W Barcelona is a sail shaped (Hotel Vela) 5-star hotel at the new harbour facilities. World-renowned Barcelona based architect Ricardo Bofill planned the lifestyle hotel as one of numerous new buildings that make up the Barceloneta refurbishment along the beachfront.
Come with us, guest relations manager Vera is giving us a tour!
From the outside W Barcelona is eye-catching already. You can spot the hotel’s sail shaped main building from far away. Say while arriving by plane…
But mind you, the hotel is not situated in the ‘city centre’! I.e. you better grab a taxi from here when taking to the city’s historic attractions since the hotel’s location at the outmost end of the new harbour mole may offer spectacular city and sea views but it is also relatively remote for pedestrians. I hired a bicycle rickshaw to get there in style ;-)
Inside the hotel is roomy, elegant and stylish. With 473 guest rooms and suites it’s huge but you wouldn’t tell from the experience. It feels more like a cosy design hotel.
The reception area is very generous with several desks and an atrium many, many stores high. You’re in awe the moment you enter the building.
Hotel Rooms at W Barcelona
First things we took to see the hotel rooms. I was blown away by the ‘standard’ Wonderful room type already. Given the hotel’s perpendicular orientation towards both sides of the beach all hotel rooms offer amazing views of Barcelona’s shoreline, the city and the sea likewise.
Once I recovered from the view you enjoy right from your hotel bed I quickly noticed that the room’s design is fully up to par with Barcelona’s and W’s own high design standards. Stark color contrasts and a stylish bath room make for an impeccable experience.
Not to mention the minibar, as it comes with a twist — I’ve never felt urged to have a drink at checking into a room like here…
So much for the ‘typical’ hotel room. We now could take the elevator and go down to check out the hotel’s restaurants and listen to the DJ at the bar. But… as a travel blogger you’ve also GOT to check out some other room types, say a WOW Suite?
At 31 square meters the lofty exterior terrace alone is a jaw-dropping experience! But also the full-fledged living room and the spacious bedroom(s) are equally impressive…
Enough already, let’s go down and recover by the bar…
W Bar and WAVE Restaurant
Eventuelly you’ve deserved to sip from your drink and listen to the DJ at the bar or the lounge next to it.
And after this and the numerous impressions you’ll obviously be hungry. This is when you may want to move over to the WAVE restaurant. Its elegant atmosphere is impressive day and night. Either the sun or the lighting will playfully enhance the stylish decor.
If you prefer to treat yourself to tapas or even the full gourmet dinner, you will want to venture into the first floor. This is the realm of renowned Michelin star chef Carles Abellan‘s Bravo 24 restaurant.
The tapas bar is orchestrated around the preparation area where barman Alberto and his colleagues put together the best and the finest Spanish tapas tradition has on offer.
We left testing the actual gourmet restaurant for the next time we visit bustling Barcelona… The tapas were all promising already!
Eclipse Bar — Blueish Drinks with a View
After dinner you can’t miss the Eclipse bar. Take the dedicated elevator to the top floor where an all blue bar is nestled into the glass and steel construction.
Eclipse bar easily offers the most spectacular views of Barcelona’s harbour district and its surroundings.
Phew, what a location! Time to finally get a good night’s sleep, see you around!
[slickr-flickr search=sets set=”72157633643548261″ type=”gallery”]
And our Gratitude Goes to…
This trip was made possible by Swiss travel agent travel.ch and their go-getting CEO Inka Nobel. Many thanks also to city trip specialist Martina Schmidlin for putting together the itinerary!
And thanks to Susanne Schmitt from travel PR agency Primus Communications for hinting me to this opportunity!
1 Comment
It looks really cosy, And tapas are a good “fast food”