In line with the prime location of Mandarin Oriental Barcelona in Catalonia’s capital of style and culture, the global luxury giant has delivered perhaps its most elegantly contemporary expression of the brand to date.
Digital nomadism is a wonderful thing, but it often breaks our hearts a little to muss up the aesthetics of a beautifully designed hotel room with laptops, papers and other desk detritus. So we were very chuffed when, shown into our Premier Suite (one of ten available grades, excluding three spectacular unique Signature Suites) by our suave butler – sorry, ‘personalized guest experience’ representative – we discovered it came with its own capacious boardroom. Strictly speaking a dining area with a table for six (there was also an actual desk in the large bedroom), bedecked on our arrival with a fruit platter, premium cava on ice and an indecently delicious traditional Catalan cheesecake in a ceramic tureen styled after the chimneys of Gaudí’s nearby Casa Milà, this quickly became the most luxurious away-office we have ever had.
The extravagant dimensions of the 23 suites at Mandarin Oriental Barcelona aside (standard deluxe rooms, while finely appointed, are not especially large), understated opulence is the defining aesthetic of this 120-room property in the heart of the city’s swanky Eixample neighbourhood, just a block from the famed Illa de la Discòrdia where landmark buildings by four of the most flamboyant starchitects of the city’s Modernista movement – including Gaudí’s Casa Battló, the one that looks like it was built for Barbie’s pet dragon – magnificently clash. Opened in 2009, and most recently renovated in 2020, the hotel repurposes the handsome former HQ of Banco Hispanico Americano, built in 1955 in a pared-back neo-classical style, with minimal pomp, but no shortage of quiet glamour, and a handful of showstopping spaces. Its portico is framed by handsome granite bas-reliefs by Catalan sculptor Frederic Marès while the entrance leads guests to a floating ramp through a nine-storey, almost Modernist atrium and between golden aluminium latticework screens to a low-key, low-ceilinged lobby with the vibe of a very exclusive 1970s airport lounge.
The interiors, by Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola, whose work is in the collections of New York’s MoMA, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein and London’s V&A among others, are a triumph of balance and smart use of space. White-walled rooms with light-oak floors set off an elegant palette of muted terracotta, charcoal, yellow and teal, with details subtly referencing the brand’s oriental heritage – think patterned screen walls, textured, hand-woven rugs and cabinetry inspired by traditional Chinese lacquered boxes that add richness and character. Floor-to-ceiling windows, with balconies looking out over the bustling, boutique-lined Passeig de Gràcia or the elegantly planted 660 sqm/7,100 sqft internal Mimosa Garden courtyard, flood rooms with natural light and, this being a Mandarin Oriental, furnishings and amenities are of impeccable quality. Come checkout time, we briefly considered barricading ourselves into our vast monochrome bathroom, with its black glass walls, huge, freestanding oval soaking tub, walk-in rain shower and luscious bespoke products by high-end Spanish brand Miriam Quevedo (who’s also behind a world-first ‘HairSpa’ in the wellness area). Four rooms – as well as all communal spaces – are fully accessible to guests with disabilities.
| Perfect for | Fly into | Right on time |
| The Sophisticate | BCN | GMT +1 |
| While you’re Out There |
| Enamoured of Frederic Marès’ beautiful bas-reliefs on the portico of Mandarin Oriental Barcelona? Then why not get to know the 20th-century Catalan sculptor a whole lot better with a visit to the oddly underfeted Museu Frederic Marès, which showcases his prodigious and eccentric passion as a collector of antiquities? Located close to the cathedral in the city’s Gothic Quarter in a part of the old Royal Palace of the Counts, the museum’s main collection brings together thousands of artefacts spanning the centuries from pre-Roman until the 19th century. Some of Marès’ own works are also on show in his study. But perhaps the most fun is his Collector’s Cabinet, a quirky hoard of photographs, fans, pipes, Tarot cards, clocks, weapons, jewellery and toys that evoke intimate impressions of his private universe. |
Urquiola gives her design muscles a little extra flex in the shared areas, which include four dining and tippling destinations. Most rarefied among these is Moments, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, masterminded by Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda, the first woman in the world to win seven Michelin stars (of which Moments accounts for two), and her gifted son Raül Balam. The same team oversees Blanc, a beautiful all-day dining space at the heart of the hotel, crowned beneath vast skylights by a suspended metal latticework installation and hanging garden of plants. Both lean into local, seasonal produce, Moments elevating Catalan culinary traditions to innovative, ‘neo-traditional’ heights, while Blanc’s mainstay is classy comfort food influenced by authentic tapas and platillos styles (take our tip if you can and gorge on the Sunday brunch buffet’s eye-opening range of local and further-flung flavours). For impeccably crafted cocktails and posh nibbles, there are the Banker’s Bar, lined with original safety deposit box doors in homage to the building’s former incarnation, and the rooftop Terrat bar, which serves drinks, Peruvian-inspired snacks and sigh-inducing 360-degree city views until late. If you need to cool down, it also has a stylish ‘dipping pool’ which, like Terrat’s typical clientele, is sleek and skinny.
Then there’s the subterranean spa, 1,000 sqm/10,760 sqft of state-of-the-art wellness splendour. We loved that it bucks the standard spa trend for clinical whiteness or snooze-worthy neutrals, instead cocooning treatment rooms in rich, dark decor, and setting its 12 m/130 ft pool in a minimalist, black-ceilinged space bathed in the glow of a backlit green feature wall. Similarly bold and moody – and ever so slightly reminiscent of Darth Vader’s fashion sense – are the hammam and relaxation area. We’d have liked more space and equipment in the 24/7 fitness room, but lucky timing (i.e. no other takers) meant we got a pretty decent hotel workout anyway. The spa’s substantial treatment menu is appropriately indulgent and progressive, and beyond in-house yoga, HiiT Pilates and boxing classes, personal training sessions, nutrition consultations and two-day wellness retreats, Mandarin Oriental Barcelona also offers guided hikes, city jogging routes as well as e-bike and sailing outings. On the pure-leisure tip meanwhile, signature days out include hot-air balloon flights, gourmet tapas walking tours and a wine-tasting tour of the nearby Penedès region by helicopter.
Photography courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotels
