The perfect mini break at The W Hotel Barcelona review!

I can vividly remember the last time I was in Barcelona. It was summer 2011, I was 21, loving life on a family cruise around the Med and having the most gorgeous day trip down Las Ramblas. The exact day I got my university degree results. I remember looking towards the beach front at the W Hotel which was glimmering in the distance and made an announcement to my whole family. “Mark my words..one day I’m going to stay there”.

Well, eight years later here I am. Dreams really do come true!!!!

For those of you who have been on this journey with me from the beginning, you will remember that last November I surprised the hubby with a two night trip to Barcelona for his birthday. Yep, I know, wifey of the year right here!!!

We have been together for so long now that buying each other physical presents is getting harder and harder. So we have both decided that from now on making new memories is all we need and want from each other, and to be honest so far it has just been the absolute best!! I would honestly choose an experience one million times over a new bag or piece of jewlery as I literally LIVE for exploring new places and for adventures. Especially the planning part, what a bloody BUZZ!!! I’m really not materialistic at all, and holidays just make me the happiest girly in the world.

So with that in mind, it was time to plan our next adventure. And when your hubbys name is Wayne it was an absolute no brainer where we was going. THE W BARCELONA. And the fact that I wanted to buy him a huge ‘W’ balloon for the big pressie reveal had absolutely nothing to do with the decision. Nope, nothing at all. What a lovely coincidence.

Although his birthday was in November I booked our trip for this May because The W’s pool area which looks over the buzzing beach is just iconic, and a huge part of why I wanted to stay there. And I had a feeling the November weather would have been a bit bitchy to us. Girl bye.

I have done Barcelona a few times now where I have explored the beautiful city and taken in all of the incredible architecture and history. I can do culture too ya know. But this time round only three things were on my mind. Sunshine, sangria and paella, and there was just no time for Gaudi, I’m soz hun.

So FINALLY the day arrived, and at 3am (yep I know, its always a good idea at the time isn’t it?!) our cab arrived and we were on the way to the airport. Can I get a whoop whoop.

It was time for our first Summersholiyay of the year and I couldnt have been more excited!!!

Barcelona are you ready for us???

The W Exterior

This was my first time at any W hotel brand and I was absolutely buzzing to see what all of the fuss was about. It is such a renowned and iconic brand across the world and we had heard such incredible things about the hotel. I can’t even begin to explain how excited I was to stay here.

As our cab pulled up outside the hotel I was genuinely speechless. The building was so tall and overwhelming, the sunlight was hitting all of the glass making it glimmer and sparkle, and it was just so EXTRA. I’ve never seen a hotel make such a statement before as this one, especially because the rest of the hotels in Barcelona are all very subtle, blending into the history.

But nope, not The W, this hotel was such a show off and I was living for it!!!!!

The inside was just as fabulous as the outside, with the walls surrounded head to toe in pink sparkly sequins (I know) and the reception didn’t have a ceiling. Instead if you looked up, you could see all of the floors of the W above you, and my goodness did it give me a neckache. This building was seriously tall and impressive.

It was time to explore, but first, let me take you to our room of dreams.

Inside The W bedroom 

What is your favourite part of a holiday? One of mine is opening the door to your new hotel room. There is something so ridiculously exciting about not knowing what you will find behind those magical doors.

Well I can confirm that opening the doors to our room at The W was one of the most incredible moments of the year for me so far. Not only was our room so fabulous and modern, but the views, THE VIEWS, I just can’t even deal!!!!

No words will do the view justice, so instead please just take a look at this photo. Can you even cope?

I certainly couldn’t, and genuinely felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Was I dreaming?

The W hotel have recently renovated all of their rooms, which have been themed to feel as if you are in the middle of the ocean and they really are fabulous. I have never stayed in a room before where the bed was directly in the middle of the room facing the window. It was such a genius idea and properly took advantage of letting us enjoy the to die for views. One of the best parts of the bed was that we had a switch which opened and closed the curtains for us without moving a muscle.

Can you imagine waking up bleary eyed, switching on a button and then the first thing you see is that turquoise ocean. I honestly didn’t take this for granted for a moment, and the hotel is worth staying for, just for the views alone.

The one thing I should probably tell you is that this room is totally open plan so all modesty completely goes out of the window here. I mean the toilet literally has a small bit of frosting over it and is basically in the dressing area, so if your not completely comfortable with the person you are sharing a room with this hotel is probably not for you. Luckily for me, we have been together so long that he has seen it all with me so I didn’t have to worry about that ha. (Mexico 2011, I’m looking at you hun. What happens in Cancun defffffinatly stays in Cancun vom).

Right, moving swiftly on let me quickly tell you about the different rooms you can stay at in the W. In order from small to large the rooms are themed as ‘Cosy’, ‘Wonderful’, ‘Fabulous’ and then there are different levels of huge suites. When I booked this room I paid for a Wonderful room, however to my utter surprise we were very kindly upgraded to a ‘Wonderful Sky’ room which meant we were on the 17th floor facing the incredible city and beach. The Wonderful Sky rooms are on floor 15 and above and there are 26 floors in total. (Thank you so much Quentin I can’t tell you how much we appreciated the upgrade).

The W ‘Wetdeck’.

I’ve spent the last six months stalking the life out of the W, but to see the outdoor area in its full glory was so overwhelming. It is 100% the coolest place I have ever holidayed before. With its wood paneling flooring, boujee white leather sun beds dotted around, loud house music pumping out of the speakers, the bluest of pools, and a huge mix of couples/groups of friends this hotel is THE place to be.

On our second day our bums didn’t leave the beds apart from to order food or cocktails from the bar area (its a hard life but someones got to do it) and time went SO quick because it is honestly such a fun place to hang out. The W also had such cute little touches where in the mornings they bring over a watermelon flavoured health shot, and in the afternoon hand out ice lollies. I love it when a hotel goes above and beyond in making your stay as fun as possible.

If the loud music isn’t for you, then there is a quiet pool, which has an infinity edge, but we didn’t sit at this section as we love being surrounded by a buzzy atmosphere and wanted to get right in the thick of the action.

Of course the best part of the hotel are the INCREDIBLE views, and the whole pool area is actually on decking above the ground meaning you can watch the whole world go by.

On our first night we actually walked all the way from The W to the other side of the beach which was so much fun to explore. My phone told me I did 18,000 steps that day so I rewarded myself with the most divine dessert that night but I will get to that in a minute. I would definitely recommend walking along the beach promenade because the atmosphere is totally brilliant and this was a real highlight of the trip.

THE BEST RESTAURANTS AND BARS IN BARCELONA.

Phew all that walking has left me feeling extremely hungry.

I think its about time I told you lot all about the most delicious restaurants and buzzy bars that we went to. And please do me a favour, if you are coming to Barcelona soon, you HAVE to add these all to your list.

Breakfast in Barcelona 

• We choose to eat at the Buffett breakfast at the Wave Restaurant in the hotel. This was extremely yummy, with lots of choice so I would absolutely recommend adding this to your booking if breakfast is your thing.

Lunch in Barcelona

• Pez Vela- So good we came here twice. This al fresco open plan restaurant is on the beach right by the W and we stumbled across it by accident. Sometimes that’s always the best way isn’t it? Besides the divine food what I adored about this restaurant was that it was filled with locals, which made us feel like we had found Barcelona best kept secret. And the food, OH the food. We had the most delicious, scrumptious paella ever at this place and I was so happy I could have cried.

• Wet Deck Bar Area at the W– Do you remember that lazy day I was telling you about where we only lifted our bums off the bed to order food. Well, this was the day we ate at the Wet deck bar and stuffed our faces with chicken fajitas and chips. The food at The W was genuinely really yummy and if your feeling lazy is ideal!

Dinner and drinks in Barcelona 

• Salt Beach– Some nights you have just got to stuff a burger down your face and wave goodbye to that horrendous diet. And there’s no better place to do this than at Salt beach bar. This is actually a part of the W hotel but a separate restaurant situated on the beach and is a really fun and buzzy place. I would actually really reccommend this for big groups too. The exact words that came out of Wayneys mouth (whilst stuffing his face with said burger) was ‘this is the best burger I have ever had in my entire life’. There we go, enough said. And oh my goodness, let me just tell you that we had the dessert of DREAMS here, which came in the form of a giant cooked cookie, with ice cream in the middle. I was in a state of pure happiness the whole night and don’t think I will ever eat a dessert quite so delicious ever again.

• Cecconi’s– Are you lot laughing at me that I came here? I know, I know, I can hear what you are all saying. ‘But there’s one in London Sammy’. I had that thought too, but really wanted to experience what the Soho House brand was like around the world.  This was the best decision we ever made because I hand on my heart mean it when I say this is the best Italian I have ever experienced in my whole life. I’m sorry London, but it puts you to absolute shame. Situated in the Gothic Quarter the restaurant has the most stunning interiors with a huge open plan kitchen and the most incredible sky roof, but it still had the most cosy and intimate feel. This is the kind of restaurant you want to get dressed up for as it feels like a proper date night. We stuffed our faces with pizza, pasta, you name it, we ate it, and we will probably be talking about this restaurant for the next ten years.

• Soho House Barcelona– We enjoyed after dinner drinks on the rooftop at Soho House which is a night I will never forget. Soho House is situated right by the harbour with the most stunning views of the boats and the city skyline. It was absolutely magical and so special to be there and this was a proper pinch me moment of the holiday.

• Eclipse Bar, The W– This is one not to be missed. High on the 26th floor at The W is The Eclipse Bar, which is a VIBEEE. We had pre-drinks before dinner here, and guzzled down Passion fruit shots whilst listening to our fave RnB songs high in the sky. It doesn’t get much better than that does it? Apparently the party goes on here till 2:30am every night, but I was too busy being in a food coma at that point to experience that ha!

Woweee, so there we have it.

Our time at The W Barcelona was short but oh so sweet, and we the absolute time of our lifes. It had been on my bucket list for so many years, and to say I have ticked it off in the best way possible feels my insides with happiness. It was SO worth the wait!

I hope I have inspired you to stay here. I promise it will be the most fun you will ever have!

Thank you to The W for a dream come true holiday, I WILL be back one day, so this is not goodbye, it is a ‘see you soon’.

Lots of love,

Sammy xxxxx

*2021 Blog Update*

During these crazy Covid times it has become so vital that when booking a holiday it should be as stress-free as possible, and now, more than ever, there is nothing more important than ensuring you have booked through a reliable and trustworthy company. With that in mind I want to introduce you guys to Original Travel who are an absolutely incredible Tour Operator. Original Travel have the knowledge and experience to book you a bespoke tailor made holiday, look after you with a wonderful and personable service and most importantly, they will take away all of the hard work and yucky Covid stress. I know that when I look to book our first family holiday (hopefully, eek) next year we are hoping to book through them as we know we will be totally looked after, and ultimately that has become SO important in the travel industry now.

So if you are looking for a hotel to stay at for your next trip to Barcelona I really couldn’t recommend this company more!

To book a holiday to Barcelona through Original Travel please click here.

Oh before I forget, here are some W insider tips especially from me to you....

• Bring a hairdryer!!! The one in the room was shockingly slow, and I was seriously vibing Hagrid this whole trip.
• Ask for a room above the 15th floor and facing the city for to die for views.
• Men have to wear trousers in evening to get into The Eclipse Bar (they don’t tell you this on their website so watch out)
• This hotel isn’t cheap. I booked it on Black Friday and got a seriously good deal!!!

*This Blog Post was sponsered by Original Travel, but as always my words and opinions remain 100% honest.

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy my other Hotel Reviews:

New York- The Edition

Maldives- Kuramathi

Soho Farmhouse

Center Parcs Woburn Forest