New option for Marriott fans in central Barcelona

BARCELONA — Welcome to Hotel Check-In's first of several pieces on Barcelona's hotels.

Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Until last week, I hadn't seen it for 20 years, when I'd spent 10 memorable days as a journal-writing backpacker. So it was wonderful to return and see the city in an entirely new way and benefit from the expertise of Barcelona-based hotel writer Sònia Graupera, who helped me come up with a short list of hotels to visit.

In the last two decades, the city has undergone many changes — and, lately, an economic crisis that has resulted in unemployment rate of 22%.

Yet, that hasn't stopped the hotel industry from innovating, renovating and in some cases creating new properties in former commercial buildings (such as the luxury Mandarin Oriental). Today, however, I'd like to kick things off by telling you about a hotel run by one of the world's biggest hotel operators — Marriott.

Marriott converts AC Diplomatic into Renaissance hotel

In the last year, Marriott has grown significantly in Spain because of its purchase of the Spanish AC business hotel chain, so while in town, I stopped by the former AC Diplomatic hotel in the city's center a short walk from the prestigious, tourist-friendly Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district.

Six months ago, the hotel completed an extensive renovation that updated the entire hotel and converted it into the city center's first Renaissance hotel — and first Marriott-brand hotel.

Since adopting the Renaissance name and look in April, the 211-room hotel now fills between a third and 40% of its rooms with Marriott Rewards members, hotel publicist Yoshi Korver told me.

"We immediately saw a change," she says. "For Marriott Rewards members, when Renaissance came, they preferred to stay here in city center vs. the other Renaissance at the airport" (which had previously been the only Marriott in Barcelona). Now, they're the largest percentage of customers that we have."

The number of travelers from the USA increased as well, although the hotel didn't have statistics.

First impressions: When I walked into the hotel at around 1 p.m., I immediately noted the natural light, range of colors, contemporary dark-wood finishes and modern mix of seating options, such as a large bar/barista station, slick-yet-comfortable modern leather chairs and couches. There was a heavy use of warm tans and creams, plus teal as an accent color, which is my favorite design color at the moment.

It's obvious that the designers took their inspiration from Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona's legendary architect known for his distinctive style, use of color, organic shapes and mosaics. A dark-wood wall, for instance, is decorated with four circular mosaics of different colors.

Atmosphere: Subtle, jazzy electronic music plays in the background from speakers that hang from the ceiling in various spots. The place wasn't packed, but you could see people throughout the lobby areas working on laptops alone or in groups, and other solo people busy checking their smartphones. A group of young guys could be seen working intensely together on their Apple computers. For another visitor, a barista was making a coffee at the espresso machine at the large rectangular bar.

Location: No matter how busy a guest might be with business, there's virtually no excuse not to take in some local sightseeing. "We're right next to everything," Korver told me. "All the famous places of Barcelona are within minutes if you're waking. Plaça Catalunya is 10 minutes; two Antoni Gaudi houses are less than five minutes, and it's 20 minutes to Sagrada Familia." The Passeig de Gràcia, by the way, can be likened to the Champs Elysee or Fifth Avenue. The location makes the hotel popular with Europeans who come to visit on weekends.

Rates: Expect to pay roughly 170 euros during slow times and more than 250 euros during peak times. Barcelona hotels are experiencing a busy October thanks to an uptick in group business, so rates are on the higher side this month.

Music-themed events another new touch

For my quick-yet-in-depth chat with Korver, we grabbed a table toward the back of the lobby because it had a convenient power outlet nearby (a big plus in my book, and all too rare!). The table was next to large glass, double doors that opened and closed automatically; it's a new feature made for specific reasons.

This second set of doors to the lobby don't just add welcome natural light, but serves as an entrance for the hotel's music-oriented parties and events that fall under the chain's system-wide R Life Live musical program.

This particular hotel has thrown two major parties so far with both significant and emerging musicians to bring in the locals — and, of course, sell a good amount of snacks and cocktails (this is central to the concept). The next event will be held in early November with a Halloween-type theme.

During the summer, the hotel had a DJ playing on Friday night, and it's looking to bring back the concept for fall. They're also about to start a Sunday brunch with a DJ — a concept that Korver says will be unique in Barcelona.

"People don't brunch here, so for the few people who do want to have a brunch, they'll have somewhere to go," she says.

Rooms: The medium-size hotel — 211 guest rooms and seven meeting rooms — updated its rooms, but it didn't change the layout of them. That means it still has only two junior suites. Marriott Rewards members, however, have a better chance of getting upgraded into executive rooms that are larger than standard rooms.

Wi-Fi, a negative: Wi-Fi in guest rooms is not included in standard rates, but certain Marriott Rewards members and groups get it included in their rates.

But even worse in my opinion is the fact that there is no free Wi-Fi in the public area, which meant that I could not log on if I'd wanted to go to the otherwise-inviting lobby and work with either a cappuccino or glass of fantastic Catalan wine. This to me seems counterproductive to the hotel's goal of encouraging people to hang out — and make food and beverage purchases.

There are two computers near the entrance with free access, and they were both taken during my visit.

Concierge service: Along with the music programming concept, Renaissance adopted a newfangled concierge service and this hotel naturally has it. Under the so-called Navigator system, employees throughout the hotel are encouraged to help come up with a monthly list of interesting, hidden places that tourists probably wouldn't find on their own - unless they had a local connection who knows the city inside and out like I did.

"Everyone in the hotel is looking for new, exciting things for our guests," she says. "We recommend where you can shop, eat and drink, as well as performances."

Korver's most recent contribution? Martini Bar.

"It's a cocktail bar that I love which you will never find if you're a tourist. It's really close to Plaça Catalunya. You go downstairs. They wear white suits with bow ties. They are live jazz performances. What I love about this place is that the cocktails are amazing. They have a great variety and everything is made fresh."

I asked her what if a guest isn't in their 20s, like some employees who may be making the recommendations? The Navigators are trained to have many alternatives for people.

Note: If you'd like to see more photos of this hotel, join me on Facebook.

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