My husband surprised me with a trip to Barcelona to ring in the New Year.

Overall, we were pleased with this hotel. We arrived early in the day (9am) and the hotel upgraded us to an executive room that was ready. Per Trip Advisor reviews, I requested a room facing the center courtyard vs the street. We stayed in room 501.

We had no view from our room given the choice to face the courtyard, but it was definitely less noisy than the street side. We live in a NYC apartment, so we are used to occasional noise from neighbors & didn't find it difficult to sleep due to noise from neighboring rooms. Granted we went to bed pretty late & rose pretty late (trying to eat late as the Barcelona locals do) We could definitely hear people talking & water running in our bathroom, but nothing bothersome.

We did find that the room could get a bit stuffy at times. There was a heat/air switch, but it didn't seem to work that great on the cool setting. We found a big move towards conserving energy, and guessed that the hotel was limiting the time the level of the a/c. If the windows opened (they were locked), this may have eliminated this concern. We both thought that we might not want to stay here in the summer if the a/c could be a concern. (It was in the 40s & 50's most of our trip)

The doormen, front desk staff & the housekeepers were all very pleasant & willing to help.

There were several metro stops within walking distance. There are many nice restaurants in walking distance. Most of the shopping nearby is upscale chain oriented, but there were a few boutiques too. I preferred the boutiques in the Born area of town as they seemed to have more unique clothing & leather goods.

Paco Meralgo was one of our favorite restaurants on the trip but a long walk or short cab ride from the hotel. Cornelia & Co on Valencia was a nice option for late night eating or grabbing something to go. Crusto bakery across the street from Cornelia & Co had lovely sweets and offered some yummy sandwiches & salads too. Dolce was a nice place in the same area. Known for their sweets, but they have a nice lunch & dinner menu too. Great price fixe deal the night we dined there. We enjoyed dinner at Habaluc too, also in walking distance & a nice option when you tire of all the Catalan tapas places. Great wine bar on Passeig de Gracia nearby too.

We stayed here for three nights in July 2011 in a two-story Duplex room (with our niece in a Standard room). Our room had a great walk-in closet and a lovely living room upstairs. We found the beds perfectly comfortable (and I'm pretty picky about that) although not plushy. We almost did not book here because of the high-priced WiFi, but we asked the front desk about this and you can get one hour free per room per day with a special code. It was all we needed, so we were quite satisfied. The rooftop lounge is absolutely delightful and we had a nightcap there on two of the three nights. We also used the (very small) business center to print our boarding passes. The artwork and ambiance of the hotel are impressive. The location is the best part of this hotel (in addition to a really accommodating staff, who made excellent restaurant recommendations). We were within easy walking distance of many attractions, restaurants and shops. It's not very far really to walk into the Barri Gotic, but this area is so much quieter. Most of the Gaudi sites are either just around the corner or a short walk. We would definitely stay here again. Highly recommended.

Amazing location, midway up, but one block off of the main drag (Passeig de Gracia) so you were minutes away from great restaurants, the Ramblas, Guadi sites, and great shopping; but it was quiet. Claris is more of a Boutique hotel than a typical 5 star, however what they lacked in amenities (tiny gym, small business center) they more than made up for in service. I was having trouble on the old PC's while trying to print boarding passes and someone from reception sat with me trying to help and eventually let me use her office computer; the concierge made and changed restaurant reservations as needed and made excellent recommendations - we ended up having a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner at a hip restaurant nearby that we wouldn't have known about otherwise. Rooms are nicer than in the picture and again, well serviced - twice daily maid service, ice within minutes of making a call, sent someone up to our room in 1 minute when the key was not working. Great for romance or a family - would stay here again.

Just stayed at Claris Hotel in Barcelona over New Years. Overall a good experience. Jr Suite was very nice & modern. Bathroom was a bit dated style-wise but still had high-end finishes and was very clean. Location was also very convenient - short distance to excellent shopping areas.

Other reviewers had concerns around hardness of bed. I didn't find this to be a problem at all, but typically I've found most European hotels to not have super plushy beds like in North America. Front Desk staff & service from everyone we encountered was also very nice. Only complaint was the pricey WiFi (15 euros/24 hrs) and you have to keep logging back in with an ID/password provided.

While it was too chilly to utilize the rooftop pool, the bar was very nice and had a great view. We also had a New Years Eve dinner at the Hotel - was an excellent meal - too much food in fact & superb wine/champagne.