The Best Hotels in Barcelona, Spain, for Every Traveller
From Barceloneta Beach to Plaça de Catalunya, you’ll find upmarket five-star boutique hotels beside budget B&Bs and eco-conscious guesthouses in Spain’s Catalonian capital. Not sure where to start amid Barcelona’s overpopulated hotel scene? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
El Palace Barcelona
Luxury
Hotel Alma Barcelona
Hotel, Boutique Hotel
The Serras
Boutique Hotel, Independent Hotel, Hotel
Room Mate Anna
Boutique Hotel
A wonderfully frilly neo-classical facade prepares visitors for the flamboyantly avant-guard decor within this characterful boutique hotel. Guest rooms come in one of three sumptuous schemes, with the red-and-white palette of the deluxe rooms particularly striking. On the roof is a circular pool and stripy daybeds where you can enjoy drinks from a cocktail bar. One of the main arteries of the city – the leafy Passeig de Gràcia – is just steps away, together with a slew of iconic modernist architecture.
Hotel Catalonia Passeig de Gràcia
Hotel, Budget Hotel, Boutique Hotel, Chain Hotel
Housed in an ornate 1928 mansion, the upscale Hotel Catalonia Passeig de Gràcia is immaculately styled in a smartly conservative palette of taupes and greys. This buttoned-up luxury continues throughout most of the accommodation (save for the left-field junior suite, which has an immersive art experience that uses 4D technology to project moving images). There’s a sunny terrace with a plunge pool, low-profile seating and loungers. Don’t miss the daily cheese and wine tastings, which are free to all guests.
Grand Hotel Central
Hotel
Located on the busy thoroughfare that separates the Gothic and Born districts, this luxury-level boutique hotel feels in the buzzing centre of it all. A stately art deco stone facade displays the 1920s origins of the building, while inside is broodingly low-lit with dusky contemporary tones. Crowning the hotel is an open roof terrace where Barcelona presents itself in a broad panorama – and there’s a gorgeous infinity pool from which to appreciate it.
Hotel Bagues
Boutique Hotel, Independent Hotel
This 19th-century former jeweller’s premises and workshop is today a perfectly cut gem on La Rambla. A sumptuous combination of buttoned leather seating, exotic lighting and swathes of dark wood give the interiors a ritzy-yet-cosy vibe. Rooms mix top-quality finish with hi-tech appliances with Indian slate bathrooms and Bluetooth speakers – a fresh rose is also left for guests. On the rooftop, cool off in the plunge pool, before cocktails and tapas accompanied by a 360-degree view over the city.
Hotel Neri Relais & Chateaux
Boutique Hotel, Hotel
Hotel Pulitzer
Boutique Hotel, Hotel
From the street-front bar popular with locals to regular live music on the rooftop, the Hotel Pulitzer is rarely short of buzz. The central location next to the Plaça Catalunya also puts it close to many of the top sights and nightspots. Smart rooms are scattered with artwork and eco-friendly touches, while Egyptian-cotton sheets and duvets make for comfy slumber. Breakfast focuses on a healthy start, though not in a boring way, and the plant-filled Greenhouse Restaurant certainly lives up to its name.
Mercer Hotel Barcelona
Hotel
Seventy Barcelona
Hotel, Boutique Hotel
With soaring colourful bookshelves and couches by the fireplace, the inviting lobby of the Seventy Barcelona contrasts starkly with its brooding, faceless facade. Smart, soundproofed guest rooms break up minimalist design with modern art, while high-end amenities include Bluetooth tech and coffee-pod machines. A serene spa is a 21st-century oasis with heated pool, sauna and vegan body treatments. A glass-sided, rooftop pool is long enough for laps, or you may prefer to just stretch out poolside and soak up the sun.
Violeta Boutique
Hotel
Violeta Boutique is the kind of small, personalised and fairly-priced hotel that you’ll want to return to again and again. The best rooms in this 19th-century building are large with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. Sightseers will be pleased to know the hotel is just a few minutes’ walk from Plaza Catalunya (the city’s main square) and full of staff who delight in sharing their knowledge of Barcelona. There are free muffins and tea available too.
Casa Gracia
Boutique Hotel, Budget Hotel, Hostel, Hotel
Casa Gracia is the hippest place to stay in Barcelona. Walk into a reception of plants, old ironwork from another era, modern chandeliers and a glass floor looking into a speakeasy lounge beneath your feet. Move past the art deco style bar and restaurant full of locals chatting softly in Spanish to a spacious common room with brick ceilings and a fireplace. Head upstairs via the antique-style elevator, past a library full of books and a wall of mirrors to the dining rooms, where you’ll find the communal tables. Continue out to a large terrace flooded with light, lounging areas, and a space for yoga. The rooms themselves are upstairs and some rooms come equipped with balconies overlooking the bustling Passeig de Gràcia.
Eco Boutique Hostal Grau
Eco Hotel, Hostel
The eco-minded will be charmed by this green boutique hotel close to Barcelona’s Plaza Catalunya. From environmentally-friendly cleaning products to naturally sourced lavender soap and organic teas, Hostal Grau is dedicated to sustainability on every level. Meanwhile, the decor is homely and ping-pongs between boho-chic and minimalist. Walls are crisp white, the furniture is upcycled and they use crates for shelves.
Hotel Midmost
Hotel
This classy, avant garde hotel is one of the best mid-range options for visitors to Barcelona. Navy, white and gold hues give this chic boutique a regal feel. And the rooftop pool area, though small, is fit for royalty with its stripy four-poster sunbeds. Meanwhile, well-priced standard rooms are cosy but perfectly efficient and come with blackout curtains, bathrooms so white they’ll make you squint and beds you’ll never want to leave. Not forgetting the staff here who are willing to go that extra mile to ensure you have a great stay in the city.
Retrome Urban Retreat
Boutique Hotel
The centrally located Retrome Urban Retreat is your retro-home in Barcelona. It’s cheap and comes with 15 rooms curated in ’60s and ’70s-style – think groovy patterns, copper lamps and walnut cabinets. Staff are passionate about the city and happy to point you in the direction of the best bakeries, cafes and independent shops. Rooms come equipped with vintage trinkets, record players and coffee machines – some also come with private balconies.
Renaissance Barcelona Hotel
Boutique Hotel, Hotel, Luxury
Luxury meets tasteful design meets Barcelona at the Renaissance Hotel. Much of the artistic elements in the rooms and throughout the building were inspired by Barcelona’s beloved Antoni Gaudí and the modernism that’s so prominent in the city. That’s why you’ll see a lot of metal with rounded corners, and carpets with Gaudí designs on them. The hotel also strives to emulate nature with lots of Mediterranean blues and mountain golds – a reflection of the surrounding ocean and nearby Montjuïc. They also installed light dimmers to replicate the effect of sunrise and sunset. Such details were meant to tempt guests to “look and look again”. With expert ‘navigators’ (who are like specialised concierges) to give local tips of the city, a chic Rumbo bar and eatery on the main floor, the Goja rooftop with views from the Sagrada Familia to the hills and the ocean, and premium rooms and junior suites, a stay at the Renaissance leaves guests feeling like they’re well taken care of.
Room Mate Emma
Hotel
Room Mate Emma is part of a visionary boutique hotel group that has made a big splash in Barcelona. This hotel cleverly blends future and past. Some rooms have groovy ’60s and ’70s designs, while others have space-age graphics. Gaudí would’ve been impressed with this wacky hotel, which has a lobby like the inside of a spaceship, and brightly coloured abstract communal spaces. This is one for the forward thinkers (or guests not afraid of a hallucinogenic trip).
Yurbban Passage Hotel and Spa
Boutique Hotel
Set in a former textile factory, this hotel is ready-made for millennials. Communal spaces are industrial-looking and full of the type of cool, mismatched furniture that you expect to see in a posh co-working space. Rooms – although snug – come with pillow menus, yoga mats and biodegradable coat hangers. Bikes are free for guests to use, there’s a rooftop pool area, and the hotel offers a nightly social hour with complimentary wine for those looking to make friends. A shuffleboard table and photo booth in the lobby will keep you entertained.
H10 Metropolitan
Hotel
It probably doesn’t sound like a major selling point, but the H10 Metropolitan’s swirly wooden headboards are up there with the best we’ve seen. But that’s not the only reason we’ve included this swish hotel at the top of La Rambla in our round-up. The sophisticated design hotel has an unusual style – there’s an antique bike, hovering fireplace and an outdoor vertical wall garden. But the biggest prize is the tranquil rooftop pool for when you’re done with sightseeing.
Cotton House
Hotel
The Cotton House Hotel has managed to retain some original features from when it was the headquarters of the Cotton Textile Foundation in the 19th century. It’s now a five-star unadulterated luxury hotel set in an elegant neoclassical building. The finishing touches here are what makes the hotel so special – from the chequered marble chessboard-like flooring, twirling optical-illusion-of-a-staircase and majestic ceilings that won’t fail to astound.
Hotel Brummell
Boutique Hotel
Hotel Barcelona 1882
Hotel
The hotel’s name is a tip of the hat to Gaudí, who started building Sagrada Familia in 1882. Gaudí is said to have been heavily inspired by nature and, so it seems, was the colour palette of this hotel – think earth tones and subtle greens and blues. The hotel’s terrace hosts free morning yoga on Wednesdays, as well as views over the designer’s towering Gothic cathedral just 400m (656ft) away.
Soho House Barcelona
Boutique Hotel
Every city has at least one hipster hotel, and Barcelona’s is Soho House. This private-member’s-club-come-hotel has 57 rooms and sits opposite Port Vell on the outskirts of the Gothic Quarter. It’s facilities-rich – there’s a 36-seater theatre, flash Cowshed spa, and year-round rooftop pool – and it’s close to the beach and La Rambla. The rooms and common areas have a twee British vibe going on and if it weren’t for the blue skies and Catalonia flags draped on the buildings nearby, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were staying at a moneyed British Lord’s house in the Cotswolds.
Mandarin Oriental
Hotel
Mercer Hotel Barcelona
Hotel
The Wittmore
Hotel
Almanac Barcelona
Boutique Hotel
Like your hotels clad floor-to-ceiling with gadgets? Then the Almanac is for you. This smart boutique hotel hasn’t been around long but is already well-respected in Barcelona. Designer Jaime Beriestain (a big fish in these parts) has used a wealth of textures with gold hues and oak and walnut finishes to create a sense of James Bond sophistication this hotel. If that’s not enough to tempt you in, there’s also a shallow rooftop pool, a fine Mediterranean brasserie and yoga classes.
El Avenida Palace
Hotel, Luxury
Ernest Hemmingway, Joan Míro and The Beatles all spent some time at El Avenida Palace – not at the same time, of course. And it’s unlikely that, other than a few interior touch-ups and the addition of a rooftop pool, much has changed since. The luxury hotel is draped in old-world Catalan charm and comes with likeable staff who remember your name, traditional Spanish rooms, and the best golden staircases you’ll ever see.
Hotel Arts Barcelona
Resort, Hotel
The Barcelona Edition
Boutique Hotel
If you’re looking for a high-end hotel in the artsy El Born neighbourhood, you can’t do much better than The Edition, Barcelona. Rooms here are fit for Hollywood stars, and come packed with gadgets, bespoke Gaudí-inspired furniture and mood lighting – making them hard to leave. The hotel is a Marriott/Ian Schrager (founder of famous NY nightclub Studio 54) collaboration, so it has been designed to entertain its punters. There’s also a Boardwalk Empire-style underground cabaret club, a London-esque speakeasy and a rooftop pool bar that hosts parties every week during summer.
Leon Beckenham contributed additional reporting to this article.
For more accommodation options, check out the best hotels in the Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, bookable with Culture Trip. If you’re looking for something a little more special, why go for a room at one of the most unique hotels in the city or (to ensure you can take a dip without wrestling for space on the beach) one of Barcelona’s best hotels with a swimming pool?