The subway stop is back at the airport. Catch the shuttle back to the airport and ask the driver to drop you at the train station instead of the terminal.
It was ok, but hard to find. Look for the "Sixt rental car" shuttles--they have a sign on them that says "Renaissance" or some such.
See my review below.
We used Angie's Taxi. They were in the lobby early (before we got down there) and gave us a quick tour on the way to the ship. Lots of shuttles and taxis available, however.
Review:
My family and I spent two nights this month at the BCN Renaissance Airport hotel. In general, I would say that I was less than pleased with the experience. My family and I paid extra to stay in the "Elite Zone" area of the hotel.
The positives from the trip were:
- Staff in the lounge area was very friendly
- Pool area was nice if a little cold (and we never did figure out how to turn on the fountains)
- Room was nice, modern, and up-to-date.
The negatives were:
- The first night we had *five* false fire alarms. The next morning, the staff acted like this problem had happened before. No apology or compensation was offered.
- There was no separate check-in area for Elite Zone customers. It took 30 minutes to check into the hotel with only about 7 guests in front of me in line. Not a fun thing after an overseas flight.
- My request (including an advance phone call) for a rollaway bed or room to accommodate three people was completely disregarded.
- The Elite Zone lounge frequently ran out of supplies in both the morning and evening; it seemed understaffed and particularly undersupplied.
- The hotel advertises a shuttle bus to downtown, but it only runs twice each morning and twice each evening. When we arrived five minutes prior to the morning departure, we were told "the bus is full" and basically to come back in an hour to try again (not really an option for my family as we had tour tickets). Nobody seemed to care. Other shuttle busses sat in the parking area, idle.
- The airport shuttle bus runs more regularly, but is disguised as a "Sixt Rental Car" Bus with a little sign on it that says "Renaissance Hotel Barcelona" taped to the side.
In general, for the money, I wish I'd tried someplace different.