Hotels
Casa Bonay, Dreta de l’Eixample
A successful iteration of a hotel integrated with local city life, Casa Bonay comes alive inside a converted 1869 townhouse that combines a colourful ground floor lounge, bookshop, café and restaurant with a rooftop restaurant and Japanese-inspired spa that allows guests to soak in the hot waters of an ofuro bath while overlooking the streets of Barcelona. Inés Miró-Sans opened the 67-room stopover in 2016, partnering with Studio Tack to transform the building. Today, the hotel is a hub of homegrown and international creativity that intermingles just as seamlessly as the original mosaic floors.
Hotel Brummell, Poble-sec
In an enviable spot between the city, sea and Montjuïc hills, Brummell is a seemly 20-room affair that’s reasonably central but feels a world away from the touristy throng. Rusted tables and concrete walls sit alongside fronded plants and an edible plant garden. Owner Christian Schallert fell in love with the then derelict building in 2015, inviting architect Inma Rábano to oversee its renovations and design duo Blankslate to give the interiors a tropical, modern twist. Rooms are bijou but views are vast, and if you book one of the two penthouses, you can expect a private open-air bathtub.
The Wittmore, Barri Gòtic
An air of secrecy is present at nearly every turn in this 22-key bolt-hole, tucked away at the end of a narrow alleyway in the Gothic Quarter. Red velvet curtains conceal the drawing room-styled restaurant and an ochre-tiled pool sits high on the roof terrace, out of view. The sanctuary is a labour of love for investment banker and first-time hotelier Narcís Barceló, designed with the fictitious, portly and bearded patron called Lord Wittmore in mind (catch his stately portrait hanging in the lobby). The unexpectedly British feel is further burnished by details including old-fashioned metallic room keys and the scent of fresh flowers.
