I’m sorry, I can’t help, just wanted to say how envious I am! I’ve always wanted to go to those places.

I hope you’ll do a trip report for us. :)

We stayed at the Gallery Hotel in the Eixample area of Barcelona last year and very much enjoyed it. I see the name has changed to Catalonia Boulevard and the prices appear to be lower than what we paid last May—weather-related?

@Jilly, I'll be happy to do a trip report!

@sjerin, thank you. Off to look up the hotel. Hotel prices in Barcelona seem pretty reasonable - a pleasant surprise!

The place we stayed in Barcelona no longer exists, but I recommend the Eixample neighborhood. I would avoid hotels in the Las Ramblas area. Too mobbed with tourists, pickpockets, etc.

In Barcelona we stayed at Hotel Colonial. Main reason we liked it was that our room with a small balcony overlooked the old cathedral. (Then when we were in Bilbao we stayed in a super modern hotel with views of the Guggenheim, making for a fun contrast).

@lisaam, did you stay at the Gran Hotel Domine (now it's called The Artist) in Bilbao? We so loved looking at the Guggenheim Puppy from our room.

sas95, I think it was Hotel Miro. My husband was entranced by changing light on the museum building. the art inside was less interesting to me. all the Richard Serra pieces were ok but not exciting.

I really owe thanks to our friend at Peace Frogs Travel who booked the hotels. Then another friend introduced us to a Basque woman who accompanied us for a nice day trip to San Sebastien.

Agreed that the art inside the Guggenheim was mediocre, but at the time of our visit they had a special exhibit of Yoshitomo Nara's work, and it was wonderful. The Basque country is one of my favorite parts of Spain. Actually, I loved all that I've seen of Northern Spain.

The last time I was in Barcelona (2 -3 years ago), I stayed at the Sofitel Skipper. There was nothing quirky or charming, but I liked it’s clean, modern aesthetic. I was meeting friends for dinner at Carpe Diem and it was just a block or so from there.

I wish I had taken the picture before I sat on the bed to read.

It sort of reminds me of THIS (<link) guy’s definition of luxury.

@sas95, thank you for the helpful information.

@lisaam, thank you. Hotel Colonial is now on the list.

@reff31, thank you! Riad Khabia looks perfect! We live in San Francisco on the 3rd floor with no elevator, so stairs are our norm.

@bbstx, the guy in your link is spot on! We prefer a bit of quirk or charm, but Ive been known to tire of looking and take the nice modern hotel. Sofitel is definitely going on the list. Thank you.

No idea...never been, but Tauck stays at Le Meridien Barcelona and the Four Seasons in both Marrakesh and Casablanca. I like to see what they do to get an idea...

If you want to see their Morocco tour to get an idea of what to see and where to go, you can check it out here: https://www.tauck.com/tours/magic-of-morocco-escorted-tour?tcd=mo2027&filters=q:morocco;single:0;double:1;triple:0;quad:0

@Annie Deighnaugh, I would love to go all the places on the Tauck route. We started planning this trip thinking Barcelona + another city. After researching, I toyed with the idea of spending the whole time in Morocco, but we decided to keep Barcelona on the itinerary.