I stayed at the Holiday Inn Barcelona in early February 2012. From the airport to the hotel, it was about 20 - 25 minutes / 30 - 35 Euros taxi ride, depending on the traffic. I assume it is possible to get here by public transit; the closest subway station is about 2 block away, Llacuna on the L4 / yellow line, offering great access to the downtown, club district, and the port area. Keep in mind that even cabs that claim to be able to use credit cards may revert back to cash once at destination. On 2 out of 5 taxi rides the card readers did not connect properly.
The downtown is 5 or 6 stations away. As I was travelling with colleagues, we used a T10 pass, 9.95 Euros, basically 10 rides that can be shared. There is also a day pass that is 6.95euros if you plan a lot of subway riding.
The hotel is clean and seems to be very popular with families, and groups, young groups for the most part. The internet works very well, it was included in the room rate, along with the breakfast. It was not apparent that this hotel is heavily used by business travelers, but it does offer all that is needed if you are on a business trip.
Street noise was not an issue at least not in the room I had, however there seems to be quite a bit of noise transfer from other rooms, especially just before bed time and in the morning (lots of families with young children) and because of the younger crowd there was a lot of cell phone talking in the corridors.
Breakfast was excellent, offering a wide range of options, for both food and drinks, hot and cold.
Overall, the hotel was good value for the 85euros rate we paid. It is a 3 star so do not expect a lot of pampering. The staff delivered far more than the 3 stars, providing great service and lots of help at every interaction.
One evening I overheard a conversation between a customer and the reception desk, where the customer was complaining that the food they received in their room service was not as they ordered, and they were very hungry. Word of advice, do not use the room service (not that I am saying their food is bad…), be reasonable and go to one of the many restaurant that are less than 50 meters away. There is also a grocery store 20 meters away from the hotel, and on the opposite side of the roundabout there is a convenience store. At least 6 or 7 more deli type food stores within another 100 meters. Absolutely no need for room service….
I would definitely recommend this hotel for business, families, singles, friends, couples as long as there is an understanding that this is a utilitarian hotel in a fabulous city.