Having only two nights in Barcelona, we were torn between staying at a standard Starwood property or (we thought) upgrading to swankier place like the ME Barcelona. In the end, swanky won out but we were a little disappointed in the actual experience.

We had an ocean view room on the 15th floor and although the view was true to it’s word, the room design left something to be desired. The curtains were on an automated system that was not well explained and when we finally got the heavy curtains opened, there was only a 4 foot wide view that wasn’t blocked by the television or metal decor.

the sea view from our bed

the sea/city view

Thankfully, the bed was comfy and the amenities were as advertised. Our room was well-sized and the bathroom had a good size soaking tub as well as a shower. Unfortunately, the bath took approximately 30 minutes to fill-up.

Overall the service was a bit sloppy. For example, we were told we could print our boarding passes in the business office, but when we went there the printers weren’t turned on and there was no staffing the office to ask for help. After a call to the front desk we emailed a PDF of the tickets to the reception desk for printing but it was an unnecessary extra step. The breakfast service was a bit slow although the food was fine.

The location was quite a bit far from many of our favorite spots and the area wasn’t as active as we had hoped. Next time we would stay closer to the Gothic Quarter so we could spend less time commuting.