I’ve been known to switch Barcelona hotels halfway through a trip but this time we decided to stay put for a couple of days, to keep things simple. My first tip for booking a hotel in Barcelona is to research the area that suits you best.

Occidental Diagonal 414 Location

Being seasoned visitors to the city, our favourite district is Eixample, and the closer to Passeig de Gracia, the better. This trip was no different and the Occidental Diagonal 414 was just a 6 minute walk away from it and, more specifically, La Pedrera (or Casa Mila.)

It was also a short walk to a couple of tube stations, this did mean that you could hear the rumblings of the trains below. It didn’t bother us except for what I think was a loud one in the middle of the night when I dreamt our door was being hammered on. I can only presume I’d heard a loud rumble and thats how my brain translated it! Doesn’t help that I’ve had actually happen more than once in other hotels. Essentially, if you are a light sleeper, I’d suggest you get a hotel away from subway lines.

lucy stood in front of a faux blossom tree in the hotels entrance

Junior Suite

Rooms are modern at the Occidental Diagonal 414. We booked a Junior Suite which had a super large bed. Unfortunately for us, Booking.com showed that these rooms had a view of the Casa de les Punxes which the hotel sits next to. They don’t. I found out before we got there and the rooms that did (The Deluxe Double Room with Terrace) were fully booked. The error is now fixed on that site, and we got breakfast thrown in as an apology to soften the blow.

lucy is sat on the bed putting her necklace on

The Junior Suite was lush though. It has a sofa, super large bed (bigger than super king) two TV’s, a bath and rainfall shower. It also has two balconies. A small one next to the bed and a larger one leading off the lounge area. Neither had any chairs on though, which meant it was standing room only as there was only one chair inside. Something worth noting if you’d planned to sit in the sun with a drink. Amenities wise everything has been considered. Alongside the usual fayre there is a Nespresso machine, garment steamer and a drawer safe. Tech wise the curtains and voiles operate via remote and there are USB and plug points plus a small pop up style speaker by the bedside.

Occidental Diagonal 414 Roof Terrace and Bar ‘B Heaven’

Outside of the room the terrace was the place to be. We dipped our feet in the shallow pool (its 30cm deep so designed for paddling and at best sitting in.) It was great to use to cool off after a long day exploring. The bar wasn’t staffed when we were there but towels and drinks could be picked up from the lobby bar. I imagine in peak season it would have people there. We had the rooftop to ourselves for quite some time on both days and it was bliss.

Aperol Spritz is a great choice to have on the terrace. Its a large size and comes well mixed and is perfect as a pre-drink before heading out into Barcelona. I’m not sure on the price but it is under £10 aa a beer and this cost just over. Great for a hotel bar I feel!

Breakfast

You know I love me a hotel breakfast. But call me spoilt from some other holidays, but breakfast wasn’t all that. The hot selection was small with about 5 plates, there were about 3 or 4 cereal choices and all the pastries were tiny. Fruit is also mixed, and it just felt like the standard breakfast items weren’t available. Like they have focussed on random things like having donuts and muffins available, but not the core, plain croissant. I didn’t feel like it was worth the money we would have paid (around £10 per person per night.) You could easily pick up a good breakfast or brunch for that price and had what you wanted.

Overall the hotel was good. It was a good location for us, the staff were friendly and helpful and our room was lush. Highlights were : Massive bed, Terrace, drinks prices. Lowlights were : Room mix up, Slow lifts! and no terrace chairs.