SLS Barcelona

A very nice hotel, good furnishings, clean and tidy.... but..... Pool was cold at 20-21*C- not heated. Location on the outskirts of Barcelona wasn't convenient if you wanted to be in the city centre and we had to order Ubers everywhere we wanted to go as nothing was within walking distance - OK nothing that can be done about that but might be useful for anyone else. Nothing to do with the hotel but, Local eateries which were difficult to find, were nothing to write home about, but having your sewers jetted just as you have booked a table to eat in one put us off and we left without ordering anything! Balcony doors on both rooms (417 & 441) we had booked would not lock. Also the window glass in our room (441) had a massive crack in it. These weren't any issue to us but I would expect a relatively new hotel to be in good working order. Fire alarms went off during one morning and we had to evacuate down the fire escape stairs. On reaching the bottom we were told it was a false alarm and we could return. When we got back to our floor we couldn't access the hallway as our room cards wouldn't let us back in! I had to go downstairs and come back up in the lift and go and let my family back in! This Hotel boasts three restaurants, which is an exaggeration to say the least! The main hotel restaurant called "Lora" is accessible from the lobby. Another restaurant called "L'Anxova Divina" at the back of the hotel was permanently closed. the third isn't a restaurant "De Luxe" - its bar food from the bar in the lobby and has a very limited menu of burgers and club sandwiches etc! We didn't book breakfast, but went to try it on our last day there. We headed down to breakfast relatively late. The buffet food was all cold - nothing had been kept hot. There were queues for the 2 coffee machines, and there were very few staff around to help, yet there weren't actually any clear tables! I complained about breakfast to reception when we checked out but they still charged me for 3 breakfasts after I had left when they took more money off my credit card for the minibar. We didn't actually eat or drink anything - not even a coffee! They asked for a 600 Euro deposit when we arrived which is a lot for 3 nights! I probably wouldn't stay here again.

If you are not forced to stay here for a work trip, do yourself a favor and book somewhere else. Anywhere else. The location is awful—a wasteland sandwiched between a factory pumping out chemicals and a highway, miles out of town. While the rooms are nice, that is the only positive. Despite the 5-star badge on the building, the service is completely subpar. It’s a real-life Fawlty Towers. It takes effort to get everything wrong, but they somehow achieved it.

The hotel facilities were lovely, but sadly the service was definitely not (with the exception of one staff member at the rooftop pool). Upon arrival, we were told our room wasn’t ready- and sent on a wild goose chase to access a pool. All of this could have been prevented had the check-in lady given us an access card. She sadly didn’t care. The theme of awkwardness continued, staff not wanting to help and redirecting me to other staff members rather than wanting to help. When we were asked at departure about how our stay was, the staff did not want the honest feedback we gave. I would also not guarantee the use of the rooftop bar, this appears to be regularly closed for functions- and the area by the floor 1 pool is very restricted for the size of the hotel. As regular Spanish travellers, there are far nicer hotels to visit in this city.

We had a brilliant stay at the SLS. I was a bit concerned about the service based on some reviews but we couldnt have found the staff more helpful. We stayed for 5 nights on a family break whilst attending an event. Despite being a luxury hotel we found it suprisingly family friendly, there was a real mix of guests and we were accomodated in all areas of the hotel. Our Euphoria apartment was a perfect space, large, comfy, great shower and fantastic view. The housekeeping was good and any issues were fixed quickly i.e.extra milk or towels. The pool area and service was always very good, dj on saturday and chilled vibe the rest of the time. Drinks were not cheap but also not overpriced. There is also a supermarket near by for bits you need. We ate in the Lora restaurant and lobby area and both were very good. Unfortunately one restaurant was closed and the rooftop pool area which is huge and lovely only opened on our last day but it didnt impact too much. Location is good if you want to be out the city but still only a short cab ride away (10 mins). The marina area is quite industrial in places and could do with being better maintained/with more/nicer restaurants but a 10 minute walk from the hotel is a more built up area and a great shopping centre with good rooftop restaurants (diagonal mar). There is also a beach in a few minutes walk. The area is quite lively over the weekend with house music pretty much everywhere in the few nearby bars/clubs on the marina so that is to be considered if you want somewhere more quiet. Overall we loved the hotel and had a great stay, i am pleased we chose it over other city/chain hotels and i would absolutely go back...maybe without the kids bext time ;) !!

I just stayed at SLS Barcelona. I’d say I’m well travelled, and have in the last few years stayed at quite a few five star hotels, so I’m comparing it to those other experiences. The hotel opened in April last year, so I do anticipate that it will get better! However, I think at the moment it’s being oversold. I was there for a sunny few days in late May, when the rooftop pool was not available, nor was the Cosimo restaurant - both shut. This is not clear on their website, and it leaves the food options very very limited for such a large hotel. Lora is a nice looking restaurant, serving middle Eastern style food but small menu. The deluxe Café, is basically the hotel lobby and not really set up for having a proper meal. It was very loud when we were there on the last night as they decided to show a football match on four screens across the lobby with full sound. It has the same food menu as the coral pool. The pool is quite a nice area, but closes for swimming and for eating at 6 pm not great! The photos of the hotel being beside the marina are a bit misleading. There is really nothing around this hotel, aside from boats being parked, it’s quite a derelict area - no shops and no other restaurants. It’s not even nice area to walk, I would guess the land was quite cheap to buy, hence the size of the hotel in such. You will need to take a taxi everywhere to and from the hotel it’s also situated beside a very large factory. Some of the balconies have views of that very large factory. The staff, unfortunately are very much not at five star level. Given it has only been open for 13 months, it’s possible they have new staff this year and they are training them but many of the staff were unable to assist, or couldn’t communicate very well and had to ask a colleague for help, even for basic questions like having our order for food taken. There were also just not enough staff, and the staff are not paying attention to who needs to be served, they often just walk past guests ignoring them completely rather than offering to help them. So the guest relations overall is very poor and slow. Some very nice people at the concierge desk, but they all seem so young and untrained. The rooms in the hotel are very nice, the lobby is nice and the outside terrace of Lora is also pretty nice, but if you really want a good hotel close to the city and you like five star this is not a place to go in 2026. Perhaps in 2027 when it’s been open for longer - or if it was in a nicer location with access to the city!!