HOTEL SB ICARIA BARCELONA

In a trip full of bad experiences and poor customer service, this hotel is perhaps one of the worst among them. The rooms were hot and the lobby was hot because the air conditioning didn't work, and the hotel didn't particularly care to fix it. They told us to open a window. There was visible water damage throughout the rooms and hallway areas, which irritated my throat and caused my allergies to flare. My allergy medication was no match for the mold and mildew. Then there's the customer service.... We paid extra and reserved a 3 person room, which turned out to be identical to our friends' two person occupancy room (which had nearly all of the same problems); right down to the hard wired, backstabbing cot. The hotel only agreed to switch out the cot in my room for a bed after we advised that we would not stay. The hostility, bigotry and animosity that we also experienced was overwhelming. The difference in the treatment of guests of color and Caucasian guests was stark and eye opening. They (including several people we encountered in other places in Barcelona) could hardly hide their disdain for us and for having to serve us. There was a lot of whispering and looking in our direction no matter how quiet we were and how much we tried to blend into the furniture so as not to be singled out. Imagine the dilemma when our airline cancelled our trip minutes before we left for the airport, and we were forced to ask the hotel to accommodate us for one additional night. Needless to say, they immediately denied our request, making no effort to accommodate us. We were homeless in Barcelona. Long story (reasonably) short..... Barcelona is a beautiful place with breath-taking sights and monuments. However, I will never voluntarily visit Barcelona again. If I should have the misfortune of ever finding myself there, under no uncertain terms would I stay at the Hotel SB Icaria Barcelona. In fact, I'd sooner have my toenails individually plucked from my toes with pliers, my feet then squeezed into a pair of high heels two sizes too small, and I be forced to run a marathon in those high heels.

We stayed one night. The staff at the reception and bar were all very helpful. The pool area is well maintained as was our room. We went for the breakfast and would say that was the only thing that dropped it from being a 5 star. There was lots of choice but not too many healthy low sugar options. If you like cheese and meat though there was plenty.

I booked this as it was a first time for my in laws in Barcelona. This is ideally located approx. 300 metres from Nova Icaria beach and 10mi s walk from the hustle of Port Olimpic. The rooms are quite standard however but the service itself is exceptionally.

Very Nice hotel and not too price! Friendly staff at reception, bar and clean and modern rooms. The only desadvantage are the very noisy English tourists. From early on around the swimming pool they make noise. Even after midnight they walk in the corridors making an incredidable noise without respecting other guests. Long live Brecht!

Our first time in this hotel. Our third time in Barcelona. ---- We arrived early, and had informed so in our booking: Room was ready, no extra charge. We also informed in our booking that view was more important than everything else, & got a nice city view with sea in the horizon :) Thank you! Room was good & clean with every facility that we expected and more.. Room: Very good. Beds: Really good! Recommended if this is important to you :) AirCon: Medio. At night: With our view we got city-noise. Which was ok with us. The rooms facing the pool would be very silent. Pool area: We really liked it. In general grownups, I found myself asking my two children to calm down their fun & noise quite a lot the first days. The little fountain is mostly turned off. Breakfast: Wonderful!! And really nice service :) Gym: Tip top. Also perfect location for the best morning runs. Service: Mainly: Personal, warm & friendly. But: We had one minor problem in our stay, where unfortunately answer was “Sorry, can’t help you”. I had lost my diamond-earring between 2 paving stones in the pool area & needed to borrow a scissor (or something thin/long) to fish it back up. I went to the store, got my own scissor & fixed it. Would have been more impressed with a small effort to help out, or at least hear us out, as it was no one else in the reception, and there seemed to be room for the extra service... And I find it a bit strange that the hotel don’t have a scissor, if they don’t give it out for security reasons, they could have asked to help me out ;) Location: To me this is a (very good) beach & bath-location. Short walk to the zoo. But when citylife is our main agenda, we choose more central preferably within Barri Gotic or north in Ribera& El Born area for shopping. Lunch: We only did one lunch in the hotel… food was delivered at different times & plates were missing. Most “went wrong”, and some of the food was “medium-“. Cute service & coffees was delivered to our table to make up for the missing/late stuff. :) Concluding: The hotel has everything important and more. We had a wonderful stay, superb breakefast & good service at a reasonable prise! We look forward to be visiting SB Icaria again :) Wi-fi: Flawless.