Citadines Barcelona Ramblas - Barcelona, Spain 

OK, it's my own fault for just assuming that an apart-hotel was like a suite. The last one that I stayed in was like this and so I assumed they all were. Mistake. Upon entering the room, I thought that I had lost a room as I couldn't find a bed. Eventually I realized that it just had a sofabed, which was a bit of a pain to open and close each night and not as comfortable as a normal bed. Maybe I'm just lazy. I thought that the room was showing a bit too much wear and tear as well, although it was clean. On the plus side, it has a great location right on La Ramblas - just about as central as you can get. Also the fact that there was free cable internet inside the room was a major godsend as I had to work a lot during my 'holiday'. In summary, three stars is probably too few for this apart-hotel, but four stars are probably too many. I guess it all depends on how important having a 'real' bed is to you.

My husband and I chose the Citadines for our first trip to Barcelona because of its central location and the kitchenette to keep restaurant costs down. We were immediately pleased with the cleanliness of the lobby and friendly service from the front desk. Our room was a single, located on the 2nd floor. At first we were disappointed to not have a view of the street - our room was along the side of the hotel and looked out onto an adjacent building's rooftop and a few apartments. However, this turned out to be a bonus because it was the quietest side of the building. Our windows were similar to patio doors and you could step out onto the rooftop if you wanted. There was a maintenance man who came up to the roof occasionally to water the plants. Usually we had our window open when we were in our room with no concerns. The room was spotless and felt like a small apartment. The Citadines does not have daily room service; if you are there at least 7 days, which we were, they come by mid-week to clean and provide fresh sheets, towels and amenities. Otherwise you can either do laundry in the facilities provided or request fresh towels at an extra cost. It was nice that the hotel provided everything you need for at least one day (soap, shampoo, toilet paper, dishwasher detergent) until you can get to the "supermercado" - which is conveniently directly across the street. The Citadines chain provides a sofa bed, so you have a sitting room during the day and pull-out bed at night. The bed was so-so in terms of comfort, but I've certainly slept on worst. The room also had a mini stereo system and small TV, large mirrored-door closet, shelving unit, pull-out dining table and 2 chairs. The kitchenette was equipped with a small sink, microwave, mini-dishwasher, mini-fridge plus all dishes, pots and utensils you could possibly want. The bathroom was much larger than expected (for Europe) - a full-size bathtub with handheld shower and sink with large granite counter and storage cupboard. We were also impressed with the service - we could not get the climate control to work, and a maintenance person appeared within 5 minutes of us contacting the front desk. You can't beat the location - we walked everywhere from this hotel and the metro is about 2 minutes up the street at Placa Catalunya, where there is also a tourist information office. Although the Rambla is known to have its "seedy" elements, we never felt unsafe and security people "guardia urbana" are usually within sight. We walked the Rambla many times day and night with no incidents. All in all I would say that this hotel met North American standards and certainly was one of the best "3-star" places we have stayed at.