Melia Barcelona Sky

We had a really disappointing stay here. We are a family of five and decided to pay for the more expensive (apparent) 5 star Levels area. Bruno at the Levels lounge checked us in and he was fantastic. Really friendly and we had a nice chat about football! On our arrival, we noticed the metal panelling outside our family room was bashed in and our rooms a little dirty, although nothing too bad - it just could have been cleaned a bit better. We tried to move the two beds apart in our childrens' room to make it to two singles however we couldn't as the sticky tiling was peeling away under the beds, some sticking up which would be a trip hazard and some missing all together. Around the pool, wood panelling is missing in places and sticking up in others. My six year old tripped and fell here resulting in us leaving the pool early. The man who works at the pool bar is lovely, although clearly very busy. Lack of staff means it's a long wait to be served for food and drink. Also despite signs stating they will be removed, some guests clearly left towels down on sunbeds to come back later meaning when we arrived there was no where for us to sit. We paid €150 for one of the premium loungers so we could be by the pool, which included food and drink up to the value of €150. It provided a back up option which was good but it's a shame they couldn't sort out people 'reserving' Sun loungers for extended periods of time with towels. We don't tend to do resort stays for this sort of reason and haven't experienced it as a problem in other city hotels before. The most disappointing experience was seeing a rat in the hotel restaurant. My husband spotted it and discreetly told staff who appeared shocked. We presumed something would be done but the next day it was clear nothing had been done. He approached a separate member of staff in the restaurant area as he spotted a family eating at the table where he saw the rat. Staff insisted they had deep cleaned the restaurant - my husband moved two tables to prove they had not in fact deep cleaned the restaurant and was told they can't possibly move the tables every day to clean underneath. There were food debris everywhere. We asked to speak to a manager but no one was available. We went out for the afternoon, came back and had a letter through our door. We thought it may be to apologise and to let us know they had dealt with the issue. It wasn't - it was to say we had reached the limit of what they allow to be charged to a room (€200 I believe) so could we come to reception. Of course we were happy to do this, but still nothing about the fact there was a rat hanging out in their restaurant and they couldn't even be bothered to clean up the food debris! We reported the issue another five times to members of staff and still nothing was done - this was clear by evidence of how dirty the restaurant remained. The final straw was when my husband walked past the window to the restaurant the following night once food service had finished and food had been left on the floors and tables. This was about 2 in the morning - the lights in the restaurant were out suggesting they had finished for the night yet it hadn't been cleaned. No wonder they have a rat problem. On our final day my children and I didn't really want to eat in the restaurant as we doubted hygiene there at this stage, so we had a rushed breakfast and left. Such a shame given we paid extra for breakfast! We finally felt listened to upon check out but still were not able to speak to a manager for the hotel - guest relations, housekeeping etc...spoke to us but the hotel manager seemed to completely absolve himself of any involvement in the issue which is disappointing. It isn't the staff's fault - a manager should be willing to engage with guests on matters relating to hotel quality, especially when they come down to basic hygiene resulting in a vermin problem. There are, of course, going to be rats in cities but that is why basic hygiene measures are put in place like cleaning up left over food in a hotel restaurant! It was suggested fo us by a member of staff that there had been a rat problem a few months earlier so they had had pest control in to deal with it. I was stunned that if this was the case, basic hygiene had dropped again so quickly. We said that we still absolutely wanted to speak to a manager and I was told someone would be in touch once we left and they gave me contact details as well. I did not hear from them until I emailed to chase. On check out we were told not to pay our tab for the pool bar - we were told it was the least they could do given the circumstances. I have to agree and it was implied by staff that perhaps we should be due more of a refund when we speak to management. The Levels area was not five star in anyway so we were disappointed to have wasted approximately €1300 and not get what we had expected. The rat identified a clear hygiene problem in the hotel which having seen the lack of clean down after evening food service, I am not surprised. I have broached the subject of a partial refund with the hotel manager since but it has been declined. I planned to pursue this further however I have a disabled child and have not had the opportunity as instead I have been dealing with issues relating to their schooling and care which much take priority. I will say that after we had checked out, two members of staff did appear to finally be in the restaurant looking for evidence of a rat and my son thinks he saw someone at that point who may have been pest control (he doesn't speak Catalan and is only 10 but thought a word on the back of a man's top may mean pest control). It's just a shame it was three days after the incident.

We stayed for two nights and chose connecting rooms. The hotel’s location is a bit far from everything, except for the Sagrada Família, which we were able to reach on foot. Unfortunately, the hotel itself is in need of renovation almost everywhere — the rooms, bathrooms, and especially the corridors. The corridors were particularly unpleasant: everything is covered in metal, with fingerprints everywhere, which gives the whole place a rather dirty appearance. The windows also looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned in years. The breakfast was quite poor. To make matters worse, they divide guests into two levels for breakfast: the “Level” category and everyone else. This was the first time I had seen such a division at a hotel breakfast, and I didn’t find it particularly appealing. Even pancakes were only available for Level guests, which I consider unacceptable. The fitness area was probably the only part of the hotel that looked modern and well maintained. In our room, the bathroom door barely closed because it had swollen at the bottom due to humidity. The beds were also essentially two separate mattresses pushed together, so if you are travelling as a couple, you have to sleep carefully on your own side or you end up falling into the gap in the middle. The pool is small, but sufficient for cooling off. The sun-lounger area is quite spacious. There is also a bar on the 23rd or 24th floor (I don’t remember exactly), but there is no terrace, and the space itself is not particularly attractive. The reception staff were pleasant, helpful, and responsive, so there is nothing negative to say about them. Overall, though, the hotel is in serious need of renovation and, above all, a thorough cleaning of the windows and corridors. With some investment and proper maintenance, it could be a much more pleasant place to stay.

The staff here is so helpful and friendly and catered to my every whim. Helen at the reception area was wonderful and so was Antonio in the level lounge and Victoria in the dining room for breakfast. We enjoyed the level but felt that the food choice in the level lounge was not as good as the level in London. Regardless, the breakfast was amazing. Used the spa and there was no one there but us which was nice. A non-touristy, pretty quiet neighborhood (Poblenou). Enjoyed it.

We arrived for a two night stay at this hotel. We had a very warm welcome by all members of staff we made contact with. Later when we were shown to our room we found this extremely disappointing. This is definitely not a 5 star hotel! We have paid decent amount of money too. The breakfast in the hotel is poor not well presented and very messy! The pool area was nice but the floor has not been maintained. The towels were nice quality. Maria from guest services tried her very best to please us when we )when asked ) When we explained how unhappy we were. She upgraded our breakfast on the 2nd and last morning. We asked a few times to see the Guest Service hotel Manager and were told that she wouldn’t say anything different as Maria had spoken to her We explained that we were looking for the hotel to remove one of the 2 nights to reflect the hotel rating we believe is not of a 5 Star standard. We were told not possible. They decided to take off €30 a head. The same for another 6 in the family. They said they’ll take off anoth €20 which was a drinks bill around the pool. We said this was still unacceptable. Our taxi arrived and we had to leave for the Airport. We left the hotel we had already pre paid and told them that we would raise this as a dispute with our credit card. We said bye to Maria. Whilst in the car Maria called my daughter and said they’ll up €250 between 3 rooms! Very unhappy customers Marilyn C

Shout out to Bruno! He is Portuguese and looks like Bruno Fernandez. Obrigado Bruno!!! I couldn’t say a proper bye so I hope he sees this!