I struggled with settling on a number for this review…read more
Hotel Carlemany has a lot going for it - great location, impressive modern facade, large spacious and comfortable rooms with good air conditioning and Wi-Fi. However, for a 4* hotel, it fell a little short of my expectations.
The front door of the bright impressive modern facade (5) led to a somewhat disappointing dark and rather dated looking interior (3).
There was no pomp or ceremony about our arrival. The usual welcome chat and map of the city etc. were conspicuous by their absence (3 again), although perhaps this is more of a business hotel (maybe a 4).
The room was spacious and overlooked the pretty square to the front. The air conditioning and Wi-Fi were excellent. The beds were comfortable. The bathroom was big and clean (maybe a 4).
The staff at reception were very helpful with any requests (yes definitely a good 4).
Breakfast was the deciding factor. The breakfast room was prepared with care. Tables dressed in clean white linens and polished silverware. There was a reasonable selection of juices, breads, pastries, cold meats, cereals and yoghurts. However, the "hot" food offerings really let the breakfast down. There was a selection of beans, scrambled eggs, sausages and Spanish Omelette under a hood, but they were all cold and very unappetising. On the first day of our stay, I thought maybe we had caught them on a bad day and that the following day would be better. Unfortunately, there was no change on the following day. The same "hot" food left to go cold. There was no sense of it being consumed or replenished regularly as you might expect at a busy hotel breakfast. (Maybe a 3 again)
Overall, I settled on a 3.5. A 4*or 5* rating has a tendency to focus the mind on the negatives of a hotel while a lower rating encourages focusing on the positives. I enjoyed our stay and had it not been a 4* hotel, I'm sure I would have reviewed it more favourably. With a little extra effort, Carlemany could be a great hotel.
