Monthly Archives: November 2012

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W Hotel – Barcelona, Spain

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The eye-catching, sail-shaped hotel at the very edge of the Barceloneta neighborhood is where we decided to stay for our 3 nights in Barcelona.  The W Barcelona was very luxurious, but felt worlds away from the rest of the city.

Price.  Expensive.  I don’t know the exact dollar/euro amount, but we spent 20k starpoints per night.  Looking at prices in May and September of 2013, the lowest level room is €350-415.  So, paying with points was definitely the better option for us!  An alternative Starwood hotel is the Le Meridien, which is slightly cheaper and much more conveniently located to most of the attractions and transportation in Barcelona. 

Location. Right on the beach (there is a direct access from the hotel) and great for relaxing (by the pool).  However, other than that, the location wasn’t great for seeing the rest of Barcelona.  We felt isolated from everything.  It took us around 40 minutes to walk to the Gothic neighborhood, which was our favorite area in the city (next time we’ll look for a hotel there).  With the heat and humidity, we wasted a lot of energy walking back and forth between our hotel and it definitely had a toll on the activities we had planned. 

Room. Gorgeous and comfortable, with a fantastic sea view.  The room was set up just the way I like it – the bed was in the middle of the room, facing the bench-to-ceiling windows.  And the W beds are so comfortable.  

Dining.  Like most Starwood hotels, the W has food that is readily available and expensive.  We were very hungry our first morning in Barcelona and opted to eat at one of the hotel restaurants before heading out for the day.  Unfortunately for us, both options were €30 per person, so although we got enough food to hold us over until our late, light lunch, it was more than we wanted to spend.  We also enjoyed some drinks and snacks at the bar on the ground floor and at the hotel bar.  Again, none of it was well-priced, but you’re paying for the luxurious ambiance (the hotel pool was especially nice, with comfortable benches and tables and lawn chairs by the pool). 

Amenities.  All of the expected amenities of a Starwood hotel, with a few extras worth mentioning:

  • Private beach access: walking down the steps from the lobby brings guests to the private beach area specifically for W guests.  There are towels and lawn chairs available to use (free of charge).  
  • Nice pool/lounge area, but fairly impractical for swimming.  It was hot (over 90 degrees F) while we were there, but, just like other European pools, the water was so cold that we couldn’t stay in for more than a few minutes without worrying that our heart might stop beating.  That being said, we snagged a booth while we ordered snacks and drinks, and then moved to the lawn chairs that sit right in front of the pool, so we definitely enjoyed ourselves.  Beautiful area to lounge around at and work on the tan, but not so great if you actually plan on swimming.
  • Gold Check-in Amenity :  At check-in, we received the choice of free wifi for the stay (normally 19 euros per night!), two free drinks, or 250 starpoints.  I chose the free wifi, but the man at the desk was super nice and also gave us two free drink certificates (beer, wine, or cava only).  A few days after checking out, I signed into my SPG account and realized he also gave us the 250 points!

 If we could go back in time, I would have chosen a different hotel for this trip.  The location was a huge drawback that we didn’t fully anticipate while planning.  Taking a taxi everywhere was an option (and that made the distance more bearable), but being able to step out of the hotel and into middle of the city is a benefit we won’t overlook on our next trip. 

 

Orange 3 House – Lisbon, Portugal

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Amateur traveler reviews are often instrumental in trip planning.  Actual experiences and undoctored photos have proven much more reliable than short descriptions in guidebooks or glamorous hotel websites.  Accordingly, we wanted to share our own impressions of our hotel choices during our recent trip to Portugal and Spain for the benefit of other travelers.

Our reviews start in Lisbon, where strong TripAdvisor.com reviews led us to Orange 3 House for our 3 night stay.  Orange 3 House is a 3-room bed & breakfast located in the heart of Lisbon.  The B&B’s proprietor, Igor, is extremely enthusiastic about the city of Lisbon and very dedicated to perfect the experience of his guests.  His recommendation led us to Guarda-Mor for fado, which I just incidently described as my “best memory of 2012” to a group of friends.

Our room on the third floor at Orange 3 House in Lisbon was modernly apportioned with plenty of natural light.

Price. €105/night for 2 people (including breakfast) on the 3rd floor (Suite 3).  Orange 3 House offers tremendous value, considering its location in one of Lisbon’s most interesting ,pest free garden and convenient neighborhoods and modern amenities.You can also contact experts from pest control portland to avail pest control services and to make your garden more impressive.You can save €10/night by staying in the rooms on the first and second floors, neither of which have the partial views of the Tejo River available in our room.  Prices drop an additional €10/night across the board in low season.

Location. Orange 3 House is located between 2 of Lisbon’s top neighborhoods for cuisine and sightseeing, Chiado and Bairro Alto.  It is directly adjacent to the Elevador da Bica (the focus of many Lisbon photographs) and a short walk to both Cais de Sodré and Rossio stations, which offer connections to popular day trip options Belém and Sintra.  The only time we ever needed a taxi during our stay was to connect to and from the airport.  We can think of no better spot for a Lisbon home base.

Room. We stayed in Suite 3, located on the 3rd floor.  The room featured a small balcony with partial views of the Tejo River (pictured below).  Unlike many other accomodations in Europe, Orange 3 House has floor-to-ceiling windows that allow ample natural light into the room.  It also offered a spacious shower (with the overhead rain nozzles that are becoming so popular) and modern conveniences like a flat screen television are free wi-fi.  Our room was the perfect place to relax and enjoy a bottle of wine before heading-out for dinner, especially after opening the large windows to enjoy the evening breeze and sounds of the city.

The balcony on Suite 3 at Orange 3 House offers partial views of the Tejo River.

Dining.  We were given a free bottle of wine at check-in and had access to the downstairs fridge for affordably priced beers, more wine, and snacks at any hour during our stay.  The breakfast is continental, but was delicious and provided us plenty of fuel to get through to lunch.  Every morning, we were surprised with a new local specialty pastry that was included as part of the breakfast, which was a nice touch.  We were also packed a to-go breakfast when we needed to catch an early morning flight our last day, which we certainly hadn’t expected!

Amenities.  Igor offers his guests free wi-fi, which had a strong signal on both the top floor and in the lobby.  I would recommend you go through Orange 3 House to arrange your transportation to and from the airport.  We tried to get our own cab on the way there, and they were unfamiliar with the neighborhood (dropping us off at the top of the Elevador, thinking the streets below were pedestrian only) and overcharged us.  On the way back, we had Igor arrange our taxi back and he picked us up right outside, and charged us the fair rate.

If we are lucky enough to return to Lisbon in the near future, I expect we won’t even to bother researching places to stay, given our complete satisfaction with Orange 3 House.  We were amazed by Igor’s superlative hospitality and loved our room and location.

Orejas y Fútbol

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Evenings in Madrid enthralled us.  On the warm fall nights during our visit, we discovered swarms of energetic people, spirited music, and an electrifying atmosphere.  This jubilation   apexed around Plaza de Santa Ana, the heart of Madrid’s nightlife scene.  It was here that we began our culinary adventure through Madrid’s tapas offerings.

Our first tapas stop in Madrid was a planned one.  As we do in preparation for all our trips, we repeatedly watched relevant Rick Steves episodes prior to our departure.  A scene capturing Rick eating sautéed pig ears in his Madrid episode especially intrigued us.  Accordingly, we followed his lead and ordered a ración of oreja (ears) at the Orjea de Oro bar, along with two glasses of the Galician ribeiro wine (€1 each!), and an order of patatas bravas.  The taste of the ears was recognizable–not too different from bacon–but the texture was wild.  Just like one might expect, the dish was “cartilagy” and far from tender.  The pieces of ear served already cut-up, so luckily minimal chewing was required.  

Our oreja ración at Oreja de Oro

To our chagrin, instead of a colorful local, we found ourselves sitting next to a fellow Rick Steves aficionado.  He was similarly following Rick’s trail through Madrid’s tapas offerings, but could not muster the courage to order the orjeas.  He had no shame communicating with the English-speaking bartender in Spanish that was nothing short of abysmal.  Despite the lack of local flavor and toughness of the orejas, we do not our regret our experience.

Anxious to find an authentic local experience, we sought out a tapas bar playing that night’s Real Madrid fútbol match.  After surveying several options, we found a spot called La Venta de Farracas just a few blocks away with plenty of buzz and an open table.  We ordered traditional tapas, all of which we had sampled in other Spanish cities–croquettes, fried calamari, and more patatas bravas.  I ordered a couple of Spanish beers to accompany the food.  The food itself was decent, but the real highlight was the fútbol game.  All eyes were fixed on a large big screen television in the back of the establishment.  Unlike the modern American sports bar, with dozens of digitial high definition televisions, this spot had one television, with a noisy analog signal.  This did not distract the crowd, however. They chanted, cheered, and groaned just as they would at the stadium.   To their dismay, the game resulted in a loss for Real Madrid to underdog Sevilla.

That same night, we also visited a pintxos bar called Txakolina for  and and one additional Rick Steves recommendation in Casa Toni to completely satiate our appetite.  We ended the night with a strong sense of accomplishment at successfully completing a 4-stop tapas crawl.   

The Best Things in Madrid are Free

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Well, at least some of the best things are free!  Two of my favorite sites in Madrid were the Prado museum and Retiro Park.  The art featured at the Prado was fun to learn about and beautiful to admire and Retiro Park was a much-needed break from the bustling streets of Madrid.  Before going into detail, I do want to mention that the Prado is not always free, only during certain times.  So, plan well and you can save quite a bit of money!

We stayed at the Westin Palace in Madrid, which was conveniently located a few minutes from the Prado.  This was perfect because the Prado was on the top of our list for places to visit while in Madrid, and since I was under the weather at the end of our trip, traveling too far was not appealing.  We made our way over to the entrance around 17:00 on our first day only to find that the cost was an exorbitant 12 euros per person (22 with the official guide!).  Willing to pay, we almost continued on.  However, we then saw a sign saying that the Prado entrance would be free starting at 18:00! [For more information on pricing and when the museum is free, check the Prices page on the Prado website.  The short answer: Monday through Saturday, 18:00-20:00 (closing) and Sundays, 17:00-19:00 (closing)].

The official guides are not available during the free entry hours, but the information desk has brochures in several languages that map out the popular paintings throughout the museum.  In addition, the Prado website has information about 15 masterpieces found at the museum.  We used our Rick Steves’ Spain guidebook to help us focus on particular paintings and learn additional information about each one, but we did find that most paintings had some sort of description in Spanish and English.  

Since the line didn’t take long to get through and the crowds were manageable during the free time, the only real downside is that the time is limited to the last two hours that the museum is open each day.  We were able to see plenty in those two hours, but there is so much to see in the Prado, so for many, a full (or at least longer) day might be more practical than waiting for the free time to start.

Close to the Prado, Retiro Park (Parque del Buen Retiro) sits on over 300 acres of land…in the middle of Madrid!  It’s hard to believe that the beautiful and peaceful gardens are located in the middle of such a lively city.  Throughout the park there are trees to provide shade and, in several instances, we noticed people laying around, either sleeping or reading a book.  If relaxing in the park fits your agenda, think about bringing a towel or blanket to really enjoy the park like a local.  

Retiro Park was nice and relaxing, but also lively with tourists and locals alike – especially around the lake.  We visited on a Saturday afternoon, so the area around the lake was packed with families and couples.  We sat on the ledge by the lake (seen in the picture to the right) and watched as people purchased food and souvenirs or just hurried by, chatting away.  We enjoyed watching the people having fun on the lake, rowing in the rented boats.  I was considering renting one, but it was very hot out (around 90° or so) and the lake was completely unprotected from the blazing sun.  So, we sat instead, shaded by the trees surrounding the lake and enjoyed our time people-watching.    

With so many expensive attractions in large cities, it’s always nice when there is a little something for free.  In addition to the free hours at the Prado and the always-free Retiro Park, the Reina Sofía (a great modern art museum in Madrid) offers free hours and Plaza Mayor, always bustling, is free (and not too expensive for a sit-down meal and drink).  

However your time is spent in Madrid, do not forget to enjoy some of the greatest sites the city has to offer – for free!

City Overview: Madrid, Spain

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City. Madrid, Spain

When? Friday, September 14 – Sunday, September 16 (2 nights).  The 2 nights were a little rushed.  We visited all of our top priority sites (Prado, Palace, etc.), but another night would have allowed us to consider a day trip to Toledo.

Where? We stayed at the Westin Palace Madrid in a Junior Suite.  The hotel has an excellent location, directly opposite the Prado and a short walk from Plaza de Santa Ana, which is one of Madrid’s liveliest nightlife scenes.  We only paid $90 + 4800 SPG points per night.  The same room usually costs €399.  Without our Starwood points, we likely would not have found the hotel to be a good value.

Transportation. Central Madrid is very walkable, although there are busses and an underground subway to get around.  The only time we hired a cab was for travelling from the train station to the hotel and from the hotel to the airport.

Food. Madrid had an excellent tapas scene, especially around Plaza de Santa Ana.  We had no problem finding a variety of options to piece together a tapas crawl.  In addition to ordering the patatas bravas that are available everywhere, we also tried orejas (pig ears – pictured below), visited a pintxos bar, and sampled champiñones (sauteed mushrooms).  We had one lunch on Plaza Mayor, which has a unique ambiance, but unremarkable food.  Unfortunately, Kristin wasn’t feeling well during our stay in Madrid, so we weren’t able to pursue the cuisine options as aggressively as we’d hoped.  Our impression was that Madrid had more to offer than any of the other Spanish cities we visited on our trip, perhaps only rivaled by Sevilla.

Day Trips. None.  We would have likely visited Toledo if we had more time though.

Attractions. The highlight for us was the Prado.  We aren’t art lovers, but we found our visit to the Prado very enjoyable.  The Prado is our new favorite art museum in Europe, far surpassing the Louvre and the Uffizi.  Also, it is nice that the Prado is free in the evenings, and we found the crowds to be very bearable.  We also enjoyed our visit to the Madrid Palace.  All of the important rooms are open to the public at the Madrid Palace, and visitors really gain an appreciation for the grandeur of Spanish royalty.  We also visited the Reina Sofia (modern art museum), Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and Retiro Park.

Language Barrier. Almost everyone spoke English.  We had some minor communication difficulties at a pharmacy and one of the less busy tapas bars, but overall the language barrier was very manageable.

Cost. The cost of food seemed comprable to other places in Spain.  As could be expected, our meal on the Plaza Mayor was probably overpriced considering the quality of the food.

Advice.  Dedicate at least one night to a tapas crawl.  Wonder along some of the smaller streets around Plaza de Santa Ana, to avoid some of the more crowded and touristy options.  Although the Prado and the Madrid Palace are worth a visit, the cuisine scene is what really impressed us.

Closing comments.  Madrid is often a focus of many travel itineraries in Spain.  Appropriately so, considering its status as the nation’s capital.  However, it is a relatively young city and lacks some of the history and tradition found in other European cities.  We would prioritize a stop in Andalucía above Madrid if time is limited, but still believe Madrid is worth at least two nights if time permits.