El Bulli 2007 Reservations

[ermintrude]

A collegue of mine asked for Lunch on a day they weren't open and received an offer for the evening on a day they weren't open.

I asked for a specific date (14th August - my birthday) and got a we'll try to fit you in message.

Someone else I know has eaten there 4 time

All seems quit random a mix of regulars, new people etc. They probably have their own logic but if we worked it out then they would have to change it as they would get to many people meeting it.

For all those who made it, enjoy!

[Jerry_A]

I am extremely excited to say I just received a 'yes' for July 12th. I had asked for anything after April 30th and was delighted to receive something in July as it actually works a lot better for my schedule.

Time to get out the 2007 calendar and start the countdown!!!

[k239]

I had requested 3 specific dates (in preference order) in April during a previously planned trip to Barcelona to celebrate my wife's birthday, which I mentioned briefly in my request email (sent to be received at 12:01am Spain time on Oct 15). I received the third listed date. It will be our first time.

[fauxtarga]

Do you think it's possible that they are going through everyone with preferences first and getting to people with no date preferences last? (still hoping)

[Catriona]

Targa, I've still got crossed fingers for you - it would make sense that after fulfilling X number of people's requests for a fixed date, they'd fit in Y number of people who didn't specify...

[butterfly]

I don't think so... I expressed no date preference and got rejected this year. I think they go month by month filling in the slots and letting people know as they go along. If you haven't heard back yet, you could still be in the pool of folks who might get a slot during one of the months further along in the season.

For what it is worth, I phrased my requests exactly the same. Two years ago I got a reservation and this year I didn't.

[fauxtarga]

Still, nothing! Anybody else still waiting? Has my email been lost amongst the millions?

[Jerry_A]

Hey all, sorry to bump this up, but I have a quick question on accomodation (did not want to start a new thread for that).

Is "Camping Ciutat de Vacances Cala Montjoi Roses" the only 'hotel' in walking distance of El Bulli? If so is the next closest hotel Alamadraba Park? We want to stay as close as possible to the restaurant (walking would be ideal), but the camping place is not an option as it sounds a little too rustic for our tastes.

We are having a diffcult time trying to figure out exactly what is situated near El Bulli.

Thanks for the help.

Oh and my condolences fauxtarga

Cheers,

Len

[pedro]

Nothing but the Ciutat is within walking distance from elBulli. Take a look at

Google Maps

The arrow points to the Ciutat, elBulli is a small building to the left --actually, the last one--, follow the road to the left of your screen and you'll find Roses. Notice the nothingness surrounding the road.

Edited February 12, 2007 by pedro (log)

[insomniac]

Hey all, sorry to bump this up, but I have a quick question on accomodation (did not want to start a new thread for that). 

Is "Camping Ciutat de Vacances Cala Montjoi Roses" the only 'hotel' in walking distance of El Bulli?  If so is the next closest hotel Alamadraba Park?  We want to stay as close as possible to the restaurant (walking would be ideal), but the camping place is not an option as it sounds a little too rustic for our tastes. 

We are having a diffcult time trying to figure out exactly what is situated near El Bulli. 

Thanks for the help.

Oh and my condolences fauxtarga 

Cheers,

Len

←

hey Jerry, I would stay at the Almadraba and taxi it. Our taxi waited there for us and was reasonably priced. The drive is short and lovely/scary and the hotel is on a small yet perfectly formed beach, ideal for a stroll, either post prandial or early the next morning

[Jerry_A]

Thanks for the information guys.

Looks as if Alamadraba is the best bet. I was a little worried about the taxi rides as I had heard they charge you 30-40 Euros each way (which seemed like a rip-off) but I guess there are not really any alternatives.

Thanks again!

Len

[insomniac]

Thanks for the information guys. 

Looks as if Alamadraba is the best bet.  I was a little worried about the taxi rides as I had heard they charge you 30-40 Euros each way (which seemed like a rip-off) but I guess there are not really any alternatives.

Thanks again!

Len

←

as we were staying for a few days without a car we had a 'pet' taxidriver and it cost us much less than what you have heard....and after we had sampled Rafa he took us to a very good local place for lunch (which name I have helpfully forgotten)

[Jerry_A]

Sounds great Insomniac! If you remember the name of the place, please let me know.

I guess my next question is: is Almadraba really worth paying $1,500 for 3 nights?

I don't mind paying that if it will enhance the overall experience and I feel I am getting my money's worth, otherwise I would like to find something a little more reasonable.

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but thanks for all the help!

Len

[pedro]

I'd say no, it's not. Try to locate something more reasonable.

[butterfly]

I think that's a shocking amount of money to spend to stay at the Almadraba... Did you try searching on a site like http://en.venere.com ? You may be able to get a better deal there.

Keep in mind that El Bulli is located at the end of the road inside a national park. Given the distance to El Bulli (not walkable unless you want a serious and strenuous hike) I don't think it really matters where you stay in town.

[docsconz]

I would imagine that that price at the Almadraba includes meals - at least one of which you obviously won't need. The Almadraba is a very nice hotel and quite possibly the nicest in the area. I would suggest seeing if you can get a room price without meals. The food is not bad, but you have some pretty good options in the area. When we stayed there it was convenient to include the meals as we had children with us who did not attend most of our dining events.

[Jerry_A]

butterfly: Thanks for that link, very interesting. I have already seen lower prices on there for some of the hotels I had been looking at.

docsconz: That is a very good point about the meals. I noticed I was defaulting to 'Full Board' which I assume means all of my meals included. I was only able to lower it to 'Half Board' (not sure what that entails exactly) but it did happen to get the overall price down to around $1,300. Maybe a direct e-mail to the hotel is in order.

Cheers,

Len

[Silly Disciple]

For that kind of money you can even stay further away from Roses, say for instance Mas Pau outside of Figueres, have lunch at Mas Pau's one star restaurant, take a taxi back and forth and you'll still be save a few bucks.

[Simon_S]

That simply sounds wrong to me. I'm looking at the Almadraba website now and while I obviously don't know your exact dates, it looks more like 140 a night rather than 500. It's definitely not worth 500 a night!!

Si

[The Viking]

Almadraba Park definetely offers Breakfast only options, and theuir breakfast is definetely worth it, lounging on the terrace with a perfect croissant in the morning watching the fishing vessels cruising in after a night's catch is ever so nice.

Prices start at approx. €110 medium season, corporate rate, single occupancy, seaview, but not bay view.. (Sept. 2006).

[insomniac]

I got a deal thru Venere and booking early for around €90/night for a double with a bay view from the small balcony (if you leaned out a bit )

Edited February 13, 2007 by insomniac (log)

[Jerry_A]

Well apparently I am doing something wrong. I do not even see Almadraba come up through the Venere website

The cheapest I can get it down to now is 255 Euros/night, which comes to around $390 Cdn. (not quite so bad I guess). I'm going to call my travel agent tonight to see if she can find anything better and hopefully she can help us figure out how exactly to get to Roses

Thanks for all the help!

Len

[Simon_S]

Well apparently I am doing something wrong.  I do not even see Almadraba come up through the Venere website 

The cheapest I can get it down to now is 255 Euros/night, which comes to around $390 Cdn.  (not quite so bad I guess).  I'm going to call my travel agent tonight to see if she can find anything better and hopefully she can help us figure out how exactly to get to Roses 

Thanks for all the help!

Len

←

Seriously, just call the hotel. They speak English. Ask them about bed and breakfast only. That's what I did last year.

To get to Roses your best bet is probably to hire a car. It's a fairly painless drive from BCN.

Si

[Jerry_A]

Well apparently I am doing something wrong.  I do not even see Almadraba come up through the Venere website 

The cheapest I can get it down to now is 255 Euros/night, which comes to around $390 Cdn.  (not quite so bad I guess).  I'm going to call my travel agent tonight to see if she can find anything better and hopefully she can help us figure out how exactly to get to Roses 

Thanks for all the help!

Len

←

Seriously, just call the hotel. They speak English. Ask them about bed and breakfast only. That's what I did last year.

To get to Roses your best bet is probably to hire a car. It's a fairly painless drive from BCN.

Si

←

Thanks Simon, I will definitely give them a call. Was a litle worried about the language barrier, but it sounds as if it will not be a problem.

Cheers,

Len

[butterfly]

It's on the Venere site, but you can't do an online booking. You can get a rate from Venere (by unchecking the box for those that only do online booking) and then call/fax/email the hotel to try to get them to honor rate. I've had good luck with this in the past.