Mr & Mrs Smith

While no superlatives are sufficient to describe the restaurant at the hotel (the chef Jordi Cruz, fully meriting his two Michelin stars, will definitely go on to become a huge phenomenon in the near future), we had a slightly mixed feeling about the restaurant Gaig, which has one Michelin star and was recommended for a Saturday-night dinner. Though the traditional Catalan cuisine is good, it still does not beat an excellent-quality restaurant called Petit Comite at 13 passeig de Conceptio for its innovative take on traditional Catalan dishes. Just next to this restaurant are also two brilliant places which we sampled: El Japones at number 5 on the same passage if you want to eat light vibrant and authentic food whilst taking a break from shopping at Passeig de Gracia and its boutiques, and Murmuri which is Thai cuisine at its best just around the corner. As Sunday was bright and sunny, we decided to walk around the port area which was full of tourists but stopped at the terrace of La Gavina at 1 palau de Mar to sample black rice arroz negre and a seafood paella, washed down with a Martin Codax Albarino white wine. What a treat this is – a simple and standard place but the ambience and being outside in the sun on the waterfront and taking in the hubbub is worth a go. Also, around the hotel (while its difficult to extract oneself from the spa and the massages there) is a very nice covered market – St Gervasi – which is worth the round-the-corner trip to stock up on ham, cheeses and other goodies. All in all, this is one bright spot to unwind and relax in the firmament of Barcelona.

Possibly one of the best hotels I have stayed in across Europe. Do not leave without a trip to the spa downstairs and dinner at the hotel restaurant. For the brave, a trip to Bar Marsella featured in the film Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a must.

The hotel was amazing and the food exemplary, albeit quite expensive. There was a good patisserie just opposite the hotel, which was reasonable for a good coffee and pastry before heading into Barcelona. The tube into Barcelona from Tibidado was very easy. For €7.70, you can buy a ticket for 10 rides which I thought was good and we never had to wait more than three minutes for the next train. We had a meal in Moo restaurant in Hotel Omm that was super – I had a Havana Dessert which was presented to me in an ashtray. The dessert was a choc-ice cigar along with the appropriate ash from the havana cigar – so you dip the cigar into the ash then eat it. WOW, an amazing dessert, well worth trying if you go there.