Best hotels in Barcelona 2023: From beach stays to Las Ramblas views

The most stylish hotels in the Spanish city

Sightseeing in this Spanish city just got easier (iStock/ The Independent)

Travel in Barcelona has exploded in popularity during recent years, with the sightseeing spot offering up tourist attractions aplenty.

From its medieval splendour with groundbreaking architecture and temples to art with shrines to fashion, the Catalonian capital is an on-trend European city for discovering culture and cuisine. The beautiful city is situated in northeast Spain, looking out onto the Mediterranean sea. Tourists can explore the old town, soak up the coastal view, stroll along the beach, and tuck into some local dishes.

Whether you’re looking for leisure activities or want to see the historical sights, there are a variety of hotels available. Should you be on a budget, want to chill out by the pool or are seeking a five-star stay, we’ve rounded up the best.

Fancy a trip to this Spanish city break destination? Here are the top picks for Barcelona hotels, for both luxury and budget holidays. Keep scrolling to get your trip booked.

The best hotels in Barcelona are:

• Best for views: The Serras
• Best for modern luxury: InterContinental Barcelona
• Best for design on a budget: Room Mate Anna
• Best for dining: Mandarin Oriental
• Best for country house chic: Soho House Barcelona
• Best for history: Cotton House Hotel
• Best for swimming: Grand Hotel Central
• Best for hanging with the locals: Hotel Casa Bonay
• Best for fun: Casa Camper
• Best spa: Hotel Sofia
• Best for beach lovers: W Hotel
• Best for eco-conscious travellers: Hostal Grau
• Best for cocktails on the roof terrace: 1898
• Best for central city oasis: Alma

Best for views: The Serras

Admire the sea view in The Serras' spacious junior suite (The Serras)

Neighbourhood: Gothic Quarter

Overlooking the Port Vell, The Serras makes the most of its enviable location with huge floor-to-ceiling windows (some rooms even have tubs from which you can watch the yachts bobbing in the harbour), but the best view is from the roof terrace. Revamped and expanded in recent years, it now has a leafy open-air restaurant to add to its cocktail bar and plunge pool.

A stylish but impressively relaxed place, this five-star hotel works hard to keep its guests happy, providing luxuries such as mobile phones with free data and international calls, Diptyque toiletries and a 24-hour bar.

Best for modern luxury: InterContinental Barcelona

Neighbourhood: Montjuic

The bar at the InterContinental Barcelona (IHG)

Contemporary design and effortless luxe make this five-star from global brand IHG a welcome refuge after pounding the sweltering streets, while its plum location is just 200 yards from Barcelona’s Magic Fountain.

The swish lobby, replete with high-shine marble floors, artsy lighting and myriad low-slung seating options, leads into a wonderfully airy, high-ceilinged restaurant and breakfast room with floor-to-ceiling windows. Rooms are pleasingly spacious and decked out in soothing neutral tones of ivory and taupe alongside splashes of navy and rose-pink, while bathrooms are stocked with sumptuous products from Swedish brand Byredo.

There’s a ground-floor bar but the real star here is the rooftop terrace  – perfect for sundowners with city views or a pool dip with a side of tanning, depending on the time of day. Helen Coffey

Best for design on a budget: Room Mate Anna

This modern design hotel has been decorated by the antique expert and interior designer Lorenzo Castillo (Room Mate Anna)

Neighbourhood: Eixample

The Room-Mate chain is a quirky Spanish affair that styles each hotel around an individual, fictional, person. Whoever Anna is, she sure has élan and a quirky sense of style. The cartoony fish wallpaper in the corridors sets the playful tone, which continues all the way to the neat little pool, surrounded by Tim Burton-inspired striped cushions. Rooms are filled with colour, but a little more sober, although the nicest (”Deluxe”) have a sumptuous Eastern theme and are worth splashing out a little extra for.

Best for dining: Mandarin Oriental

Enjoy incredible views of the city from the roof top of the Mandarin Oriental (Mandarin Oriental Barcelona)

Neighbourhood: Eixample

With the sort of luxe comfort and service you’d expect from a Mandarin Oriental, the Barcelona branch has character in spades, as well as a notable selection of restaurants and bars. The outstanding Moments has (deservedly) won two Michelin stars for its chef Raül Balam, whose mother Carme Ruscalleda – one of the most garlanded chefs in the world – oversees Blanc, a less formal dining option. There are two outdoor bar-restaurants, one of which serves Peruvian cuisine, as well as the celebrated Banker’s Bar.

Best for country house chic: Soho House

Neighbourhood: Gothic Quarter​

The opulent interior of Soho House (Soho House)

Barcelona’s Soho House has the venerable and clubby feel of one of its London counterparts. There are elements of Catalan craftsmanship in the design, but the look is overwhelming Cotswold retreat – which works surprisingly well in combination with a view over the Med. Rooms are small but luxurious, abundantly stocked with Cowshed toiletries and what can only be described as maxi-bars. There are various bars and restaurants, a rooftop pool and a small private cinema.

Price: Doubles from €315 (£280) for non-members

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Best for history: Cotton House Hotel

The resplendent Damask suite at the Cotton House (Cotton House)

Neighbourhood: Eixample

Set in the 19th-century neo-classical building that once housed the city’s guild of cotton producers, the hotel runs with the theme. The reception desk is adorned with vast sprays of cotton bolls; the rooms (dazzling white) are named after fabrics, and there is a discreet Atelier, lined with bolts of cotton, where you can have a shirt made. Dazzling architectural features include the coffered library-turned-cocktail bar and the 1950s suspended staircase.

Best for swimming: Grand Hotel Central

Take in the views from the Grand Hotel's rooftop infinity pool (Grand Hotel Central)

Neighbourhood: El Born

A smart, sexy hotel with an understated deco elegance, the Grand Hotel Central has one outstanding feature – its rooftop infinity pool, star of a million Instagram shots. The view from up here (where there is also a bar/restaurant) is breathtaking, and enhanced by a curious maritime mural. The story goes that the family that owns the hotel, frustrated by the neighbouring building blocking what would be a view of the sea, bought it for themselves and commissioned a vast mural to be painted on one side.

Best for hanging with the locals: Hotel Casa Bonay

The roof top terrace at Casa Bonay (Casa Bonay)

Neighbourhood: Eixample

Everything about Casa Bonay is designed to engage and give back to the local community, and during the day it becomes something of a co-working space for young Catalans, who gaze at MacBooks while eating homemade granola with almond milk and sipping a cold-pressed coffee. In the evenings, they return for the Asian food or for events such as the outdoor cinema on the citrus tree and herb-filled rooftop terrace. In the simply designed, light-filled rooms, rugs, blankets and hand-crafted furniture is by local designers, and much of it is for sale.

Best for fun: Casa Camper

The billiards room at Casa Camper (Casa Camper)

Neighbourhood: Raval

Bowls of M&Ms, an honesty bar, hammocks in the rooms, a little slice of rainforest, complete with shower, on the roof – these are the things that make up the Casa Camper experience. Rooms – painted crimson and overlooking a hanging garden – are divided into two, with sitting rooms across the corridor from the bedrooms (strangers padding around in dressing gowns is less awkward than it sounds), and an excellent 24-hour free snack bar is a social hub day and night.

Best spa: Hotel Sofia

Pamper yourself in the Hotel Sofia's superb spa (Hotel Sofia)

Neighbourhood: Zona Alta

The Sofia is up in the business district, which means there are bargains to be had in holiday periods. Rooms on the higher floors have fabulous views, and the dining options – three restaurants and an underground speakeasy with cabaret – are surprisingly good. The pool is a little too close to the road to be peaceful, but the spa is exceptional. Genuinely relaxing, it’s a vast and leafy space, with expert therapists and a range of treatments, along with a caldarium, sauna, salt room and ice-fountain.

Best for beach-lovers: W Hotel

Relax in a tub with the ultimate sea view (W Hotel)

Neighbourhood: Barceloneta

Not for the shy, the seaside W is unabashedly aimed at the young and glam (there is an actual recording studio in the basement, not to mention a ferocious entrance policy for the main bar). The rooms, however, are all about the sea, decorated with a maritime theme and with beds placed dead centre, all the better to gaze out at the view. The gym and pools also face out to sea, as do the various restaurants, one of which is practically on the sand itself.

Best for eco-conscious travellers: Hostal Grau

Hostal Grau (Hostal Grau)

Neighbourhood: Raval

Tucked discreetly away on a narrow pedestrianised street at the top of the central Raval district, family-run Hostal Grau has a relaxed and homely vibe and a genuine commitment to sustainable tourism. The bright, airy rooms have wooden floors made from reclaimed timber, imaginatively restored antique furnishings and locally produced natural toiletries by Cítrics del Pla. The windows of interior rooms at the rear open onto an impressive living wall of plants fed by clean waste water from the hotel. There’s no restaurant, but in the common lounge there is free tea, coffee and homemade cake, and there is a little all-day cafe right next door.

Best for cocktails on the roof terrace: 1898

1898 roof terrace (1898)

Neighbourhood: Raval/Las Ramblas

An original wooden revolving door separates the tourists thronging Las Ramblas from the stately tranquillity of 1898. Don’t be put off by the rather heavy colonial decor, 1898 contains some gems worthy of a much pricier hotel. Best of all is the outstanding roof terrace with a pool, a bar and large sofas perfect for enjoying a cocktail and a view of the old town towards the port beyond. For cooler seasons there’s an indoor pool, luxurious spa and decent gym. Classic doubles are very reasonably priced, and for deeper pockets there are corner suites with private pools.

Best for a central city oasis: Alma

Alma garden (Alma)

Neighbourhood: Eixample

A stone’s throw from the classy shops and cafes of Passeig de Gràcia, Alma is an oasis of modern elegance. A huge atrium rises up dramatically from reception to a skylight above. Lifts and rooms (all exterior) are accessed via fingerprint sensor, and there’s a spa with a heated indoor pool. The Jardín del Alma bar and restaurant opens onto a peaceful manzana (the ample interior of one of the Eixample’s famous city blocks) where Alma has created a unique garden with mature trees and winding slate paths. During warmer months meals are served outside, but drinks, tapas and tranquillity can be enjoyed outdoors almost year-round.

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