Grand Hotel Central

Barcelona, Spain [view map]

Style: Urban chill
Setting: Barcelona heat

This luxury city-centre hotel offers an elegant respite from the Barcelona bustle, with tapas restaurants, designer bars and boutique shopping.

Need to know

Rooms: 147, including 22 suites.
Rates: €270–€765, excluding seven per cent VAT and breakfast (€20).
Check-out: Midday, but can be later by arrangement.
Facilities: 24-hour room service, library, laundry service, fitness centre, conference rooms, daily newspapers, airport transfer, WiFi in public areas. In-room amenities: Korres toiletries, safe, free minibar. CD, DVD and MP3 players, LCD TV.
Poolside: The roof-top infinity pool perches at the summit of the city, offering an unrivalled view of Barcelona from the sleek wooden sun loungers.
Children: Under 12s stay for free, over 12s require a €40 supplement for an extra bed. Cots are available for babies, and the babysitting service costs €14 an hour, plus taxi fare home.
Eco-friendly: Solar panels on the roof cut down on wasted energy; all food is locally produced.
Also: The hotel is divided into smoking and non-smoking floors. Massages can be arranged.

In the know

Our favourite rooms: The Executive rooms are slightly larger than the standard, and both are very spacious. Bigger still are the Loft and Master Suites – the latter packing in a colossal 40 metres squared. Both offer 32” LCD screens and come with freebie goodies: Cava, chocs, and the hotel’s own guidebook to the city. Loft Suites offer mouth-watering views of the Roman walls, while the smaller City rooms occupy the corners of the building and offer the best panoramas of the city (the clue’s in the name).
Packing tips: A handful of tomes on art history and architecture for swotting up on Barcelona’s gorgeous historic buildings and sounding authoritative about Picasso; plenty of euros for splashing out on the Ramblas, the city’s most famous shopping street.

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant: Grand Central Hotel is home to Actual, award-laden chef Ramon Freixa’s cosmopolitan eatery. Like Britain’s Blumenthal, Freixa has a wizard’s touch with unexpected flavours, fusing traditional Catalan cuisine and seasonal produce.
Dress code: Spanish city sleek.
Top table: Make sure you get a window seat to watch the world wander by.
Last orders: Dinner is served until 23h30 and midnight at weekends. Actual opens its doors to the public at 11h but hotel guests are welcome for breakfast beforehand.
Room service: A full menu of tasty treats is available at any time.
Hotel bar: Drinks and snacks are available in Actual throughout the day – ideal for a cheeky afternoon margarita. Oenophiles will enjoy the frequent wine tastings.

Smith card offer Free cocktails for two on arrival and late check-out (if available)

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