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Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 2 Reviews and 428 Opinions
Aribau 33, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08011, Spain
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of people enjoy staying here
430 Opinions
simonli625
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vaara
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Very highly rated. The only drawback is the street noise, which is pretty much unavoidable in street-side rooms. The hotel restaurant is surprisingly good, and surprisingly good value -- which is more than can be said for the hotel boutique, unless you're the sort of person who doesn't mind shelling out EUR 250 for a Rykiel Pour Homme polo shirt! The rooftop pool deck is gorgeous -- and so is the clientele.
Unique Quality: Probably the only place I've ever been that has "Please Disturb" signs avaiable for guests to use. Free Internet is available in the 'business centre' strategically overlooking the reception area, or you can use the hotel's WiFi service. The cable TV selection is somewhat limited, but there are on-demand movies. Breakfast is overpriced, but lunch and dinner (and 'Sunday Tea') are quite good. Excellent cocktail bar. Very friendly ambiance.
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Hotel Axel, Barcelona. Imagine... Warm sunny days, excellent assistance by staff, fantastic roof top pool and sun deck with great music and a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Excellent small gym and on Wednesday evenings the bar is a welcoming part of the barcelona scene. Amenities are well stocked and coolers full of water bottles adds to the delight of this hotel. Enjoy!
The Hotel Axel is a cool hotel in a hot city.
We had a superior room - which is the largest class below a suite. It is still a little bit on the small side, but its crisp white minimalistic design is soothing. There was also some interesting lighting. The bathroom is open to the room via a glass wall shower/bath combo (jacuzzi tub.) The bathroom area also includes two double sinks and a glass door leading to the toilet. The room also had two sets of french doors - one leading out to a balcony overlooking the street - and the second leading to a sunny glass enclosed rotunda (also overlooking the street) with some stained glass accents in the windows and a small table and two chairs.
The rest of the hotel is also very nice. There is a small restaurant in the back of the lobby. We had breakfast there each day - and they offered a nice simple buffet at a reasonable price. The rooftop area was great. There is a bar. The pool was small - typical of other Barcelona rooftop pools. They gym was ok and also includes a steam room and very small sauna.
Other nice amenities were free internet access at two computers on the second floor, along with a small library of gay information. (Whoops - first floor for Europeans.) There is also the often mentioned free bottled water in the hallway refrigerators. Hallways have a fresh clean look as well.
The location is pretty good - fairly central - not super close to, and at the same time, not that far from the major sights.
Overall, my partner and I were pretty pleased with the hotel. We have stayed at a lot of "gay" targeted resorts - but this was our first urban gay hotel - so we were not sure what to expect. The Hotel Axel comes through as a nice boutique hotel with a modern trendy atmosphere. While we were there - it seemed almost exclusively gay - and "well behaved."
The breakfast staff was very friendly. The front desk staff was nice but could have been more friendly.
Plans are in the works to double the size of the hotel - via a purchase of the neighboring building.
I stayed at this hotel for 6 days mid June, 2005. I got the best rate direct from the hotel. I stayed in a single room which had a nice big double bed. However, the bed dominated the room and there was very little room for anything else. The room and bathroom both lacked storage space for those essential toiletries and other holiday knick knacks including sunglasses, books, tissues, etc, etc. However, this hotel does have the very best location for nightlife. The reception staff were very friendly and professsional/efficient. The free little bottles of water were a nice touch as was the free internet access in the business centre. The pool on the roof was nice but could have done with a few more chairs and sunbeds on some busy days. Overall, yes, I would stay at this hotel again - more for the location that anything else. I do like contemporary decor but i felt that due to the lack of space in the room it didn't really hit the spot for me. The LCD TV was a nice touch.
I'm shocked at the good reviews for this hotel. Let me start by saying, I'm a gay male who was looking forward to being in a comfortable environment but this place was too gay even for me. Besides the "Make Up Room" and "Do Not Disturb" placards to put on your door, there's one that says "Disturb." When I got in late the one and only night I stayed there, the door next to mine was ajar with the "Disturb" sign on it. Now, if I wanted to stay at a bathhouse I certainly wouldn't pay 185 euros a night and I would hope there were better looking guys than the tacky, tired queens that were staying here. The A/C is awful, they gave us no blankets. The feel is very Ikea and cheap with plastic furniture. The one piece of art on the wall was a lightbox of a guy's ass. The wifi access I had to pay for in my room was terrible. The staff was not especially friendly or helpful. The rooftop "pool" was the size of my bathtub. I checked into the Hotel Regina right off the Plaza Catalunya and it is night and day: less expensive, bigger room, incredibly courteous and helpful, more centrally located, FREE and excellent wifi in the rooms. Unless you require complete immersion in an all gay environment I would say STAY AWAY from the Axel.
I work for a European company and travel quite often to Europe. Several of the negative comments about this hotel indicate that the writers obviously do not travel to Europe and/or do not fully appreciate the European idea of a hotel.
For a European hotel, the bathrooms are enormous. I have stayed in hotels where the toilet is situated in the shower stall. Not so at the Axel. It is big and roomy and the rest of the bathroom does not get soaked. Yes, the bathtub does not have a shower curtain, but a half door, but all EUROPEAN hotels have this. I found the water pressure to be excellent for a European hotel and the towels were clean and lush. The slippers and robes were a nice touch as were the many amenities not found in many hotels.
As with all European hotels, the bed is the primary focus since most Europeans enjoy a healthy prospective that there is life outside your hotel door. I disagree, however, that there is no room as a result. Again, I have stayed in hotels where I had to move my suitcase to get around the room. Not so at the Axel, the rooms are big and spacious with a small table and two chairs. The AC worked perfectfully, the bed (for someone with back troubles) was beyond comfortable, it was well lit and had a small balcony. The decor was minimal (it was designed that way) and thorougly enjoyable. Yes, the TV was small but if are going to Barcelona to watch TV, stay home!
The room was immaculate. I came in on the cleaning staff and found them SCRUBBING the chairs and vacuuming behind the bed!!
The "cage" which took the place of a closet was very efficient and was a different touch not found in US hotels.
As for the pool, several of my colleagues stayed at hotels that did not have a pool nevermind one on the rooftop! Yes it was small, but was refreshing nevertheless. The jacuzzi was great as were the sauna, steam room and fitness room (for a hotel). As for a writer's comments that there were glasses and beer bottles around the pool, did you happen to notice that it was named the SKYBAR? Come on if that is your gripe.... The hotel had a great TEA dance for the guests. In addition, I was in Barcelona during the Feast of St. John Festival and the view of the fireworks from the roof was great! I agree that they could use more sunning chairs (the couch and chairs are a nice touch, but more lounge chairs could be in their place).
The restaurant was excellent and highly recommended.
As noted by prior writers, this hotel was tops for location. Several of my colleagues had to take cabs to get to the nightlife, I merely had to walk.
The staff was one of the best I have encountered. I accidently locked the room safe incorrectly and someone came up within minutes to fix it.
This is definitely a great hotel at a great price! I will be back again on my own next time just to be at this hotel.
Thanks for a great stay AXEL!
We stayed here on May 27, for our anniversary and it was a very fun place. The staff was very helpful and kind. The hotel is mainly used by gays and it is advertised in such a manner, however, I did not find anything offensive nor did I feel uncomfortable. It was a fun stay and I would recommend it. We did opt for the higher level room rather than one large bed, after all the reviews about street noise.
Rooms: I liked the stylish decoration, the fluffy bathrobe and the toileteries they provided. The room smelled like new plastic however. I think it was the chairs and table they must have added recently.
Amenities: The pool: well, it is small! The bar is pretty cool, but I felt like it was more a pick up place. The decor is great and the staff very helpful.
The only thing I would have to say, it is a little bit of a walk to the metro with suitcases and not as centrally located as I had understood or would have prefered.
This hotel exceeded my expectations as well as that of my travelling companion (who can be a bit tough on things).
The staff was extremely hlpful, the accomodations superb and clean. The water refrigerators on each floor was a nice suprise. Food was great and all recommendations from staff proved to be fab.
Will definitely return.
This was a nice hotel in a good location in Barcelona but if you're looking for a warm welcome or friendly service, forget it. The workers at the front desk had a coldness about them that was palpable. It was like they were doing you a favor for letting you stay here. Even the simplest of requests were met with a vague, unhelpful answer. | asked them where I could find a cleaners and they gestured "over there." I searched the neighborhood and no cleaners anywhere. Perhaps most annoying was that they were indifferent to your presence. No "hello" or "goodbye" when you entered or exited. They just kept there heads looking downward at their computer screens.
If you want a clean room, it is here but at these prices a little more service and friendliness would go a long way. The weather may be warm in Barcelona but the attitude is frigid and cold. I don't think I'm ever coming back to this city and especially would not bother with the cold attitude people at this hotel. By the way, the only nice guy was the man who worked the pool bar named Lluis. Outside of him, there was no one who made an attempt to be friendly.
Just wondering if anyone can share any comments on this Hotel in Barcelona.
Well located, new, good service (just as any other 4 star hotel in the area). The only “real” difference will be the rainbow flag in the main entrance and the posh fashion shops in the street floor (only for men, btw... lesbians are supposed not to be trendy??) . Too oriented to wealthy fashioners gays, IMO. Another kind of ghetto, actually.
Probably the only place I've ever been that has "Please Disturb" signs avaiable for guests to use. Free Internet is available in the 'business centre' strategically overlooking the reception area, or you can use the hotel's WiFi service. The cable TV selection is somewhat limited, but there are on-demand movies. Breakfast is overpriced, but lunch and dinner (and 'Sunday Tea') are quite good. Excellent cocktail bar. Very friendly ambiance.
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Address: Aribau 33, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08011, Spain
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