Blissful stay
Liked mostThe comfort, the spa area, the roof top, the service.. everything. Just what I needed after my retreat. And the staff were so accommodating, I was on this meal plan and they made food especially for me. They made the most amazing pumpkin rice with spinach and quinoa and mushrooms! I’m going to try make it at home
Could improveN/a
Worst hotel in Barcelona
Liked mostRoom 223, Family Suite, Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, 26–29 May 2026, rate: EUR 7,205/night.
-Terrible value. Avoid-
We told hotel 3x we needed rooms around noon: aircraft 11:00 a.m., jet-lagged children. Each time: “should be possible.” Then, last min.: impossible.
Reason seems clear: an Amex Gold guest apparently kept room in day use all afternoon. We know what afternoon day use is usually for: a few hrs in “good company.” Meanwhile, we booked the hotel’s most expensive room and spent 5 hrs in taxis with exhausted children because our paid room was unavailable.
Irony: I have Amex Centurion and Black. I doubt there are even 10 Amex Black cards in Spain. Yet Amex Gold day-use counted more than a family paying EUR 7,000+/night. Insane.
At 5:30 p.m., room smelled strongly of fornication. Bathroom not clean. At this price, unbelievable.
Room 223 is sold as a Family Suite. It is not. Basically two EUR 1,000 rooms, across the normal corridor, joined by a ridiculous sliding accordion partition. Heating/A/C works only if doors are fully closed. Doors open = no proper A/C or heating. So the “suite” works only when it stops being a suite. Doors closed = 2 separate rooms, stitched with a cheap partition. Not luxury. Not a suite. A scam.
Extra bed: unacceptable, more daybed/stretcher for a 10-year-old than real bed.
Bathroom: ridiculous. Tiny sabot tub, barely 1.40 m, hair in bathtub, hot water like a trickle, industrial wall shampoo dispensers like ketchup boxes, tiny doses/use. Not luxury, cost-cutting disguised as design.
Whole hotel very dark; bathrooms beyond belief. You can barely see yourself. We had to use iPhone lights there. Not atmosphere, design failure sold as luxury.
Energy-saving obsession grotesque. Lights go off as soon as you move. Electricity switch cuts power unless real room key is inserted; credit card/cardboard does not work. Everything gloomy, impractical, uncomfortable.
Terrace closed because stonework/parts of building were apparently falling into the street. Terrace sold with room but unusable because building is literally falling apart. See photo.
Location: noisy central boulevard, traffic, police cars, street noise all day, poor windows. At EUR 7,000+/night, unacceptable. Huge mistake. We should have gone to Hotel Arts or W by the sea.
General atmosphere: bad. No warmth, hospitality, confidence or luxury feeling. Poorly run, poorly coordinated, uncomfortable, joyless.
Staff: mostly students/trainees/hotel-school recruits, many knowing nothing about hotel/city, some barely communicating in English/Spanish. Everyone lost, poorly trained. Five-star hotel without real crew.
Airport transfer: another failure. They did not read request, passed it verbally, created errors. We waited 10 min: car not ready. Wrong name. Not under name requested. Driver knew our name, exactly what we asked to avoid. Driver knew also exactly our destination prior to go , against instructions.
“Limousine” transfer absurd: electric car, unable to take 2 suitcases because trunk space is eaten by huge batteries. Luxury hotel should know airport transfer = passengers + luggage. Sending electric car with unusable trunk is idiotic.
Everything seems designed to save hotel money, not comfort guests. Energy savings maxed. Guest comfort minimized.
At EUR 7,205/night, Room 223 is one of worst hotel values we have experienced. Far from true five-star. Closer to 3.5-star sold at ultra-luxury prices.
Avoid completely. In Barcelona, go to W or Hotel Arts…
Staff friendly and efficient, polite and warm welcoming
Liked mostComfortable, clean
Could improveBreakfast area a little average