Nobu Hotel Barcelona — Hotel in Barcelona

I recently booked a three-night stay at Nobu Hotel Barcelona to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday, along with two other couples. I can confidently say that this was the worst hotel experience I have ever had, and it has left me deeply disappointed in the level of service provided.

I chose Nobu because I expected a 5-star experience, where attention to detail and excellent service would ensure a memorable stay. Regrettably, my experience has been memorable for all the wrong reasons.

The issues began at check-in. My friends were offered discounted room upgrades due to their rooms facing a construction site. I was not offered the same option nor was I informed that my room would also face this site. As a result, I was woken up by construction noise at 7 AM every day during my stay. I find it odd that I was treated differently to my friends, even though we booked and checked in at the same time, and we had the same rooms initially.

Throughout our stay, the condition of the room was unacceptable:

The curtains were broken and got stuck halfway. The shower had no hot water initially, and when it was fixed, the water was dangerously scalding. The air conditioning did not work properly, and the TV remote was broken, preventing us from watching TV in the room.

We visited the spa expecting a relaxing experience, only to be charged €19 per person, despite being entitled to a 20% discount. To make matters worse, our friends were given a 50% discount because the receptionist felt bad that they didn’t know the spa wasn’t included in their stay. However, I was not offered the same courtesy, even though we were all in the same situation. This is an example of how we were treated differently, despite being guests of the same hotel.

Additionally, the spa was unhygienic, with clumps of hair and dead skin in the pool, and the water appeared very dirty. We decided to leave after 30 minutes, as we could not even relax by the pool due to a lady who was on facetime to a friend, speaking loudly into her phone.

Furthermore, my friends experienced antisocial behaviour in the spa, with young boys running around, shouting, and splashing water. This disruptive behaviour was not addressed by the staff, leading my friends to leave the spa early.

After we complained, we were upgraded to a suite as an apology, but unfortunately, the problems continued:

Once we were upgraded we wanted to show some appreciation and ordered a bottle of wine from room service. This took four to five calls to finally arrange and then arrived an hour late - only 20 minutes before we had to leave for another reservation.

Loud parties occurred in the room below ours, disturbing us well into the night. We called reception at 00:23 to report this, but no action was taken.

The situation worsened when the room next to us started having a party at 5 AM, waking us by shouting in the hallway and attempting to open the door connecting our rooms. Despite calling reception twice (at 5 AM and again at 7 AM) the noise continued.

Even after security arrived, the disruptive guests continued their behaviour, blasting music and shouting loudly. This left us feeling completely unsafe and undermined any effort the hotel had made to resolve the issue.

As a woman, I found this incredibly frightening, and it made me feel completely unsafe. It is deeply upsetting to think that a hotel of this caliber failed to provide any security or support during such a distressing situation.

By the end of this experience, I felt utterly let down by Nobu Hotel Barcelona. The hotel’s failure to handle these issues, from poor room conditions to unsafe environments, has tarnished what should have been a...

Throughout my stay, things were fine. Bed was comfortable, some of the food was great, some was average. For the price of the hotel, it was ok - that is until we came to checkout:

We paid extra to have the hotel breakfast, and at 9am, I rang the room service number, and asked if I could take my breakfast upstairs in my room, or did I need to come down to the restaurant. They very clearly told me that I could order the breakfast in my room, which I proceeded to do. Later, I went to settle my bill and check out, and realised they were charging me for my breakfast twice - once when the room was paid for, and again with the room service charge. I politely pointed this out, and told them that I did ring ahead and was informed I could eat the breakfast in my room. The mood changed very quickly, and the chap at reception told me he needed to get his manager. The manager arrived and was instantly very frosty with me - in not so many words, seemed to accuse me of lying, and informed me you cannot have the hotel breakfast in your room. I very calmly and politely told him I had called ahead, but obviously there had been a mix up and I was told the wrong information. I have worked in hospitality before, and in that situation, I believe I should either have had my first uneaten breakfast fee refunded, or simply just have been comped the breakfast I had.

They began to get more and more off with me, telling me they needed to look into this further, and quickly ushered me outside. I was not ready to leave - I had not even ordered a cab, but the hotel porter dragged my suitcase through the doors, down the steps to the pavement, and placed it next to the road, despite me asking him not to. It was not long after midday, and was incredibly hot and humid, but I was forced to stand in the full sun without sunblock while I struggled finding a cab - Uber didn’t seem to run in the area. I was also out of data, and had to start downloading more apps after I had been rudely ushered out of the hotel.

After 25 minutes of me sweating and visually struggling installing new taxi apps, entering passport numbers and credit card details in the busy street, they begrudgingly let me back in so I could sit in the air conditioned lobby to find a cab app that worked. At no point did the porter offer to order me a cab, I just watched him be incredibly polite and helpful to other guests and order cabs for anybody who needed them, after being beyond standoffish with me.

As of right now, I have been charged for my breakfast twice, and I have not had my €300 security deposit refunded. They promised they would email me once they had looked into the matter - I have heard nothing from them. I have also sent 2 emails asking for an update, but again, no reply.

So the hotel is pleasant, but if anything goes remotely wrong with your bill, expect to be gaslighted, expect employees to be rude to you, expect to be prematurely ejected from the premises, and don’t expect your security deposit to be refunded. Pretty shocking customer service from a 5 star hotel.

If any upper management see this review, please watch the cctv footage, and reconsider how you train your staff to talk to/deal with your customers. Also please give me my deposit back.

I’m now staying at the Plaza Catalunya, and despite being only 4 star, the staff could not be more polite and helpful. They have no issues with me staying in the lobby and having a coffee while I book my cab, and they even welcomed me with a complimentary fruit plate and bottle of Cava upon checkin. I’d highly recommend staying here over the Nobu.

EDIT: Soon after I posted this, Nobu have told me they will refund the first €35...

The employees effort excellent service, however, this feels more like a 4 star hotel. Take advantage of a high floor for a better view. Traveling with 4 adults and a small child, our rooms were the zen suites on the 7th and 8th floors with views of a parking area and concrete building. The zen room has a Japanese style to it and was spacious. It has a king bed which is all we need as a couple traveling with a 5 year old. The hotel said the child needed bedding but would make an exception with a one hundred euro additional charge. We felt this was excessive but paid it. Nothing further was provided and we had 2 towels, slippers, etc. for 3 guests. The rooms are okay but don’t have the cozy feel as our previous Barcelona hotel called The One. We picked Nobu since it is listed as a 5 star hotel across from the train station. We traveled on Iryo (Spanish train) from Madrid and upon arriving in Barcelona, it was nice to just walk across the street and check in. The night we stayed, there were many attractive young adults who seemed to be enjoying and partying at the hotel. House style music played loudly in the lobby and it reminded me of my days gone by staying at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. A friendly employee called up to the room shortly after we arrived, asked if we needed a wake up call, taxi or anything else. We requested a 6:30 a.m. wake up call and a taxi for five people at 7:15 a.m. The phone never rang in the morning and I think we were just lucky the first cab in the cue out front was able to accommodate all five of us.

We had the Omakase tasting menu in restaurant Nobu. The restaurant is on the top floor with incredible views looking west over Barcelona. We were first directed to a table away from windows and grand views but after requesting a change, we were immediately granted a window table where anyone at the table could enjoy the view. It was a Monday night, our reservation was for 9:00 p.m. (normal, if not early for a Barcelona dinner) and the restaurant was probably 30 to 40 percent full. The menu was 5 courses plus dessert. The first three courses were very traditional to what you would get in any sushi restaurant, the 4th was a cod dish cooked to perfection. It was white, flakey, very moist, lightly crisped exterior and just fantastic. The final course was a beef and mushroom dish. While not the Wagu, this beef was medium rare and melt in your mouth perfection. Dessert was a bento box with a small ice cream scoop and a small molten chocolate type gooey cake. It too was delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and after extensive travel we were happy to have a short elevator ride to bed. Five stars for a fantastic dinner but unfortunately I cannot rate the hotel at the same level. Thank you for reading this review and I hope it is helpful. Check out my other reviews on our travels in Spain especially if you’re looking for a premium first class experience with value, though there is no value to be...