We stayed at the AC Barcelona for one night in April 2008. It is really nice business hotel. We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis. The room was good with a nice sea view. The breakfast was a self service buffet with a continental theme.
It is a short 10 Euro taxi ride from La Rambla. We walked there but got a taxi home. It is a quiet area with a large shopping mall with bars restaurants directly opposite.

I'm a big fan of Hiltons and Marriots etc, big modern hotels were you can get lost in the crowds and go do your own thing, but still get the normal courtesies from the staff. This place nearly gives you that, but doesn't come through totally... let me explain.

Location... excellent. But with the underground over there, most places are. But it's near a beach and it is nice and quiet. Underground costs 1.3 euro... be prepared for a late night taxi back from La Ramblas (main entertainment pubs, eating etc) costing at least 10 euros.

The hotel as you can see from photos has it's own rooftop pool which is great... quiet during the day, as the business stayers don't finish working til around 5pm, so you have it to yourself. WATER IS CONSTANTLY FREEZING THO. This is no exaggeration... not one guest there dared stay in for 5 mins or more. Brrr.

Rooms are nice. One small point I'd like to make tho... I expect in this day in age when paying in a big hotel, that you have the Interactive menu on the TV on entering, telling you about your bill and the hotel ammenities. This place didn't have this.

They also seem to cater 50/50 spanish visitors or English speaking... but only 1 out of 40 channels was in english (CNN news).

But the rooms were nice, fairly large, nice big bathrooms, excellent power shower and cleaned constantly... as you'd expect for such a big hotel nestled in between a Hilton and a Marriot, close to Rennaisance etc.

Now this may sound contradictory for someone who likes to lose themselves in the crowd, but NOT ONE staff member in a week... whether doorman, receptionist, bar maid said "Hello... Good Morning... Good evening etc". This I found very poor service. With a certain number of people clearly using the hotel for a holiday you'd expect this most simple of gestures. My partner and I actually found it amusing the amount of times we were ignored going in or out... as well as every other guest.

They also charge you for internet... 6 euros... but don't go for this as their internet in the lobby is constantly down.... I was lucky to be online for 10 mins for an hours wrth of internet credit. This happened 4 times. But that's not the hotels fault it's obviously the internet provider.

Summary... Would recommend to business people, not to holiday goers... stay somewhere nearer the Ramblas... maybe near the park/zoo (lovely area... 5 mins walk from Ramblas and underground).

Negatives... unwelcoming staff, cold pool, not as modern as competitors.

Positives... good place to sunbathe during day, quiet area, near beach, directly across the road from biggest shopping mall in Barca

Ps... they swipe £500 from your card as temporary deposit in case of breakages... I expected a large amount to be swiped, but this figure is a little insulting I thought.... the only thing you could break is a TV which is 10 years old lol

Hope this helps

Stayed at the AC for 3 nights for a business event.
And that's what this hotel is good for: business events/meetings. It is too far away from all the sights to use this hotel as your place to stay for a touristic visit of Barcelona.
There is a metro station around the corner, and the hop-on-hop-off bus stops in front of the hotel, but I would not recommend this hotel for tourists.

The hotel itself is a bit of a design hotel: all modern and trendy. The rooms are comfortable and the bathroom is very nice. It even had a bidet! Beds are good and the minibar is included n the room rate! There is a nice pool area on the 13th floor, although I didn't use the pool.

Breakfast is ok, as is lunch. I didn't have diner in the hotel so I can't comment on that.
The check-in went fast ans smooth, but I was surprised to find another suitcase in my new room. It turned out that the room was assigned to two people at the same time... Seems like they need an upgrade of their software. Anyway, it was taken care of in no time.

The downside was the very poor wireless connection. I paid for 24 hours, but couldn't use the service most of the time because of poor reception. I think the capacity of the wireless network was not aadequate for the number of guests...

All in all: good hotel fi you have to go to Barcelona for business, stay away if you are a tourist.

Stayed there for 3 nights for business. From outside the hotel is not impressive, the building looks more as an office block than a hotel. Once you are inside it's a different story, the lobby is very stylish, sleek design of rooms, wonderful views (I had a room on the 16th floor). The service was also very good, quick, good English, professional. I have especially liked the free minibar: i always hate those overpriced minbars in other hotels. I don't like to drink tap water, and I always end up overpaying for soft drinks from minibars.
I wouldn't recommend this hotel for tourists, don't even think of a romantic weekend there. It's huge, impersonal, but stylish and functional. Also, very far from any tourist spot.