Hotel Bagues

Hotel Bagues

On Les Rambles 105, the scale that gave this building its old nickname, El Regulador, once hung free for anyone from the nearby Boqueria Market to weigh their goods. Built in 1850 by architect Josep Fontseré i Domènech, the property spent over a century as the workshop of jewellers Bagués-Masriera before Derby Hotels Collection converted its seven floors into a 31-room hotel that reads like a private museum: walls and wardrobes panelled in Madagascar ebony, gold leaf details, Rimadesio doors, and, in every room, a genuine piece from the Masriera Art Nouveau jewellery collection on display as part of the decor. That is what separates it from other hotels in the Gothic Quarter, few of which can point to a jewellery house's own archive as furnishing. The terrace pairs an outdoor pool with a sun deck, a short walk from Barcelona Cathedral and three hundred metres from Plaza Catalunya and its bus and metro links. Guests travelling with a small dog are looked after with a bed and a Trixie treat kit at check-in. This suits someone who wants Las Ramblas at the door and craftsmanship in the room rather than square footage: the largest suite, the Diamond, tops out around forty square metres on the sixth floor. It does not suit anyone chasing space to spread out, since the smallest rooms run near ten square metres, or a hotel that fades into the background, since the building itself is the point. Biosphere certification and multilingual staff cover the practicalities. What stays with you is not the pool but a piece from the old jewellery workshop displayed in your room, and a scale that once belonged to the street outside. A 31-room hotel built into Barcelona's former Bagués-Masriera jewellery workshop on Las Ramblas, where each room displays a genuine piece from the family's Art Nouveau collection. It suits travellers after craftsmanship and history over space, with an outdoor pool and terrace near Barcelona Cathedral.