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Some are stunning, some are full of glamour, and all are a true centre of art and design. In many of them you’ll also find culinary feasts to suit your taste.
We travel because we love exploring new horizons and discovering new cultures. We travel because it’s a great way to escape and enrich body and soul. But we also travel with the fantasy that we are staying in wonderful hotels. And enjoy them to the full.
In a destination as important as Barcelona, there are accommodations that contribute greatly to its charm. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best design hotels, not just the recently opened ones, but also some of the classics. They are not all that are, nor are they all that are, but they are all that are because of our whim to travel there now. Any excuse is a good one to return to Barcelona.
Let’s not forget that if there’s one thing that moves us Catalyst travelers, it’s the desire to discover our next favorite food, so in this list you’ll see those that, as well as focusing on aesthetics and the philosophy of interior design and architecture, also manage to stand out and offer a good culinary suggestion. Welcome to the best design and gastronomy hotels in Barcelona.
Antiga Casa Buenavista
An old family building known for its restaurant that offered market cuisine at low prices (and became a point of reference for the residents of the Ronda Sant Antoni neighborhood in the last century) has been given a new lease of life under the management of Antiga Casa Buenavista. Although the building’s origins date back to 1918, in 2022 it was transformed into an elegant boutique hotel that preserves its tradition as an inn but also combines the tradition of Catalan modernisme with contemporary Barcelona design.
It aims to be close to the local environment, respectful of the neighborhood and inclusive of all types of public. This is achieved by maintaining the ownership and management of the hotel with the same Molleví family, who have not abandoned their values and traditions and have recovered the architecture of the Barcelona of yesteryear through the design and enhancement of the building. The TDB Arquitectura studio, headed by Juan Trias de Bes, and whose team of Fernando Herrero, Marta Pascual and Jordi Flores were responsible for the work: with a modernist façade, hydraulic floors, restored stucco, Catalan vaulted ceilings and other elements of architectural interest such as sgraffito and wrought iron balconies.
Located in the heart of Catalonia, between the Raval and the Eixample, this 43-room boutique hotel is a feast for the eyes for design lovers, who will find Catalan signature works in the rooms and public areas, such as those by Santa & Cole, Mobles 114, Tunds, BD Barcelona or Nanimarquina, as well as those by Jos Antonio Coderch, Miguel Milá, Oscar Tusquets, André Ricard or Nani Marquina, among other masterpieces. It is complemented by international designs by Finn Juhl, Mies Van Der Rohe, Charlotte Perriand, Achille Castiglioni and Michael Thonet.
The Hoxton
Continuing with its expansion plan and now with its eleventh hotel worldwide (the next stop looks set to be Lisbon), Hoxton Hotel moved a few months ago to Barcelona’s Poblenou neighborhood. With 40 Mediterranean-style rooms with terracotta floors, floral motifs, handmade tapestries and large windows, and elegant details such as the illustrations by Catalan artist José Antonio Roda on the room keys, the new opening also stands out for its Four Corners gastronomic offer.
Four Corners specializes in Detroit-style American pizzas, served on large rectangular pies or by the slice, overseen by renowned New York pizzaiolo Anthony Falco. These freshly baked, thick-bottomed breads are served with mortadella and pistachio pesto, spicy honey sorprise or the more classic version, the so-called red ball, with cheddar, mozzarella and pecorino. Also popular are carbonara, clams with chestnuts or fennel sausage with jalapeños. And the best part? You can eat them in the restaurant or order them directly to your room. All this, of course, accompanied by craft beer and natural wines. Also check out the wine cellar, where you can buy a souvenir of some of the most beautifully packaged gastronomic brands. It’s clear that everything here is designed to make design and food lovers go home with a smile on their face after every visit.
ME Barcelona
Jaime Hayón, Patricia Urquiola, Oscar Tusquets, Ramón Úbeda, Otto Canalda, Antoni de Moragas, Ronan and Ewan Bouroullec are some of the designers who have come up with the furniture and unique pieces that make up the decoration of ME Barcelona, a hotel with three different gastronomic concepts, a swimming pool on the top floor and a large interior garden that acts as a green lung. We rarely joke when we talk about one of our favorite hotels in the Paseo de Gracia neighborhood.
Here, design is reflected in details such as the decorative glass bottles in the rooms, designed by Antoni Gaudí’s closest colleague, Josep Mª Jujol, who designed the bottles for the Casa de Familia in 1912. Or the ash-coloured tables designed by Óscar Tusquets, the chandeliers on the bedside tables in the rooms and suites, and the brightly coloured Roll Club armchairs designed by Patricia Urquiola for Kettal. Even the hallway sign pays homage to Barcelona architect Barba Cosini, who designed the La Pedrera Apartments in the 1960s.
Each piece is inspired by the city’s own love of design, but ME Barcelona’s work and commitment to design goes beyond that, reaching an avant-garde level, thanks to the architectural work of Barcelona studio FICARQ and the interior design concepts developed by Mur Arquitectos and ASAH. Almost nothing, almost everything.
