Barcelona - Priceline or not

[WASUP]

We are wondering how to do the Barcelona on Priceline, not sure of the map they use and what section to choose. Has anyone used Priceline for Barcelona? If not Priceline, anyone have luck on a particular hotel??? We are going in mid November.

 

Thanks

[vivian02]

Hi WASUP.

We have talked before on Alaska and Airline upgrades. Barcelona on Priceline I have done before. If you are looking for a Hotel in Barcelona where you can sleep in Las Ramblas I would recommend checking out "Hote Continental" There are two of them and they both now have air conditioning. Not a bad place to stay for a first night in Barcelona, check it out.

Now for Priceline. I would go to "biddingfortravel" and check out bids that are being accepted. I would think you will be looking for a place in "East Barcelona" I won a bid for Hotel Hesperia Del Mar which was two blocks from the beach. My wife liked it because she felt secure there. I have heard of people getting Hotel Majestic (Fantastic Place) for around $127. I hope this helps. Good luck. Tim

 

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[lovely12no]

Hello. I like you, last year, was tempted to use Priceline to book a room. I diligently studied the area and thought I had focused on Barcelona fairly thoroughly and the areas that were nice... and hoped for an acceptable room. I ended up with Hesperia Del Mar (the hotel the gentleman before my reply stayed at). It was stated to be a 4 star by a number of sites except for Orbitz (reputable in my book)....which gave it a 2 star. I am a rather picky hotel goer and decided to investigate why there was such a large gap of difference (2-4 stars). After discussing this discrepancy with Priceline, they kindly and unusually re-evaluated the property and brought it down to a 3 star....and allowed me to bow out. Hotels in europe are in many cases not what we are accustomed to in the USA...of course there are many instances which exceed our expectations entirely....but not in the 2-3 star categories. I will not use Priceline in europe, but certainly in the USA. I was very impressed with the integrity that Priceline showed in my situation, but I do know that they seldom do that. I suggest that you select your own hotel via TripAdvisor.com which will give you lots of personal feedback from folks and an insight into whats out there.

 

Good luck.

 

Susan

[WASUP]

I enjoyed trip advisor, there is a wealth of info....we want to stay in the Ls Ramblas region and at the same time we are reading alot about the pickpockets and we will take precautions, but it is just wantting to pick the hotel that gives us a feel of security. We were in Rio a few years ago and all the talk about the crime left me fearful as we did the walking and we were with friends of ours that lived in Brazil. Have you heard of not wearign any jewel, not even a watch, in Barcelona?

 

Thanks

[Jane110]

I enjoyed trip advisor, there is a wealth of info....we want to stay in the Ls Ramblas region and at the same time we are reading alot about the pickpockets and we will take precautions, but it is just wantting to pick the hotel that gives us a feel of security. We were in Rio a few years ago and all the talk about the crime left me fearful as we did the walking and we were with friends of ours that lived in Brazil. Have you heard of not wearign any jewel, not even a watch, in Barcelona?

 

Thanks

 

I've been to both Rio and Barcelona in the past year. You really can't compare the two.

 

Yes, there are pickpockets in Barcelona - though we did not experience any - but I wouldn't tell people not to wear any jewelry. I did leave my expensive watch and big diamond ring at home. However, I did wear an inexpensive watch, simple gold earrings and my gold & diamond wedding band everyday. Just nothing flashy. We were there for 5 days. The big thing to be careful of is the purse snatchings - again, I fortunately, didn't experience this, but was extremely cautious with my bag.

 

In Rio, I wouldn't even wear a pair of cheap earrings just in case someone thought they were real, I didn't want any hassles. I bought a cheap Swatch watch just for the trip and don't even carry a purse.

 

Jane

[WASUP]

So as are as cities, Barcelona is a bit more "safe"? We too took nothing outside in RIO not even a 5 dollar watch...

 

Thanks

[Jane110]

So as are as cities, Barcelona is a bit more "safe"? We too took nothing outside in RIO not even a 5 dollar watch...

 

Thanks

 

 

Barcelona is alot safer than Rio.

 

We walked all over the place in Barcelona, day and night. As I said, I was cautious about pick-pockets and never encountered any. As a precaution, DH and I kept money and credit cards in underclothes wallet - but kept about $20. in pockets for easy access. In my purse, I kept guidebooks, sunblock, etc.

 

Rio, we took private guides everywhere on this visit. We were in Rio 13 years ago and mugged at 3:00PM walking to the beach and didn't want a repeat this trip. (we would have skipped it, but it was the last 2 days of our cruise)

 

Jane

[lovely12no]

Hi again. We did not experience anything negative...but as in any city I suppose, there are always those elements that give people a reason to be very cautious. Our hotel, AC Diplomatic was in a great location...no problems walking about and feeling anything less than safe. I suggest you take normal precautions as you would in any city.....but do enjoy yourselves. There is so much good in life and Barcelona was such a lovely city! Ciao! Susan

[edpeeks]

A couple years ago we Priceline Hotel Colon in the "old town". I cannot remember how much we paid for it but it was very nice and a fraction of the advertised rate. Barcelone is lovely. the best way to see it is by using the bus system. There are two lines, I believe red and blue, you can go on both. Go up to the top of Las Ramblas, you'll see the buses to the right. Get off where you want and stay as long as you like. I felt we saw the city in a day. Las Ramblas is a blast. I wore a money holder around my neck. I did feel one hand go into my pocket walking down a street. We walked all over the city and always felt safe.

[Moeve]

Pickpockets in Europe well I would think Rome is the capital city for that...... If you want to use the Metro there don't take anything or take a baseball bat and start swinging as you get in. They are so swift and during the queeze you won't even notice the hand opening and closing the bag in your hand.... Just saw it happen last week!!