Derby - Barcelona, Spain     

Stayed at Derby for three nights. First impression was that it is located in a quiet street and it is a modern looking boutique with wood panelling offset with black borders, a pattern repeated throughout. Reception is quite formal but checking in was straightforward. The standard room is quite basic but clean - wooden floors and panelling, with neutral colors makes it look quite sterile. Bathroom is functional, equipped with a Grohe shower system. Slightly more than the usual complementary toileries - mouthwash, conditioner, shampoo, shower gel, body milk. However, there are no coffee/tea making facilities, a frustrating inconvenience considering breakfast wasn't included and I was not willing to pay the €14 for breakfast. Housekeeping is good but the reception could easily have done better. While english is spoken, they messed up on the wake-up call service - twice and requested for the cab at the wrong time, in spite of me confirming with them on the times. I would have settled for a radio alarm clock in the room or at least a TV with a wake-up function. Other noteworthies: Location: Quiet street, not too far from the main streets of Sarria and Ave Diagonal. However, there appears to be two "men's bar" on the same street but in spite of this, the area feels like a safe neighborhood. Hotel is about 0.5km to the nearest Metro station of Hospital Clinic. To give you an idea of the distance to the the old town/Gothic Quarter etc, it would be at least a good 45 min walk. Overall, while the Derby may be clean and quiet, if you are looking for a central location, the Derby is not for you.

we recently returned from staying at this hotel. First impressions on arrival were very pleasing, there was my wife and i, plus our 1 year old child. I booked this hotel from their own website, so i saved £££ they even provided a cot for our baby. The rooms were clean and well looked after. Apart from the mini bar, lcd tv and the hair dryer there was nothing else! I was hoping they had a kettle and a iron in the room. One of the reasons i wanted a kettle was to warm my childs food up. Every time i wanted hot water i had to ring room service, which would take time to bring the water. After a day or so, room service started to charge for hot water (€3) which i thought was nuts!! We used the pool which was across the road at the Grand Derby Hotel, which was fine, but the water in the pool was freezing and the lack of towels was amazing, considering there was only 3 other people there! Breakfast was brilliant and generally staff were pleasant! Personally i would not class this as a 4 Star Hotel. It would be useful to learn Spanish, as non of the house keeping staff did not speak English!