Review of Kimpton Vividora hotel in Barcelona

Barcelona is a beautiful, vibrant city with fabulous hotels to choose from. We stayed at the stylish and colourful Kimpton Vividora in the Gothic Quarter of the city and loved it. Here’s my honest and unbiased review of the Kimpton Vividora hotel in Barcelona.

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The facilities at the hotel

As part of the IHG Group, the Kimpton Vividora is a 5 star boutique hotel that oozes luxury but feels homely at the same time. As you enter from the street, you’re greeted with a modern, bright airy space that consists of a bar and lounge area. The decor is just to my taste – complimentary colours, gorgeous tiles, potted plants and luscious fabrics and textures.

One floor up is where you’ll find the reception, as well as another lounge area, which semi-overlooks the ground floor bar and lounge.

At check-in you’re offered a drink, including Cava – which I thought was a lovely touch and doesn’t happen very often in city break hotels. We were also taken up to our room and shown how the lights and aircon worked, etc. And about 10 minutes later reception called to check that everything was ok and that we were happy with the room.

Our package included breakfast, which was served at their first floor restaurant, Fauna. There was a buffet of pastries, fruit, yoghurt, fresh juices and a coffee machine and then you could order items off the menu, such as pancakes or eggs. What I loved was that breakfast was served until 11am, so no need to get up early! Whilst breakfast was nice, it wasn’t exceptional. If it hadn’t been included, I don’t think we would’ve paid €24 each.

On the 7th floor is their rooftop bar and terrace, Terraza de Vivi, which also serves small plates of food and brunch. I can imagine that it’s very popular in summer!

There’s also a rooftop pool as well as some sunbeds for guests. Unfortunately when we visited it wasn’t warm enough to swim but it still looked enticing. There were some guests soaking up the sunshine on the sunbeds!

The rooftop and terrace offers some great panoramic views over the city. You can spot the top of the spire of Barcelona Cathedral and also the W Hotel by the beach. There are lots of lovely tables to sit and enjoy a cocktail or a coffee, whilst soaking up the views. If you’re visiting in spring or summer, then definitely consider staying here – a swim after a day of exploring would be wonderful, don’t you think?

One thing we really loved about our stay was the daily ‘social hour’. Apparently it’s something that the Kimpton group does in all their hotels. And the bar area at Kimpton Vividora is gorgeous! I adore the red and gold bar stools.

Every night, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, you could head to the bar for free drinks! On offer was white and red wine, beer, soft drinks and Cava. The first night we went it was really busy, but easy enough to get a drink. We even managed to sit at the bar itself. What I loved was that you also got some bar snacks to go with the Cava. We stayed four nights at the hotel and went twice during our stay.

The room

We stayed in a King Premium room on the second floor of the hotel with a non-street view. The room was beautifully decorated and although it wasn’t particularly big, it felt spacious. Next to the bed were USB plug points, which is super handy if you’ve forgotten to bring a travel adapter.

The bed was big and comfy with crisp white linen and a leather headboard with reading lights. I asked for a firmer pillow, as they were a bit on the soft side for my liking, and one was provided.

I loved the bright yellow phone on the desk as well as the various magazines on offer to read. The desk, although there was no mirror, was the perfect place to blow-dry my hair!

There was complimentary tea, coffee and water in the room and a minibar where you could purchase drinks and snacks. Every night they left chocolates on the bed, which were high quality and delicious!

The toilet and bathroom were separate and the bathroom had a huge rainfall shower. Personally we love a bath but the only rooms with bathtubs are the specialty suites.

The bathroom had Japanese-style dressing gowns and slippers were provided too. As always, I took my slippers home. I do love hotel slippers!

There were plenty of fluffy towels and luxury toiletries by Carner Barcelona​. All the toiletries are refillable, as in keeping with their focus on sustainability. No small plastic bottles here!

As the hotel has a focus on sustainability, their policy means that they won’t clean your room unless you ask them to. Whilst we didn’t specifically ask, we just left the ‘please make-up our room’ sign on the door and it was then cleaned.

The location

The Kimpton Vividora is located in the Gothic Quarter and is in walking distance to many bars, restaurants, attractions and landmarks. Less than a 5 minute walk away is the stunning Barcelona Cathedral.

We walked pretty much everywhere in Barcelona so the hotel was perfectly located. La Sagrada Família was around a 40 minute walk and Port Vell, by the Marina, was about 25 minutes. The hotel has bicycles that you can borrow if you’d prefer to cycle. They also loan long boards if surfing is your thing. There’s also a metro station just minutes from the hotel and if you need a taxi, the hotel will call one to pick you right outside.

Getting to the hotel

The airport is only around 20 minutes by car from the Kimpton Vividora. We booked a taxi through Booking.com and our driver met us in the arrivals hall. It was quick and easy to get to the hotel and cost around £34. Note that the hotel is in a part of the city that has restrictions so not all taxis can drive right up to the hotel entrance. You may be dropped off on La Rambla, but it’s less than a 5 minute walk to the hotel.

The other options are the Aerobús, which runs 24 hours a day and tickets start at €7.25 per person. They run every 10 minutes during peak times. They can be combined with a Metro ticket too, depending on where you’re staying.

The verdict

The Kimpton Vividora is a very stylish hotel, located in the heart of Barcelona. The room was perfect for a city break and we loved the social hour. Having a rooftop with a pool is the cherry on the cake, especially in spring and summer – offering an oasis from the crowds below who are exploring the Gothic Quarter. The staff were absolutely lovely and really helpful. We would definitely stay here again as well as explore other Kimpton hotels. Bonus if you like to travel with your pet, as the hotel is pet friendly!

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