Acclaimed as the best of Barcelona,the Hotel Arts Barcelona is one of two twin skyscrapers perched in the cloudless Catalonian sky above the wooden promenade, the strip of beaches, the Olympic Port and the vast marina with its sprawling masts, gleaming chrome iron and polished wood: 44 stories of steel and glass in the style of structural expressionism.
Hotel infrastructure
Inside, the hotel features a minimalist décor in warm chestnut and sandy, marble and charcoal tones, complemented by a collection of contemporary Spanish art. A reception on the first floor provides access to restaurants and a gallery of terraces with whirlpools, waterfalls and a swimming pool, dominated by a titanic sculpture by Frank Gehry – a fish woven out of gleaming copper beams.
Room stock
Opening the door of the room, you can feel the spaciousness. The sea fills the room through the panoramic windows of the Hotel Arts Barcelona, and the sun flutters in the reflections of the mirrors, on the silver woven fabric sofa cushions, the ebony gloss and plays hide-and-seek on the velvet window sills. In the distance a lonely white sail gleams, to the right behind Barcelona and the old port, lost in the distance, pass in the fairway of the cargo ships.
The bathroom has polished marble, Aqua di Parma cosmetics, and Bang & Olufsen speakers playing a soft bossa from the hotel’s own Barcelona Nights CD. Rising in the early hours of the morning, while the room is still in blue twilight, one can watch the sunrise over the blue Mediterranean horizon. In the evening, sit on the cushioned windowsill and sip a cava, the Catalan version of champagne, and enjoy Barcelona from the comfort of your room.
The top ten Club Rooms, Suites and Duplex Suites offer additional services including a private reception, convertible Mini for city tours, complimentary massages and free access to the spa, a private lounge with a pool and the Veranda Café for breakfast, a live rock and an evening cocktail with refreshments.
Food
The Hotel Arts Barcelona has an Enoteca restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Paco Pérez, serving Mediterranean cuisine accompanied by a vast selection of wines from their own cellar. Arola, run by two Michelin-starred Sergi Arola, opens a wonderful terrace in the summer with cocktails and tapas to live music in the evenings. The Marina Bar & Restaurant is also open by the pool in summer.
Hotel services
The first and until recently the only city wellness centre of the famous chain of eco-spa occupying two floors of the skyscraper at the Hotel Arts Barcelona does not betray its traditions: natural products, exclusive cosmetics Sodashy by Six Senses, beauty and health rituals created by ancient oriental recipes, eco-design and well thought-out service. Here and in the middle of a bustling city, guests feel as if they are in a tropical resort.
You should come a little earlier in order to fill in the application form, choose the procedures according to your mood and just drink hot ginger infusion or ice cold mint lemonade from a misty jug and relax in a whirlpool, sauna with panoramic windows, steam room with colour therapy or on one of the balconies with leather loungers and warm wooden floor, filled with light and air. A staircase with dripping water running along the walls leads to the floor below, to the massage rooms. All eight rooms at the Hotel Arts Barcelona have floor-to-ceiling windows and are equipped with healing chromotherapy lighting.
From the vast list of Six Senses signature treatments about fifty treatments were chosen for the Barcelona centre, the most relaxing and recharging, which is especially important for tired city dwellers. Hotel Arts Barcelona is particularly proud of its rituals specially developed for the Hotel Arts: the Art of Stone Therapy, a 90-minute face and body massage using unique basalt stones to achieve total relaxation, and the Six Sensory Journey, a four-handed massage lasting almost three hours.
It begins with a relaxing foot bath and a warm towel wrap, and as the skillful fingers of the masseur begin to loosen your muscles one by one, a cleansing mask is applied to your face. To finish, a final scalp massage removes the last vestiges of stress. Then a drowsy and relaxed client is poured with tart ginger tea and escorted to the lounge with white walls, comfortable deck chairs and panoramic windows so that just beyond your fingertips the blue sea and the sun and wind filled sky opens up.
The Hotel Arts Barcelona has a swimming pool, a fitness centre run by Six Senses Spa, offering among other things yoga, tai chi and pilates classes as well as a small express spa menu with short but enjoyable treatments. A wide range of activities from sightseeing and water-skiing to jazz and flamenco evenings.
