Catalonia Duques de Bergara - Barcelona, Spain 

Duques de Bergara is a tourist and business hotel. Having been to Barcelona before, I chose this hotel for price and because it was close to Las Ramblas without actually being in the thick of it, and it was well-placed for seeing other districts as well. The hotel, while almost on the Plaza Catalunya, is amazingly on a quiet street. It is a few meters from plaza, just at the top of Las Ramblas, where several metro lines and the train converge. You can walk from the hotel to most of the major areas with the exception of Montjuic. A nice bonus was the rooftop pool and very pleasant bar, which made for a calming apres-tourism oasis. I had a double room looking on an airshaft, but that was not a worry. It meant no street noise. I wasn't in the room so much. The bed was really comfy, just soft enough to rest me well after long days of wandering around. The sheets were really high-quality, and I appreciated that. The room had climate control. My only disappointment is that the room seemed rather plain and under-decorated for this class of hotel. There was a separate door between the bedroom and the entry foyer. That was useful, as the hotel has marble floors and sounds echoed. The bathroom, off the foyer, was spacious with a full size tub and nice big towels, changed every day. However, the ceiling vent fan was not working. One thing I did not like, as this is supposed to be a 4 star hotel, is that they charge by the day to rent a lock for the in-room safe. That should just be part of the deal. The staff at the front desk was helpful for my needs. They have only one internet station in the lobby and it is terribly expensive. There are internet places down in the Las Ramblas areas for 1/10th the price. There is so much great food in Barcelona, yet one night I was lazy and ate at the hotel restaurant. It was excellent with fine service, not overpriced, and I would recommend at least one meal there. Breakfast, though expensive, is quite good, too. For outside meals, tapas is found everywhere. I recommend El Taller de Tapas, an upscale place for outstanding quality and preparation and a great winelist. I liked it so much, I went 2 nights in a row. There's one in the Eixample district and one in the Born district. This is their website, to help you find it: http://www.tallerdetapas.com/