We loved several things about the Ayre: (1) it is QUIET. You hear no noise from other rooms or from the hallway. Our room did not face the street. Ask for one that faces the interior. (2) it is clean and very modern in decor. The rooms are large. (3) the hotel left us two bottles of plain water and two bottles of sparkling water every day, for free. (4) the hotel restaurant had a separate area where we could avoid the 15 euro breakfast in the morning and just have a reasonably priced (and delicious) caffe con leche and pastry.

There are a couple of downsides: the air conditioning works, but not very well. We were never able to get the room much below about 76 degrees. The hotel is a five minute walk to the Plaza Espanya metro, but there isn't much in the immediate area in the way of shops, restaurants or tourist attractions. Sometime in the future the old bullfighting arena at Plaza Espanya will be turned into a mall, but for now the only thing you can walk to from the hotel is the hill of Montjuic, which has the art museum, the fountain that is lit up at night, various botanical gardens, various smaller museums, the Spanish Village, and the cable car up to the castle. The rest of Barcelona is really out of reach on foot. The other thing we did not like is that, although the hotel has free WiFi, if you don't bring your laptop, using the hotel's computers costs 6 euros an hour.

Finally, if you stay here, be very careful when going down into the metro and all of the time you stay on the metro. Even going down the metro escalator steps at a good clip with my husband behind me, someone slipped in between us and opened my backpack. The petty crime and pickpocketing in Spain is completely out of control: there were three attempts that we know of on us in two weeks, all in or around the metros. Plus we saw a thief on a main street walk into a restaurant and calmly start to walk out with someone's camera. We felt more unsafe in Spain than in any other place in Europe. There is no police presence except at the metro turnstiles, where they're trying to deter farebeaters; apparently the Spanish police don't care that tourists are being preyed upon. Put your valuables in a zippered pouch inside your clothing, don't carry a backpack, keep an eye on anything you put down beside you in a restaurant, walk in caravans, don't let people surround you on the metro: make sure you are near an exit door. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, and you won't be a victim.

Have just return from a wonderful stay at the Ayre Hotel Gran Via in Barcelona. The Hotel is situated within walking distance of a number of sights, such as the Magic fountain, poble espanyol and a great shopping street. Its also 5 mins from two of the open top bus stops which is a great way to view the city.

Our room was on the third floor and was very spacious. A number of the rooms look into the middle of the hotel and onto the restaurant. The bathroom was massive, with a great shower. Probably the best thing about the room was the air conditioning, which always kept it lovely and cool, perfect to come back to after a hard days sightseeing. Fresh sheets were put on the beds every day, along with plenty of towels. The only thing I will mention is that there are know tea making facilities in the room.

Staff at the hotel where always very helpful and couldn't do enough to help. Breakfast was good, with a massive selection of hot and cold foods. I would say that unless you really want the hot breakfast; just go for the cold option as there is a huge selection.

I would recommend this modern hotel to anyone.

I'm just back from Barcelona where I stayed in the Ayre Hotel Gran Via for 3 nights. The rooms are nice and clean but very basic. I wouldn't rate this hotel 4 stars as it gives you no extras as you would expect in a 4 star setting.
There is no mini bar, just a fridge with free water, no ironing board or iron, no satellite TV only Spanish, no coffee or tea facilities. Also there was only one wardrobe which was very small and for one person only. Only the shower gel and body lotion were refilled each day and not toothpaste, shoe sponge, or shower cap.
One evening there was no water at all so we couldn't take our daily showers. Barcelona is so humid so you need to take more than one daily.
Apart from all this the staff was lovely and the location great but I don’t think I would stay there again though.
I think it would be possible to find other 4 stars hotels that are better value and give you what you are supposed to get for your 4 stars!

We stayed 2 nights at the Hotel Ayre Gran Via in Barcelona. We were really impressed with how clean, comfortable, and roomy it was. We also got a fantastic rate by booking on venere.com, it was less than $150 in USD per night!! Although it's a good distance from Las Ramblas and other attractions, It's very close to the Metro and the staff was very knowledgeable and helpful with recommendations. We would definitely recommend it and would stay there again!