"Our experience at Sofitel Barcelona Skipper was not only disappointing it was shocking, discriminatory, and completely unacceptable for any hotel, let alone one that claims to be five stars.
We stayed at this hotel from July 7th to July 10th, and even during that stay, the breakfast service was already far below standard. The staff were rude, inattentive, and unprofessional. We decided not to leave a review then, but after what happened today, it’s clear that the issues run much deeper.
Today, after spending the afternoon at the beach, my partner and I stopped in front of the hotel while waiting for an Uber. My boyfriend was shirtless because we had just come from the beach something completely normal in a beach city.
Please note:
This entire incident happened because a young adult stood in front of the hotel without a T‑shirt.
That’s it. One T‑shirt.
And the way he was treated was beyond ridiculous.
The security guard immediately began staring at him up and down not once, but twice in a way that was clearly confrontational. We ignored it, but then he approached my partner, stood about two feet away, and told him he “could not be there.” When asked why, he refused to give a reason. My partner moved, and the guard ran after him to tell him he couldn’t stand on the side of the hotel either because “it’s part of the hotel.”
When my partner asked what the problem was, the guard responded:
“This is a five-star hotel, you understand?”
As if a shirtless young man covered in sand after a beach day was somehow offensive to their “image.”
And here is the most ridiculous part:
They didn’t even know he was a previous guest.
Even after my partner put his T‑shirt on, the mistreatment continued. So clearly, the issue was not the T‑shirt it was the judgment.
When I approached, the guard looked me up and down as well and told me I could not enter the hotel without asking if I had a reservation, without asking if I was a guest, without asking if I was going for drinks. He simply denied me entry. When I asked to speak to the manager, he refused again and instead called the luggage staff, telling him: “Ask them what they want.”
Completely disrespectful.
He also refused to speak to me directly, saying he “speaks Spanish” and would only speak to my partner.
Inside the hotel, we were met by a woman short, strong build, red hair, glasses who appeared to be part of the front office team. Instead of welcoming us, offering water, or showing any professionalism, she responded to our explanation with: “I don’t understand. What’s the problem?”
She allowed the security guard to interrupt repeatedly, argue with us, and escalate the situation right in front of her. She did not separate the conversation, did not de-escalate, and did not act like someone trained in hospitality.
Her explanation for denying me entry was that we were “in a box,” meaning we were together, a “package,” so she could not let me in. She even said: “It’s not like you were five metres apart.”
Which was false we were separated, and I only approached after seeing how the guard was treating my partner.
When I asked whether they would treat someone wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt or someone well-dressed the same way, she had no answer. That silence said everything.
She then changed her story and called it a “misunderstanding,” even though the guard’s behaviour was intentional, discriminatory, and completely unprofessional.
They judged him without knowing who he was, without asking a single question, and without showing even basic hospitality. That is important to remember.
If you are not dressed in a way that fits their personal idea of a five‑star image, you risk being judged, denied entry, or confronted by security.
This is not safety.
This is discrimination based on appearance."
