Hotel Sofia

Not HYATT!!!?? It’s a GHOST HOUSE - a DIRTY, STINKING, OLD OLD OLD GHOST HOUSE : PACKED WITH ROTTEN SEWAGE SMELL WHICH GREETS YOU AS SOON AS THE ELEVATOR DROPS YOU WHERE YOUR ROOM IS … THE ENTIRE CORRIDOR LEADING TO YOUR ROOM IS ITSELF “GENERATIONS-OLD” & DECORATED WITH RUINS OF CENTURIES OLD STINKING WOODEN PANELS & CENTURIES-OLD, FADED, TIRED VERTICAL MIRRORS THAT ARE PEEKING FROM INBETWEEN THE EQUALLY TIRED WOODEN PANELS !! IT’S A “HORROR-MOVIE” SCENE ONCE YOU LEAVE THE DECEPTIVELY COOL RECEPTION AREA. Just a TRAP - to cheat and take advantage of innocent guests who blindly book this hotel thinking it’s their own favourite “HYATT”. Surely NOTTT HYATT !!! Just a GHOST HOUSE of a hotel. We are very very old members of Hyatt & we just stepped into this hotel & VERY VERY QUICKLY STEPPED OUT. Never again. Never ever again.

Unfortunately this was one of the worst Grand Hyatt experiences we had, and certainly the worst 5 star hotel we stayed at in Spain. There was some plumbing issues in the building, but this was not disclosed to us until we checked out and intentionally asked if plumbing was a building wide concern. The check in process was fairly smooth. However after we returned to our rooms at night time there was an awful sewage smell. Even after opening the windows for 15 minutes, the smell was persistently strong. We called the front desk and they said that they would send maintenance. This was already at midnight. The maintenance team came into the rooms and sprayed these chemical agents into the drain and around the room. The chemical smell in the room became so pungent that we could not stay in the room. It wasn't until we asked for a different room that it was reluctantly offered. The second room had a similar smell but less pungent and considering it was already 01:30 AM, we decided to stay. At the check out, we intentionally asked about the plumbing and the front desk staff pretended there were no issues - but with further inquiry he stated that there were plumbing issues on 2 of the floors. This was unfortunate as the second room they moved us to was on the same floor as the first. We expected there to be better service at a 5 star hotel, and especially with Grand Hyatt. Reading previous reviews, this is a persistent issue. However the hotel staff pretended that this was news to them. The lack of transparency and careful resolution has led us to never consider this hotel, nor recommend it to others. There is no luxury experience to this hotel at all.

Be warned. They advertise as five star hotel but it’s actually worse than a four star. The hotel staff were loitering around in the hallway talking to each other as if it was their social club. No interest in helping the guests. Every night we were woken up by noises from maintenance work past 10:30 pm. Banging at the door and strong wind noises due to poor insulation of windows. Every day we brought to the so called guest experience team as a globalist and everyday empty promises were delivered without any action. The lounge experience was poor as there were cheap cookies and tea with Luke warm water as freebees. The happy hour as they called it felt like a homeless shelter food buffet. The quality of food was extremely poor. They need to visit other GH hotels such as one in DC to learn what quality of service means actually. I’m conclusion, a total waste of money as there are much better hotels in Barcelona for less. Won’t recommend it and won’t be returning!

Everything looks very nice and new and maybe therein lies the issue, lots of smaller teething problems. The TV does not work (not setup properly), the phone is faulty and the charging station did not work either. We got charged twice the deposit when checking in, etc etc. Things that might get sorted out with time and better staff training. The Peruvian restsurant gets full marks though. The spa is nice but at 40 EURs per person per visit its hardly worth it. Location is not great unless you are playing at the Camp Nou the next day. Reception staff needs to be better trained in dealing with issues. We had very loud music two nights in a row from the neighbouring room at 23:30, was not dealt with in a timely manner. So all in all, beautiful on the facade but staff, policies and equipment lets the place down.

Easily one of the best Hotels to stay in Europe, great location, amazing staff and beautiful restaurants. The room was exactly as it looked on pictures, cozy and clean.