Class: Comfort
Style: Stylish alternative
Rooms: 43
El Born
For all Barcelona’s undoubted sophistication, the hotels on offer in this beautiful city tend to polarise between either the luxurious and expensive or the rather impersonal. There’s relatively little in between. It was with the idea of filling in this gap that Ramon Parrellada, owner of the famous Senyor Parrellada restaurant, opened up the Banys Oriental in 2002. The end result is what the Guardian newspaper called Wstye on a budget” – a chic modern design and great location at affordable prices. From the outside, you may not actually get a hint of what the interior holds, as the façade retains its grand 18th century architecture and character. Walk past the doors and its a different story with decor that’s stylish, minimalist and very contemporary. As the name implies Banys Oriental literally means Oriental Baths. It currently does not live up to this name as yet, but it is due to have a swimming pool and baths (masage saloon, steam room etc) in the very near future.