotel-celebrates-official-launch-with-unique-w-premiere-event-2010-03-09?reflink=MW_news_stmp">official opening</a> today. (It actually opened back in <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/1/92621/0555/hotels/The_W_Barcelona_is_Open_Tonight_But_The_Weekend_is_Booked">October.</a>) Here's what our tipster thought as he passed through.The W is located on the waterfront, basically a straight shot down from Las Ramblas. However, to physically get there is not that easy - you have to follow the road that passes Barceloneta and keep going until you circle around the inner harbor and get to the hotel. Once you pass Barceloneta, and in the immediate area around the hotel, there is absolutely nothing at all

Barcelona: The Naked Truth About the W Barcelona

juliab — 2009-12-04T09:12:46-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/21888/wman.jpg" class="top"> Does this count as an <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Anti-View">anti-view</a>? With all the talk over its <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/1/92621/0555/hotels/The_W_Barcelona_is_Open_Tonight_But_The_Weekend_is_Booked">late opening</a>, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/25/8482/09483/hotels/Thanks_to_Facebook_We_Get_a_Sneak_Peek_at_the_W_Barcelona">stonking views</a> and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/26/72756/493/hotels/W_Barcelona_May_Be_Stylish_But_Still_Needs_To_Work_On_Service">questionable levels of service</a>, youd think youd heard it all about the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/W+Barcelona/local/1420">W Barcelona</a>. Not so. A friend of ours stayed there a couple of weeks back, and returned with the revelation that the beach it sits on appears to be a nudist beach. Que? We didnt quite believe her until this morning, when she sent over this picture, taken right outside the hotel. And while were doing our best to concentrate on the seagull (nice composition, btw) were acutely aware that she might not have been exaggerating. Her verdict: <blockquote> I didn't see an

Barcelona: W Barcelona May Be Stylish, But Still Needs To Work On Service

juliab — 2009-10-26T10:53:25-05:00

Last time we looked, the W Barcelona wasn’t going down so well with its clients. But then that was after opening weekend, nearly a month ago. Is it time to give it another chance?

The Independent reviewed it this weekend and, going by the review, it'd seem the “abysmal” service and “no edgy people” may have been teething problems.

The hotel is “nothing if not striking”, they say, and the pool is “bracingly cool” (we're assuming that's in a literal sense - it's nearly November, after all). The views from the 26th-floor Eclipse bar, meanwhile, are “bewitching”.

Barcelona: W Barcelona Still Pretty, But Needs Serious Work on The Vibe

juliab — 2009-10-05T09:33:01-05:00

<![CDATA[ <img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/suite.jpg" class="top"> Oh dears. We really hate to say this, but could it be that with all the hype around <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/W+Barcelona/local/1420">W Barcelona</a> and its foxy building, they forgot to work on the foxy W vibe? Barcelona resident <a href="http://www.pulsobcn.wordpress.com">Pulso BCN</a> alerted us to the fact that there could be a problem with his comment <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/1/92621/0555/hotels/The_W_Barcelona_is_Open_Tonight_But_The_Weekend_is_Booked">here</a>. He stopped by on Thursday, which should have been banging, seeing as it was the first night, but although it had a nice-looking pool, he wasnt feeling it. Maybe the W hipness is in crates stuck in Spanish customs, he reckons. On his <a href="http://twitter.com/PulsoBCN">Twitter</a> feed he went further: No glam opening, no edgy people, just a bunch of staffers running