Situated in central El Raval, the Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Las Ramblas opened in June 2016 making it the latest addition to the Leonardo hotel group. The 111 rooms are available in four categories – Economy, Comfort, Superior and Deluxe – and the hotel features a rooftop pool, free WiFi and a stylish breakfast buffet. Here’s my review for Leonardo hotel Barcelona las Ramblas.
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Rates
Price range from £70 – £210 per night. Check the price for your dates here:
Location
El Raval is my favourite area of Barcelona as it’s right in the middle of all the action, making it an easy walk to some great cafes and bars. It has a Dalston-vibe: bustling, vibrant and diverse. It isn’t swish like L’Eixample or as touristy as Barri Gotic, and therefore a bit more interesting. The hotel is 3 blocks back from La Rambla so you don’t have to go anywhere near that Leicester Square-like tourist hell-hole unless you really need to. It also sits about as far west in El Raval as you can go before you’re likely to encounter some of the seedier elements of the area: sex workers are a very visible element around nearby Plaça de Salvador Seguí in the late evenings plus I saw a young guy injecting drugs during the day nearby. So you should be mindful of what the area is like before booking your stay here. However, I never felt unsafe walking around El Raval, even very late at night, and I think seasoned travellers will have no issue with the area. In fact, I think the Leonardo Hotel is actually in a better spot than the flashier Barceló Raval Hotel nearby. It’s only 3 minutes walk from Liceu metro and 10 minutes from Jaume I metro, giving you great transport options for heading north or hitting the beach. It also has a reasonably sized supermarket across the road, so you can stock up the fridge in your room with all the cheap cava you need for your stay!
The Room
We opted for a Superior room for our week long stay as they have a balcony. It was definitely worth the little extra for this room type over the Economy or Comfort – whilst the room was spacious, I definitely wouldn’t have wanted any less space – plus the balcony was great for our summer stay. The interiors are colourful without being garish and had just enough personality to stop it from feeling like a business hotel.
Our double bed was HUGE and didn’t feel like twin beds pushed together, even though it must have been. There was ample wardrobe space for us to share and apparently we should have had an ironing board and an iron, but never found them. There was also a safe and a large flat-screen TV, for whenever you fancy a little escándalo! Each room has a desk, although in our room set up there wasn’t really any space to sit at it, so if you need to work I would opt for a Deluxe room size. Under the desk, as I mentioned above, there was a completely empty fridge. I really liked this about the hotel – they didn’t bother with a Mini Bar but instead gave you room to chill your own food and drinks.
The cleaners always let our room looking perfect and on the whole, the room felt fresh and modern. There were obvious signs of the hotel’s age in places such as the ceiling, but overall the room was lovely.
The Bathroom
Our bathroom was quite spacious with a bath and a rainfall shower. The fittings were all marble and there was plenty of space to do your makeup with the huge mirror and good lighting (priority!). The hair-dryer was thankfully quite decent and there was a plug for electric razors. My only complaints were that it could really do with better ventilation and drainage (which is quite typical for Barcelona) plus the bathtub had no plug, despite repeated requests to reception. Perhaps it was lost in translation? Who knows. These issues aside, the bathroom was always fresh and clean.
Breakfast
Breakfast wasn’t included in the rate we booked but this is an option when making your reservation. Personally, I prefer to brunch out at cafes but the breakfast set-up at the hotel was one of the best I have seen! On the ground floor, the breakfast room was large with high ceilings, ample seating and a cheerfully colourful design. It was buffet-style with waiters on hand to assist with coffee and any requests. It definitely looked like eating at a restaurant rather than your hotel, which is always a plus.
Breakfast was served from 8-10am (I think) and was €12 per person per day, which was similar to the cost of brunching at one of the better cafes nearby.
Amenities
WiFi is available for free throughout the whole hotel and we never had an issue with it. I used it for work in our room, in the bar and on the rooftop without an issue, which was a definite plus for me.
On the rooftop, there is a small pool and two reasonably sized solarium areas where you can work on your tan during the day or have a drink from the rooftop bar during the night. FYI – you can’t drink your own cava up there (as you can see from this left selfie, we tried). The pool opens after breakfast and, like most of Barcelona, it is bathed in sunshine all day.
Bottom Line
I really enjoyed my stay at Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Las Ramblas and would definitely stay there again. If you aren’t fazed by staying in one of Barcelona’s edgier areas and want to be central to all the action, then this is probably the best hotel to stay at in El Raval in terms of price, location and style.
Before you go, make sure you check out my Barcelona city guide!
Disclaimer: I paid for my entire stay at this hotel. As a general rule, I don’t write negative reviews so if I don’t like a hotel, I don’t feature it. So I obviously really liked this one.
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