I was super excited to visit Bharma. I heard about it in a LOST forum and by coincidence I would be traveling to Barcelona for my two-year wedding anniversary in the next couple weeks! How lucky! Like Hurley hitting the lottery lucky. But like Hurley, it was cursed from the start.
Well, turns out the hours of Bharma were far more mysterious than the island. And the staff was arguably worse than Nikki and Paulo combined. Sorry Damon and Carlton, that was your only misstep in a perfect series!
The first time we attempted to stop by they were closed. Okay, our fault. That wouldn't deter us from coming back again a few days later. We tried calling ahead but either got a pre-recorded message which sounded like they were permanently closed. Or the one time we got through when we first stopped by (and called from outside because they closed) they answered "hello" like it was a personal mobile number. We asked if they were opened tomorrow, they said yes and hung up.
Not a good way to start. It certainly dampened my excitement... almost like running out of MacCutcheon.
So, finally as we walked down the street on the last day of our vacation I could see they were open! I was so excited. The door was open and we walked into what looked like a LOST-themed bar I would actually come back numerous times to. Crazy stuff all over the place, a faithfully replicated hatch on the wall, dharma styled beer everywhere. I was definitely willing to let all the dirt and dust slide that they let build up on the fake plants and rocks.
Well, we walked in with smiles bigger than Sawyer's sh!t-eating grin and then a younger member of the staff told us they were closed and to come back in fifteen minutes when they opened. Well, okay... they looked opened, but no big deal. We waited down the street 20 minutes just to give them a little more time.
This is where for the first time in Barcelona we felt discriminated against. We entered the bar, walked around a little to admire the decorations, and sat patiently for 20 minutes while NO ONE helped us. Not the staff who saw us. Not what appeared to be the owner who was outside with another member of the staff. NO ONE. The staff looked at us numerous times and let us sit there in an empty bar. 20 minutes. Didn't tell us they anything. Just looked at us and went about their business.
We were extremely disappointed, shocked, and disgusted with Bharma as we got up and made our way to the door. As we walked by the owner he barely looked at us, said nothing, and walked right passed us as we walked out the door. The ignorance was palpable.
My wife and I spent 9 days in Barcelona and had a wonderful time visiting this amazing city and all the beauty it had to offer. My wife speaks Spanish, and we tried to incorporate Catalan as best we could, and everyone was always willing to speak to us in English if we couldn't express ourselves properly, which was never an issue. This was the only time we truly felt discriminated against and we could feel it in the air.
No, we don't have to go back. Ever. read more