I can’t talk about the Hotel Alexandra in Barcelona, which is a part of the Hilton group by way of the Curio “boutique” hotel collection, without talking about this magnificent city first.
Barcelona is equal parts fun in the sun and culture paradise, but a healthy side dish of food and wine can’t be avoided. To get the best, it’s often actually best to avoid many of the areas with the mega hotels. That’s where the Hotel Alexandra instantly shines.
In the heart of the Eixample neighborhood, many of Barcelona’s best streets for eating, drinking and boutique shopping are just feet outside the door. For things like a visit to the beach, or the Sagrada Familia you’re just an easy walk, bus or bike ride away.
Hotel Alexandra Barcelona: Location
The Hotel Alexandra Barcelona is an exciting choice in the city, because it blends two often disparate concepts: a charming boutique hotel, and a hotel where you can both earn and use (Hilton Honors) points.
The rooms range from quaint to downright stunning, and suites can be found at prices lower than standard rooms in many more well known hotels in the city. I saw plenty of dates with suites in the €220 range, for advanced purchase.
Again, for me though, this hotel is a winner based on an enviable location, a friendly team and fantastic food — plus a pool. On that score, the outdoor pool patio is such a great place for a relaxing meal.
Perched at the edge of Eixample, with easy links to Vila De Gracia and other extremely local and desirable Barcelona neighborhoods, you get a real sense of what life in this city is actually like. In my experience, hotels along the beach, or La Rambla offer a very tourist centric experience, without the local charm.
You can easily walk along Carrer Provenca, Carrer Mallorca or Rambla De Catalunya, yet you’re only a few blocks from the Passeig De Gracia or Passeig De Sant Joan, which can zip you into the bustling areas all the way down past the Arc De Triomf and to the beach.
The Lobby
The lobby of the Hotel Alexandra is beautiful. Think Scandi sofas meets beautifully curated Spanish minimalism, with loft like touches. A small lobby bar provides a nice place to relax, and facilities for any computer needs exist as well.
If there’s any downside to this hotel, it’s squarely placed with the lifts. They’re small, slow, and if that bothers you quite a bit, it’s worth knowing from the start. It wasn’t by any means enough to detract from the rest of the property, at least for me.
The Rooms
Rooms range from small and cheerful to large and in charge. The small rooms would make sense in a New York hotel, yet the larger rooms and suites feel very Soho House.
My advice: aim for King Collection or higher, for higher floors and slightly more chic feel to the spaces. If you can make a suite happen, particularly on sale, these are stellar value for the city.
Using Hilton Points, it seems you can book King rooms for 45,000 points per night. I booked a King Collection Room at an advanced purchase rate around €180 and other rooms are generally available from €140 and up.
This isn’t a five star hotel to be sure, but it’s a four star hotel punching above its weight in almost every metric except elevators. In a city known for such bustling tourism, each night felt so peaceful here.
Pool, Gym And Restaurants
If you’re into swimming laps, this isn’t the hotel pool for you. Surprisingly, other than mega hotels near the beach, there just aren’t that many hotels with huge pools in the best neighborhoods.
For a plunge, this pool was perfect, and if tanning or reading books is more of your thing, it’s ideal. There’s plenty of seating and a bar just next door with service by the pool. I got in the pool a few times just to cool off and for that purpose it’s solid.
The gym is small, but does the trick. Weights, bikes and treadmills are on hand. If you’re there for a couple days, it’s more than enough. If you’re in town longer, it’s hard to beat a jog the beach, or a HIIT workout with Urban Gorillas.
One thing I adored here, despite the ridiculously good options all along the streets surrounding the hotel, was the food. Perhaps the best burratina, tomato and basil salad of my life.
The wine list available at the Solomillo restaurant, lobby bar and pool is also extensive, with extremely well showing bottles at all price points. Even the house wine was “good” by any account. Yes, I’m a wine snob.
Hotel Alexandra Barcelona: Worth A Stay?
To me, this hotel hits a sweet spot. It’s four star comfort with many five star feeling features. If a great place to crash is what you’re looking for, this is ideal.
If you’re looking for a hotel that’s a destination in itself, the way a Rosewood or Mandarin Oriental level of luxury exists, it might be just under the mark, due to its boutique size.
If you’re looking for something where the price is incredibly fair, and the experience greatly exceeds the sticker — again this is a fantastic choice. You’re truly spoiled in this area for all things worth traveling for and the hotel provides the perfect haven to relax in the room, or with an afternoon by the pool.
Though I always love exploring Barcelona’s neighborhoods, I just haven’t found one that blends the excitement and ease of Eixample, and the Hotel Alexandra is among the best choices in the (spoiled for choice) area.
I stayed at this hotel in early September. Its kinda quirky, it is actually 2 buildings depending on which floor you are staying on there is a separate elevator. I found the bartender’s service at the bar to be a little slow.
I was there at the same time as you, how weird, I was on the 8-Floor (not the weekend noisy 2am people, I was next door to them :(), I checked out on Sunday, as-if, feel like I’ve missed a celeb.
Great hotel, 100% verify and endorse your review, great work. Though it was light on breakfast for a vegetarian, it was perfect to start to the day, the neighbourhood is full of incredible patisseries and great street-side cafe’s. Nespresso machine at breakfast, is not my thing, there is an incredible coffee shop a few doors down called Jamaica that does an incredible range of barista coffees, starting from less than 2euros.
One thing worth adding, which why I started typing in the first place, was the proximity to Passeig De Gracia train station, its a block closer than the metro line station on the main road. This is important as its only one a few city stops on the R2 Nord line, the direct train to the airport, less than 5euros one way. There is also street level lift access for your luggage too.
Those sofas were incredibly comfortable.
I do love a Curio and this was as great as I had hoped, I was initially cautious that this was a Doubletree refurbish, but they’ve done a great job.
Ive stayed in this hotel a couple of times as convenient for work. Agree with most of your review except i found the beds to be super hard, reminded me of hard mattresses in asia.