SLS Barcelona

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!!

I booked this hotel some months ago intending to stay there before and after joining a cruise from Barcelona. As a fan of the Accor group, I always prioritise their hotels whenever possible. SLS is a relatively new addition to the group and although the funky, Instagram focused decor is not to my taste for nights topping and tailing a cruise, I was not too concerned provided that the product delivered comfort and service. On arriving at the hotel with a significant amount of luggage, it was a slight irritation to have to go into the hotel lobby to find somebody to assist to bring the luggage from the taxi into the lobby. It was otherwise a warm welcome from the reception team but to be informed that the room was not ready 40 minutes before check-in time when I had pre-warned them about arrival and specifically requested a slightly earlier check-in was the second irritation particularly as with my Platinum status, early check-in and late checkout should be accommodated. The suite we had booked had a wraparound balcony and views over the port and the swimming pool. I was not offered or given an upgrade which I usually receive as part of my Accor status. However, the room was comfortable enough, even though the electronic controls for lighting and the curtains never fail to waste rather than save time. The bed and pillows were comfortable and the room was generally well appointed even if designed for looks rather than usefulness. A lovely terrace though with plenty of room for lounging. We had missed lunch and asked at reception for dining options and booked a table at Lora, the Lebanese restaurant. While waiting for the restaurant to open, we thought we try to enjoy a drink in the un prepossessing bar which forms part of the reception area. We waited for 15 minutes to be served and had to ask at reception for somebody to offer us a drink, which was eventually provided . The restaurant provided excellent service and extremely good food, albeit that it was rather noisy. As other guests have posted the soundproofing in the hotel is not ideal meaning that my first night sleep was interrupted by the sound of music from the next door suite and from outside the room. Breakfast is also served in Lora ,with an extended buffet spread across three dining rooms. Checking out, I made a point of speaking to reception about my return visit after the cruise because I had booked a day room and then separately a room for the night following the cruise. I asked them to link the two bookings so that they could give me the same room for the two bookings if possible. On my return, I encountered the same issue with no one available to assist with the luggage and when speaking to reception there appeared to be some confusion over the two bookings. I was informed that I would be advised as soon as the suite for the overnight stay was available and given a key to the day room which was a dark and compact room with an unprepossessing view. Fortunately, we were well rested and did not need to use the room to sleep which was just as well as I was twice asked (wrongly) to leave the room by staff and advised that I had overstayed because check out was at midday. Neither member of staff who asked me to leave the room appeared to understand the concept of a room for day use; this prompted me five hours after checking in to ask whether the suite for the night was ready. I was informed this is being cleaned but not inspected and when I asked how long it would be before it was available I was told they did not know. Sadly, this level of service was reflected once again in the reception lounge/bar when my husband and I ordered coffees and brunch;my coffee arrived with a large fly in it and when I advised that this was the case no replacement was offered. Furthermore, we waited 50 minutes for avocado on toast to be provided and had to chase twice only to be informed that the kitchen was busy with room service. By this time, we had realised that the service in the hotel was wholly inadequate. I asked to see the manager but manager came there none. Now I know that they must simply not care about service. We signed for the bill to be informed that the toast had been removed from the account, but by this time the first impression gleaned of this hotel was set in stone. I’m delighted to say that a second dinner at Lora was as wonderful as the first and that the service there was of an altogether better quality. Our overwhelming impression was that we would return to the hotel only to use the restaurant. I simply cannot understand why a hotel of this nature exists; it is all very well to appeal to the Instagram generation but are we to assume that they do not care about good service. Finally, I agree with previous posts about the unprepossessing nature of the hotel’s location; the surrounding area is somewhat unkempt and there is building work going on close by and the industrial unit next door hardly makes for a destination . It is hard to see why with so many other excellent alternatives in Barcelona, I’d have any reason to return to this hotel other than its restaurant. I could have forgiven the hotel a great deal had the service matched the five stars which the hotel is supposed to carry; given the location in order to make this hotel Work management are going to have to address the lamentable service.