Set just 5 minutes from the Barcelona-El Prat airport and 15 minutes from downtown Barcelona, the Barcelona Airport Hotel is as straightforward as its name. With 257 rooms, it’s big enough to offer a variety of services, but small enough to still feel manageable and intimate. Rooms come in deluxe, elite, and suites and there’s an onsite pool, gym, two restaurants, and a garden.
My room was in the deluxe category, with 262 square feet (plenty for a solo traveler only staying one night) with a king bed, one club chair, a small desk and office chair, and a bathroom with standup shower just a few inches shy of being “cramped” in size.
While appreciated the comfortable bed with abundance of pillows and the extra (and easy to reach) plugs for all my devices, other amenities – air conditioning, hair dryer, TV – were of the standard variety, and the room was decorated in unoffensive tones of beige, gray and white. Heavy curtains kept out light and noise. In short, it was everything I needed for a single night before an early flight home, but without any extra bells and whistles.
Where the hotel excels is in offering convenience to its guests – and not just in its great location. WiFi is complimentary, as is a 24-hour shuttle to the airport, running every 30 minutes. From February to October, there’s also transportation to the city center (Las Ramblas), fort €6 each way or transportation to the cruise terminals of the Port of Barcelona, with a price of €11 each way.For those who want to get in some exercise before or after a flight, there’s a large outdoor garden, a lovely pool, and a small but functional fitness center. If you’d rather consume calories than burn them, there are three convenient ways to do so. Room service is available from 6am to 1am, the Alabastro Bar offers cocktails and tapas until 1am, and the Restaurant La Sal Marina offers a wide variety of authentic local Mediterranean dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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I opted for dinner at the latter, where I enjoyed a small potato croquette tapas, a delicious cream soup, and a decadent Crema Catalan for dessert. Afterwards I could just wander back to my room, and the next morning, it was nice to sleep in a few minutes and then take the free shuttle just five minutes to the airport. Though the city isn’t much farther away, I didn’t have to stress about traffic or hassle with (or pay for) a cab.While the hotel isn’t going to wow you with sleek design or luxurious extra amenities, it offers everything you need for a short stay, including a comfortable bed, onsite dining, and the closest location to the airport.
