Eurostars Bcn Design

BarcelonaHotels

Eurostars Bcn Design

It's location, location, location for off-beat design hotel...

Occupying an enviable location on Barcelona’s swanky Passeig de Gràcia, Eurostars BCN Design is a modern hotel bursting with playful pieces of art and design, housed in a late 19th century building that’s befitting of its neighbours, the cream of modernist architecture: Casa Amatller, Casa Lleó Morera and Gaudi’s Casa Batlló with its stunning facade, somewhat of an icon in the city.

Entering the hotel lobby via an elevator, the café-bar to the right – adorned with large prints and soft lighting – has impressive views over what is considered the most expensive street in Barcelona, its plethora of design shops, upmarket restaurants and high end boutiques drawing in the city’s well-to-do and professional crowd. Remaining at lobby level there’s a small library with contemporary seating, it’s a pleasant space to wind-down after a morning spent sightseeing, and has a good selection of design books along with basic business facilities.

Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona

Renovated by the Xavier Claramunt studio of architecture and design, the five-star-rated hotel has 65 rooms, each one uniquely decorated and arranged. Some have a large bathtub in the middle of the room, others a reading room. In the majority of the rooms, the bathroom and bedroom is one open space, although a fabric-covered glass door ensures some privacy when using the toilet or shower. Red, white and black decoration adds a sultry, if borderline chintzy, touch and the large beds are hard to drag yourself out of. Located on the 5th floor, our deluxe room had all the mod cons and included a very large terrace – 40 square metres to be precise – furnished with a couple of recliners, it was a tidy little private spot from which to soak up some of Barcelona’s rays.

There’s a small gym at Eurostars BCN Design and, while not particularly well equipped, wandering the streets of Barcelona discovering barrio upon barrio will likely provide just as good a workout. What’s likely to disappoint is the roof terrace, which on the official website appears to be a stylish space with chic sun loungers – however, in reality and throughout our stay, the decking area remained empty with no sunbathing facilities and the small jacuzzi was covered up and out of use. If the hotel has been chosen on merit of this, it’s going to cause complaints, especially as Barcelona is teeming with five-star hotels, many with fabulous sun-decks.

Quirky and playful, it’s not going to appeal to everybody, the fact that the bedroom and bathroom are not separated may cause raised eyebrows from some guests. Rated as a 5* hotel, it definitely puts itself in the firing line promoting facilities that are not readily available. That said, with its almost perfect location and value for the area, Eurostars BCN Design is without doubt a worthy consideration next time you’re on the hunt for accommodation in this beautiful, frenetic city.

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Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona

Casa Batlló, Passeig de Gràcia
courtesy, Shutterstock

Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona

Photo © We Heart

Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona
Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona

Casa Milà, Passeig de Gràcia
courtesy, Shutterstock

Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona Eurostars Bcn Design, Barcelona

Photography courtesy Eurostars,
unless otherwise stated.