You can’t miss the resemblance of the W Barcelona to the Burj al Arabe in Dubai. This stunning curved glass structure sits at the edge of the Mediterranean overlooking the Port of Barcelona on one side yet it’s only 10 minutes drive to the centre of Barcelona.
When I arrived at the hotel, they were laying out the red carpet. Not for the VG! But for guests attending a dinner for a major Spanish telecoms company. The hotel reception was buzzy and busy, and I suspect many people wandering around were there just have a “nose around”. I was taken up to the 24th floor in an elevator so smooth the only reason I knew we’d arrived was my ears popped. The “W” in W hotels stands for WOW!, and this is true of their 473 bedrooms. Each bed is strategically placed facing the floor to ceiling windows, so the occupants can conveniently gaze out to sea without leaving bed. The views are stunning and the shape of the hotel makes the bedroom appear if suspended in mid air.
For an events organiser, it is the Great Room that gets them excited; or rather it’s an AV technician’s dream – a function room holding 850 with a ceiling height of 7 metres! The rear aspect comprises of a floor to ceiling window with views of the coastline. A well thought out terrace at the side makes a great area for a drinks reception or dining al fresco. Slightly disappointing was the narrow staircase access to the other meeting rooms located on the ground floor. There are 10 meeting rooms down on the ground floor; they’re good, but typical of any modern meeting rooms in a major city hotel.
This is the only hotel in Barcelona that has direct access to the beach, so obviously attracts strong interest from the leisure market. As a consequence, if you are proposing to use the W Barcelona for a serious meeting, the business suits could well be mixing with the swimsuits and the flip-flop brigade.
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The Venue Guru is a name given for reviews of business venues that as a professional, I have inspected personally or used for meeting and events. The venues reviewed are in the UK or mainland Europe and these reviews are from a meeting and event planners perspective. I have no links with any hotels or venue marketing consortia and the reviews expressed are my own opinions. I hope you find them useful.
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