Great trip itinerary; great local guides with prompt pick ups

Spain | Aug 17 - Aug 25, 2026

The rooftop views, pool and bar were wonderful, although at times, the pool was overrun with small children. The staff was friendly and helpful and the breakfast each morning was delicious. Overall, we really liked the hotel. Our room was comfortable, but we would have liked a quieter location. We were on the 7th floor, right below the pool area. We could hear the movement of tables and chairs as they prepped for the day, although it wasn't too terribly early. The location of the hotel was great!!

We loved this experience. There were only 4 of us in the class, so we had a very private experience. The food was amazing!

We really struggled to understand what all there was to see and do on Montjuic and how to get there. I am usually very good at planning these kind of things, but I couldn't figure out how to manage the funicular/cable car option. We ended up taking a taxi up to the castle and then walked to the Art Museum, Magic Fountain and Plaza de Espana from there. While we enjoyed the views near the castle, we decided not to visit the castle. We decided not to go to Tibadabo at all.

We really enjoyed the winery visit. We were driven to the winery first, then we sailed back. While this was the opposite to what was originally planned, we really liked the order. We were expecting to be served a brunch at the winery as outlined in our KimKim itinerary, but all we got was pan con tomate (which, by the way, was my favorite tapa in Spain!). It was fine as we did have breakfast at the hotel; it just wasn't what was expected. It rained during our sailing trip (first and really only rain we saw in our 2 weeks in Spain- what are the odds?:(. We still had a lovely time and enjoyed our boat captain and the other 2 couples who were on the boat with us.

Our guide, Maria was outstanding!! She was very patient with us as we wanted to take a lot of photos. We loved all of the Gaudi locations we toured. We ended up taking a tour of Casa Batllo on our own later in our trip. It was great to be able to get quick access to the sites too, without having to wait in long queues.

Our pick up was not quite early enough for us photographers. Our guide was quite young and he walked very fast up the steep hill to the sunrise spot. We were slower and just made it to the top as the sun was coming over the mountain. We really had no time to set up our tripods and get a good shot. It turned out that it wasn't a very good sunrise that morning. The tour of the church and Black Madonna was very good and the funicular ride down the mountain was fun.

Our guide, Vitaly was outstanding!! His knowledge and passion for the city and of Picasso made the experience extra special. I highly recommend having guided tours of museums. They can get overwhelming and guides can highlight the most important works and the history behind them. This museum in particular was a wonderful chronology of Picasso's life.

Our guide, Alfredo was excellent. He took us to 2 outstanding tapas restaurants where they had everything ready for us. The Flamenco show was a lot of fun too. It was the perfect length.

We used an audio guide from Rick Steves which was very helpful.