And indeed, I challenge anyone to not hum at least a few bars of that opening Olympian anthem while visiting this hotel – a bold architectural exclamation mark, which until recently has taken first spot on the tallest-building-in-Barcelona podium. It does feel fitting that it has now been nudged into second place by that Grande Dame of Design in the city, La Sagrada Familia, as it reaches its final pinnacle of expression.
And like the Sagrada Familia, Hotel Arts has also undergone an extensive redesign, putting this iconic seafront tower back in the spotlight, not simply as a luxury hotel, but as a tangible expression of Barcelona’s design soul. The hotel, originally completed in the late 1990s as part of the city’s Olympic-era rejuvenation, was once synonymous with international glamour — an emblem of the new Barcelona rising out of its industrial shell. Today, it stands not only revitalised but redefined, as it sheds its glossy past for a layered, more nuanced expression and design.
And being more of a bijoux and boutique kind of traveller, I surprised myself how much I loved being encased in that statement SOM architectural exoskeleton that literally framed every view – you could say I took to it like a (Frank Gehry) fish to water…
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Hotel Designs.
