★★★☆☆ We recently stayed at the Axel Hotel and had mixed feelings about the experience. The hotel itself is in a fantastic location right in the heart of the gay district, making it easy to walk to restaurants, bars, and nightlife. The pool is beautiful and a great place to relax, although it was disappointing that the pool bar didn’t open until 1:00 p.m. and often wasn’t actually ready to serve until around 1:30 p.m. Our room was clean and comfortable, although quite small. The housekeeping staff were excellent, always friendly, welcoming, and did a wonderful job keeping the room spotless. Our biggest disappointment was how the hotel handled our reservation as a throuple. We had confirmed our reservation for three adults months before arriving, yet throughout our stay there seemed to be ongoing confusion and repeated attempts to charge us upgrade fees simply because there were three of us instead of two. It felt like the hotel wasn’t equipped to accommodate three adults in one room, despite our reservation being confirmed well in advance. That unnecessary back-and-forth put a damper on what should have been a relaxing vacation. Overall, the location and staff were highlights, but the issues surrounding our reservation left us frustrated. We enjoyed being in the neighborhood, but on our next visit we’ll likely choose different accommodations that are more comfortable and accommodating for groups of three.

We Love Axel Barcelona. Sky Bar is my favorite bar in the city. Richard made my drinks fabulously and you have to ask for the Strawberry Tequila Shot! (Tequila Freda) And as always ask for Richard!!