My cool stay at Retrome Barcelona
There’s no other city I’ve visited more times outside of my country than Prague and Barcelona. They are both my very favorite but Prague mostly because of history and the fact that many of my flights depart from or land in there. However, Barcelona is definitely my number 1 city in the entire world and I try to revisit it at least once a year. My last time I stayed at a cool Retrome Barcelona suite.
What I enjoyed at the Retrome Barcelona
- there’s different kinds of rooms/suites to choose from. Because I was alone, I didn’t need the biggest one and was more than fine with Retro Romance suite which is 25 square metres. I had a modern bathroom, a retro bedroom with a really cool painting above my head, a dining room with kitchenette, and a terrace. You can make tea or coffee there, use the fridge, or even prepare a light salad for dinner. It was such a beautiful suite, indeed. Rather simple design was in contrast with nice colorful kitchen tiles that reminded me of Mexico. I could feel so much good energy while in there. Very chick and innovative! Plus, the terrace was an ideal place for morning meditation.
- loads of light in my suite thanks to the big windows at the balcony
- quiet – Barcelona can get super loud while in the Gothic quarter. And that for me means no sleep. However, my Retro Romance suite was perfect for me. No noise could be heard from the surrounding rooms, not even from any local neighbours living close-by. My balcony was facing towards a quiet yard with palm trees which brought me to a more tropical destination. It felt as if I was somewhere more exotic than Barcelona… somewhere far from Europe where I could not understand the local language.
always do this yoga pose in each hotel :D
- fast wifi – worked well in my suite and also in the Retrome Café & Lounge downstairs where we had breakfast. I did not work online while at Retrome but I could at least upload videos to Facebook and schedule them for the following days.
- free breakfast – when you book a room directly via Retrome website, you will automatically get breakfast included. That’s always a big advantage. There were pastries, fresh orange juice, coffee, tea, cava (champagne!), eggs, waffles, fruit, ham, cheese and veggies to choose from. Although I usually avoid gluten, I had to try traditional local Catalan pan con tomate, which is grilled baguette with tomato sauce, olive oil and garlic, if you wish. And a glass of fresh orange juice before that, which is yet another morning tradition in Spain.
- a free drink is also included in the Retrome Café & Lounge after your booking
- super friendly staff with good English – my check-in was done by very pleasant Sara who also advised me about vegan restaurants and other point of interest nearby
- non-chemical toiletries in my bathroom – because I am trying to stay away from the chemicals as much as I can, I do travel with healthy cosmetics, such as shampoo. But when there’s chemical-free toiletries at the hotel I’m staying at, I do try them out. I was very pleased to find paraben-free shampoo and shower gel in my bathroom. Big thumbs up for that :)
- each floor has a hallway with chairs and books where you can chill. The room entrances are from the hallway so if there’s more people from your group staying at Retrome, you can all have a chat at the hallway.
- location – I’ve been to Barcelona so many times, definitely more than 20, that now I do not wish to stay right in the hustle and bustle of the busy Las Ramblas in the Old Gothic Quarter. Retrome Barcelona is situated in Eixample quarter which I was happy for. I could walk from there through the Ciutadella park to the beach, and then quickly check some touristy sites, too. If I was in the city center, I might not do my minimum daily steps of 10,000 but staying at Retrome in Eixample made it easier. Each time I wanted to go somewhere, it took me at least half an hour walk. Yes! Steps and nicer buttocks, here I come :)
For more infomation about this cool accommodation, look for Retrome on internet. They also have apartments in Rome, not only in Barcelona.
TIP: Visiting the capital of Catalonia? Here are my 30 things to do in Barcelona. Go have a read so you don’t miss out on the most interesting places.
TIP 2: Read why Barcelona is my favorite city in the world.
TIP: There’s many things you can do in Barcelona. For many of them, such as museums and other attractions, you would need to wait in line for quite some time just to buy the ticket in person. If you’d like to skip lines, you can book your passes here online to save time. All you will need then is your mobile phone so no printing of documents needed. I recommend you to do the following while in Barcelona:
- Barcelona museum pass online
- Camp Nou experience
- Casa Batllo entrance
- Casa Milá – La Pedrera
- Chocolate Museum
- City tour Barcelona
*Have you visited Barcelona? Would you add anything else to the above things to do in Barcelona?
