Barcelona is a city that has it all: beach, sunshine, food, museums – no wonder we can’t stay away
Having stayed at a fair few lifestyle hotels in the city, such as Casa Bonay and The Hoxton, we luxed it up for our most recent trip, staying in the five-star Almanac Barcelona.
Almanac is a small group that also has hotels in Vienna and Prague and its Barcelona property is a real beauty. Located right in the middle of the city, it’s easy to walk near enough anywhere you want to go, including the nearby Passeig de Gracia, crammed with shops, bars and restaurants.
The hotel is actually two buildings joined together: one built in the early 20th century with its elegant stone facade, and the other a modern, brand new construction. There’s a nice contrast in the interiors between ultra sleek, modern furniture, lighting, and the statement spiral staircase in the lobby, and the older features of the original building.
There’s 90 rooms at Almanac and although even the entry level rooms are beautifully designed and more than enough for most people, there are some serious PADS if you fancy spending a bit more. There are some grand penthouse suites at the very top of the line-up, but roughly in the middle you’ll find the terrace suites, where we very happily checked in for three nights.
As the name suggests, our room featured a huge wraparound private terrace complete with dining table, fire pit, and sun loungers. Best of all are the amazing views over the city, including a direct sight line to the nearby Sagrada Familia. It was a lovely peaceful place to relax in between walks and tapas tours around the scorching hot city.
Inside, there’s a living room with sofa, dining table, and TV, plus a small kitchenette with tea and coffee machines and – more unusually – a mini popcorn machine, complete with bag of kernels and a mini cinema-style popcorn box. A nice touch.
The bedroom has a gigantic bed, probably one of the comfiest we’ve ever slept in, and another TV for lazy mornings or late night movies. Finally, the bathroom has a huge marble-clad double rainforest shower, directly next to the terrace, which means you can fully slide back the door and have an indoor/outdoor shower. Or, for a little more privacy, the glass has a very smart function that glazes over the panel with the flick of a switch.
Talking of clever tech, everything in the room is controlled by touchscreen panels around the room. You can set lighting, temperature and even control the curtains – which is just as well, as there’s a lot of ground to cover in those wraparound floor-to-ceiling windows.
Up on the roof, there’s a bar called Azimuth serving up cocktails and international street food. There’s lots of cozy corners with comfy seating, green plants and those same epic views around the city. We loved the little pool too, although beware it’s very shallow so hard to do proper swimming in.
Almanac’s signature restaurant is called Virens, with a menu designed by Michelin-starred chef Rodrigo de la Calle. Although there are meat and fish options, the main drive of the menu is plant-based, which was actually very refreshing for us after two weeks in Spain filling up on ham. We loved the spinach and kale croquettes; the mushroom ceviche; and the pickled turnip. We did allow ourselves one non-veggie dish, however, the superb creamy rice with red shrimp carpaccio.
Breakfast is a grand affair too, with a big spread of fruits, cheese, ham, cakes, bread pastries, and everything else you could imagine from the buffet. There’s also egg dishes, avocado on toast and all your other favourites to order from the a la carte menu too.
Almanac Barcelona makes for a fantastic stay in the city. It offers incredible rooms, sleek design, great food, pro service, and a brilliant location in the heart of town. It’s going to set you back a bit more than the cheap and cheerful options of Barca, but as we were in town for a few days, we really appreciated having somewhere so luxurious and homely to come back to. Would very much recommend.
619-621, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, L’Eixample, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
almanachotels.com