Best Hotels Near Cruise Port In Barcelona
LOOKING FOR HOTELS NEAR BARCELONA CRUISE PORT?
Your cruise is departing from Barcelona and you thought it’ll be very convenient to stay near the Barcelona cruise terminal, so getting there with your luggage is a breeze. You don’t want to stress out about missing the ship!
The truth is that Barcelona is a very compact city, and in most cases you’ll be able to reach the cruise port within 20 minutes or less no matter where your hotel is located. And I know 20 minutes feels like “near enough” for American standards, for instance. But not for the Barcelona standards.
That’s why many listings of “Hotels near the cruise port in Barcelona” that you can find online mention hotels that a local would never class as “close to the cruise terminal”. Most of these listings have been written by people who don’t leave in the city, and don’t take things in account that a local would quickly spot.
Best areas for hotels near cruise terminal in Barcelona:
1
Montjuic Hill
Ok, let me start this post by ruling out an area that comes often recommended in other websites. The Hill of Montjuic is located by the Barcelona port. You see it across the water from the cruises docked at the Moll Adossat Terminals. It looks convenient even on a map, but… it’s not. For instance, the Hotel Miramar is often recommended in other websites because it overlooks the port.
But they forget to tell you that it’s difficult to get there unless you take a cab, and that it’s more than 10 minutes walk from any Montjuic site. Only an option if sightseeing isn’t in your plans and staying inside the hotel is all you want to do. There are more hotels in Montjuic, but they are located in the other side of the hill and they aren’t a 5 minute ride to the cruise terminals anymore.
2
Poblesec and Avinguda Paral·lel
So if you choose to stay in accommodations like the Hotel Brummell, you’ll have to walk to the main street to find taxis or the closest subway station. And despite its misleading name, the Happy People Ramblas Harbour is also here, not in La Rambla.
Avinguda Paral·lel is a big traffic axe that separates it from the Old Town. The Tryp Apolo is the closest to the cruise ship terminal. But the neighborhood where it’s located is nothing exciting, and to walk to La Rambla from there you’ll have to cross the not so safe Raval district. So again, you’ll have to spend money on taxis or time inside the subway to do all your sightseeing.
The Silken Concordia is further away, but it has the same problem. And what about the Universal or the Auto Hogar hotels? They happen to be located in the side of the street where traffic drives AWAY from the Barcelona Port. And that means you’ll need a detour to get on the right direction, making it a longer ride.
3
El Raval
El Raval is the left hand side section of the Old Town, spreading between Paral·lel Avenue and La Rambla. It’s upper part is lively with cafés, museums and enchanting plazas and medieval areas. But… that’s the area further away from the cruise piers.
The lower area close to the Barcelona Port is darker. Old dusty buildings, and the kind of feel you can imagine in a port district. There’s streets with prostitution, drug addicts and street fights. And more pick-pockets than in other areas. I have a list of Raval hotels, but most of them aren’t superclose to the cruise ship terminals.
Hotel Andante and Sixties Ramblas (previously Chic & Basic Ramblas) could be two decent options in safer areas. Although you must expect to walk a bit to get to any interesting area in La Rambla or the Gothic Quarter. It’s a reasonable walk, but not “right there”.
4
La Rambla
And there isn’t a quick way to reverse. You must go all the way up to the end of the street, then take a few streets detour to go around Plaça Catalunya. And only then you can start going down la Rambla again. Such a waste of time!
That’s what will happen if you book a hotel in the Gothic Quarter side of it. The right of La Rambla. The side of the even street numbers. And that’s the case of the Eurostars Rambla, the Sonder DO Reial and the International Ramblas Atiram, for instance.
The Oriente and the Arc de la Rambla fall in the good side of the street, but they are somehow basic. Often not what cruise passengers are looking for. Bagués would be the luxury option that stays within less than 15 minutes ride.
Le Meridien and the Hotel 1898 are a bit further, but their main entrance is on a side street, forcing them to go through the Raval to get you to the port. Anyway the detour is short and they stay within the 15 minutes range from the port.
5
Port Vell / Moll de la Fusta
All the hotels that line up this avenue are on the side of the street heading to the Barcelona cruise ship terminals. Although most of them are in the high-end price spectrum. The most luxurious is The Serras. Followed by Duquesa de Cardona, Duquesa Suites Barcelona and Soho House. Hotel Medinacelli is a 4 star too, but it’s older and not as luxurious as the rest.
Ample street runs parallel to Passeig de Colom although technically inside the low Gothic Quarter. And the traffic also conveniently runs towards the cruise piers. There you’ll find two nice options: Hotel Catalonia Port and Hesperia Barcelona Barri Gotic.
There’s a new opening in the area for adults-only, The Wittmore. I haven’t worked with guests staying there yet, but I’d be wary of it because it’s in an alley that’s small enough for taxis to refuse taking you there or even close enough. And cruisers don’t travel with only carry-ons… Luggage dragging alert!
As for the area, it’s perfect to explore the sites and restaurants of the Gothic Quarter and the Born district, and it’s easy to take cabs or subway to the rest of the city sites.
6
Barceloneta
The area is great for beach and seafood lovers, but it’s a longer walk or ride to the tourist sites. And I need to say there aren’t too many options there. There’s the H10 Port Vell (its proximity to the Gothic Quarter and Born District would make it my favorite here), and further away the Hotel 54.
I’ve also seen many people recommending the apartments Uma Suites Barceloneta Beach on Carrer de Sant Miquel 61. It’s located inside the neighborhood alleys but still within 15 minute ride to the port.
A special mention deserves the W Hotel, but not my favorite for many reasons. For what matters to this post, I’ll say it’s located at the very end of the Barceloneta cape, making it the longest ride (20 minutes) to the Barcelona Cruise Port. And it’s far from everything else, so you’ll end up taking cabs every time you exit the hotel unless you are going to the beach. If you are curious about my other reasons to not be fond of it, you can read my W hotel review.
AND FINALLY! Are there any hotels in the Barcelona Cruise Port?
7
Eurostars Grand Marina
If you are boarding a Windstar, Silver, Azamara, Seabourn, MS Berlin, Grand Circle or Aida, for instance, you’ll be right next to the terminal access. Or at least, it’s very likely – ships might change their usual terminal depending on the number of ships on the same day.
It’s a relatively short walk from the beginning of La Rambla. But if you aren’t a big walker, you’ll probably end up taking taxis to explore the rest of the city.
But I’m afraid that if you are boarding a large ship such as Costa, Celebrity, MSC, Viking, Norwegian, Royal Caribean and Tui Mein Schiff, your cruise will be docking in Moll Adossat and there’s no hotel there. No nothing, actually: just the terminals. But the drive there from the Grand Marina is one of the shortest: just 8 minutes.
So wrapping up… Are there other areas where you should consider to stay pre-cruise?
As I said at the beginning of this post, Barcelona is a very compact city and no matter where you stay it’s unlikely to be more than 30 minutes away from the Barcelona Cruise Port. So if you don’t need to be 15 minutes drive or less… Sure! Stay somewhere else and make the most out of your time in the city! It’s fun to get out of the hotel and be right there where you want to be!
Check out my recommendations for Hotels in the Gothic Quarter, Hotels in the Born District, Hotels in the City Center, Hotels in Passeig de Gracia and Hotels by the beach.
What are your favorite hotels near Barcelona Cruise Port?
Marta
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona. She is a passionate tour guide that loves Barcelona and loves writing too. She is the main author of our Blog, and is committed to sharing her knowledge about Barcelona and her best tips with our readers.
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