A sultry Spanish pin up splashed in Gaudí flamboyance, fuelled by an almost indecent appetite for the good life. The culture rich city of Barcelona unashamedly possesses the sort of ravishing charisma that has a beautiful clique of haute-mondes booking a return flight, before the first holiday has even ended. Catalonia’s coastal darling wears her architectural eccentricities with fabulous abandon, from the fantastical curves of Casa Batlló and the soaring spectacle of La Sagrada Família, to the deliciously shadowy passageways of the Gothic Quarter where centuries old stone conceals an array of bijou yet charming boutiques, vermouth boltholes, and a rustic assembly candlelit tables awaiting the city’s famished night owls.
The balmy sunshine rays only encourages the Spanish misbehaviour, where along Barceloneta chiselled bronzed bodies luxuriate beside the shimmering Mediterranean, right as the leisurely luncheon hours threaten to become an all afternoon affair over chilled sparkling Cava, and plates of just landed seafood while elsewhere, La Boqueria stages its daily edible fashion show of glossy scarlet peppers, plump Iberian hams and counters jewelled with the ocean’s morning catch. The glossed-up stretch of Passeig de Gràcia also provides considerably more dangerous temptation for the couture faithful, its procession of polished designer maisons primed for a little handbag related indiscretion, before this Catalonian haven begins that wonderfully languorous transition from a sun kissed serene sophisticate, to a mischievous nocturnal temptress.
Occupying a particularly fetching front row seat to the Catalan theatrics is The Barcelona EDITION, tucked beside the kaleidoscopic Santa Caterina Market within the fashionable old city enclave of El Born. Bringing the EDITION brand’s polished sensuality and youthful social spirit to Barcelona, this urban chic hideaway trades stuffy five-star convention for something altogether more bedazzling, pairing up slick contemporary design with a glitterati rooftop playground made for golden hour excess and drinking dens that become increasingly persuasive after dark. It was here where for a glorious forty-eight hours I had the enviable pleasure of calling this achingly chic address home, ready to luxuriate in a Barcelona rendezvous of lavish lodgings, and an assemblage of gastronomical pleasures swivelled with a splash of nighttide, bon-vivant debauchery
The EDITION Evolution
The hedonistic nightclub bolthole of Studio 54 had barely made Ian Schrager a stranger to pleasure seeking hospitality spectacles, bonny people or the delicious art of creating a room everybody suddenly wanted to be inside. By 2008 the boutique hotel magnate and legendary nightclub co-founder was ready to channel that finely tuned social instinct, into a formidable new liaison with hospitality heavyweight Marriott International swiftly setting about reworking the rather done to death mechanics of five star lodgings, into something infinitely sensorial and deliciously theatrical where luxe accommodation had become part private sanctuary, and part social playground for the conventional luxury notion to be blessed with a much needed, loosening of its starched rigid collar.
The philosophy was gloriously disruptive as The EDITION sought to inject a genuine dose of personable feeling into the ordinarily functional business of welcome arrivals and checking in formalities, weaving bona-fide quintessential design together with intuitive tailored service inside intimate environments alive with their own seductive energy. Public spaces were no longer destined to exist merely as handsome corridors between bedroom and front door, but as pulsing social salons where locals actually wanted to linger, and an innocent lobby cocktail might quite easily sabotage the evening’s original itinerary. Conceived as hotels that did not act like hotels, the infectious atmosphere carried equal billing with thread count and every address developed its on unique unrivalled personality, far beyond the familiar five-star formula.
The first sleek EDITION curtain rose on The Waikiki EDITION in September 2010, introducing Schrager and Marriott’s new hospitality provocateur against Hawaii’s palm fringed Pacific playground where now more than a decade later, the EDITION empire now flaunts over twenty individual voguish sanctums across an enviably glossy atlas, each absorbing the cultural temperature of its surroundings rather than receiving an identikit luxury makeover.
In Manhattan the EDITION plays amongst New York’s cocktail fuelled, fashion obsessed urban theatre, whilst Reykjavík brings Nordic cool to a landscape of volcanic drama and icy Atlantic beauty not to neglect its Singapore abode, placing the brand amid a tropical metropolis of futuristic architecture and after dark revelry while its Red Sea escape, swaps city swagger for the pristine waters and sun bleached seclusion of Saudi Arabia’s emerging coastal playground. The result is an intentionally unconventional anti hotel empire connected by attitude rather than carbon copy aesthetics, offering a distinctly younger interpretation of modernistic, offbeat, bold luxury.
It was only a matter of time for the Spanish urban centre of Barcelona received its own dose of EDITION mischief in September 2018, where the brand slipped into the creative thrum of El Born and promptly began courting international aesthetes alongside the city’s discerning home crowd.
Far from existing solely as somewhere fabulous to sleep, its head turning design, destination dining and spirited entertainment established a fresh cultural address within the Catalan capital, with that coveted standing receiving a particularly glossy seal of approval in 2024 when The Barcelona EDITION was crowned Best New Hotel in Spain by the Spanish edition of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler Awards, presented at Madrid’s Italian Embassy on 4 June during a moon landing inspired soirée. Having arrived determined to bring a fresh cultural and social proposition to Barcelona, The seductive EDITION title has triumphantly carved out its own place within the Catalonian city, becoming as much a playground for its home crowd as a seductive temporary address for the stylish travellers leisurely passing through it.
Inside The Barcelona EDITION
A swift effortless, 30-minute glide from Barcelona El Prat Airport places The Barcelona EDITION within the boho chic heartbeat of El Born, serenely nestled on the edge of the historic Gothic Quarter at Avinguda de Francesc Cambó 14 where centuries of weathered Catalan romance suddenly find themselves sharing the pavement with one rather, dashing contemporary interloper. Towering above the street in a striking charcoal cloak, the hotel’s soaring modern exterior flaunts razor clean architectural lines and regimented panels of gleaming glass, which I later discovered had been conceived as an ingenious “urban mirror”, catching shifting fragments of the surrounding Gothic architecture within their glossy reflections, and allowing old and new Barcelona to indulge in a rather fetching architectural dalliance.
Stepping through the doors had however transported me into an altogether slicker incarnation of the Catalan capital, where the Barcelona EDITION’s signature minimalism had been polished up to the topmost slickest heights and given just enough of that fascinating Barcelona soul, to prevent proceedings becoming even remotely austere. Soaring ceilings soared above honeyed oak floors and lustrous walnut panelled walls, creating a deliciously rich cocoon of tobacco brown, caramel, cream and burnished amber all illuminated by pools of sultry golden light, that became increasingly seductive as the daylight rays faded.
Against those deeper woody tones sat Christian Liaigre’s sculptural furnishings, with curvaceous ivory armchairs nestled next next to dots of snowy upholstered sofas, and plump circular ottomans arranged across pale rugs while pristine black tables and the occasional flash of brilliant cobalt blue supplied the space with a sharper, fashion conscious edge right as rich verdant palms brought a flourish of Mediterranean greenery to the polished tableau.
Many a discerning set of eyes could feast upon quieter love letters to Catalonia, with neatly framed works by celebrated Barcelona photographers Colita and Xavier Miserachs, elevated by the furnishing adornments of sculptural Gaulino chairs and artful references to the creative legacies of Salvador Dalí, and Antoni Gaudí as the heady fragrant air had been perfumed throughout with Barcelona EDITION’s custom Le Labo black tea fragrance, its smoky, sensual aroma lingering amongst the walnut and soft lighting like the olfactory equivalent of an impeccably cut black tuxedo.
My own arrival was handled with equal panache by a spirited front of house ensemble, besuited in crisp dapper attire and dispatching the check in formalities with blink of an eye precision, yet without sacrificing an ounce of warmth. A chilled flute of crisp Cava was soon sparkling rather agreeably in my hand before yours truly was chaperoned from the glossy social theatre of the lobby towards her glitterati Catalan dwelling, providing a suitably effervescent first taste of the EDITION high life that awaited upstairs.
The Barcelona EDITION Suite Life
Playing chivalrous host to a bijou collection of a 100 rooms, suites and penthouse habitats, The Barcelona EDITION keeps its private quarters deliberately intimate dressing each dwelling in the brand’s signature language of sultry restraint rather than drowning the senses beneath unnecessary five-star flamboyance, elevated for the fortunate few by facing the colourful mosaic rooftop of Santa Caterina Market as Barcelona herself provides the artwork.
At 280ft² the Superior Room offers a particularly serene interpretation of this pared back glamour, with a cloudlike white bed taking centre stage against a deep walnut headboard cocooned in crisp linens, delicate floral accents and a deliciously tactile faux fur throw introducing a little come hither softness. Sleek contemporary lighting, sculptural dark wood furnishings and a streamlined timber desk keep proceedings clean and debonair, while the deep window seat creates a cosy perch from which to spy upon the city beyond.
For those whose Barcelona escapades demand considerably more square footage and a little penthouse peacocking, the magnificent 1,560ft² Santa Caterina Penthouse turns the Barcelona EDITION Suite Life dial firmly towards high altitude indulgence. Floor to ceiling windows flood the interiors with Catalan sunshine and sweeping city panoramas, while walnut and pristine white marble are joined by distinctly Spanish design credentials, including an iconic Òscar Tusquets chair and artwork by photographer Chema Madoz. Yet its most seductive asset waits outside, where an immense wraparound private terrace becomes a Mediterranean playground in its own right, dressed in lush greenery, sunbeds, a lounge and alfresco dining space, allowing its temporary residents to breakfast beneath blue skies, surrender to languid afternoon sun worship, or pour something suitably chilled as Barcelona slips into her glittering evening attire.
My own slice of the Barcelona EDITION high life materialised in the rather ravishing form of a 463ft² Loft Corner Suite, an aptly titled lofty Catalan cocoon whose seductive minimalism proved considerably more alluring than anything dripping in predictable five-star excess. Swathed in a soothing medley of warm ivory, cream and soft oatmeal, the suite’s restrained palette was given a handsome dose of depth through rich walnut accents, pale oak parquet flooring and flashes of cool marble, while an embossed Spanish leather headboard, original Spanish artworks and a locally designed wooden Gaulino chair supplied those meticulously considered native flourishes that kept proceedings firmly rooted in Barcelona.
Commanding the sleeping quarters was a colossal snow-white bed, impeccably dressed in cloudlike linens before being nonchalantly draped with the Barcelona EDITION’s signature sumptuous faux fur throw, introducing just enough tactile decadence to tempt an immediate horizontal surrender. Yet it was the cosy sitting enclave that swiftly became my favourite little corner, its custom window cube sofa piled with plump alabaster cushions and seemingly spilling towards the glass, beyond which Barcelona unfurled into a glittering map of rooftops, architectural silhouettes and radiant skyline vistas.
The bathroom had continued that serene act of seduction in lashings of pristine white and cool stone, with sleek contemporary fittings and frosted glass creating a deliciously clean backdrop, although the scene stealer was unquestionably the sculptural freestanding bathtub poising beside an immense picture window overlooking the city, practically demanding a lengthy soak accompanied by something sparkling, golden and unapologetically French.
As twilight began slipping into her sultrier evening attire, that particular wish appeared to have been overheard. A buzz of the suite bell soon found me in the company of a charming EDITION host, armed with freshly baked warm pastries and rather more importantly, a chilled bottle of Ruinart Brut Champagne. With those golden bubbles poised to kindle one’s appetite for mischief, there remained only the terribly taxing business of popping the cork before slipping into something suitably fabulous, and deciding precisely where Barcelona’s nighttime shenanigans would lead me first.
The Epicurean EDITION
A deliciously debauched playground of epicurean temptation keeps the Barcelona EDITION’s couture clad gourmands exceedingly well fed and, courtesy of a seductive cocktail catalogue, just a little wickedly watered too.
With Barcelona already possessing one of Europe’s most ferociously fashionable appetites, Chef Pedro Tassarolo hardly plays coy presiding over three distinctive culinary rendezvous that flirt with the sun-drenched flavours, market fresh bounty and spirited gastronomic soul of the Mediterranean. Snugly cushioned within the produce obsessed playground of El Born, the hotel plucks inspiration from its deliciously edible doorstep transforming pristine seasonal ingredients into vibrant market cuisine, where Catalan character meets the Barcelona EDITION’s slick cosmopolitan swagger for liquid seduction to begin once the plates have been suitably ravished, right as flavoursome specialty punch concoctions and expertly stirred tipples come out to play turning an innocent dinner date, into something altogether, that little bit more spirited.
Bar Galán x The Terrace of Veraz
Any Barcelona sojourn sans a shameless tapas feast would surely border on sacrilege, with Veraz proving a particularly fetching spot to commit the necessary culinary sins. Drawing its market fresh bounty from neighbouring Santa Caterina Market, the restaurant currently plays host to a summer liaison with trendy Bar Galán, celebrating the latter’s unfussy Spanish philosophy of punchy Mediterranean flavours and plates made for spirited sharing.
My luncheon claimed the rustic chic prettiness of the terrace, serenely cocooned beneath a luxuriant canopy of jade green foliage and terracotta potted botanicals, where a voluptuous crimson sangria, fruity, citrus kissed and dangerously gluggable, commenced proceedings. Soon cluttering the table came sweet tomato drenched crystal bread gleaming with olive oil, next to a generous helping feisty, crisp Patatas Bravas Boom Galán style and fine, golden meaty Andalusian calamari dunked into silken lime mayonnaise, not neglecting the succulent diced tenderloin smothered in a herbed silken pepper sauce chased with a local bottle Pansa Blanca flaunting crisp lemon, green pear, white blossom and a flirtatious saline finish before the sweet finale of a light fudge loaded chocolate cake helping, melting into vanilla ice cream triumphantly handling those dessert duties with effortless ease.
Post luncheon mischief had no sooner migrated indoors, where Veraz swapped the leafy nonchalance of its terrace for a considerably more sultry dose of cocktail hour theatre. Commanding the room with unabashed gusto, a colossal wall of 410 backlit liquor bottles soared towards the lofty ceiling, its rainbow regiment of amber, ruby and jewel toned elixirs glowing against rich dark timber like an epic treasury of liquid temptation. Suspended above, an immense aged brass installation radiated its own molten warmth, casting a crepuscular golden haze across the bar and transforming the entire space into something deliciously moodier, sexier and primed for Barcelona’s cocktail sipping haute monde to come out and play.
Amid the boozy splendour it would have been terribly impolite not to order another concoction, where naturally my beloved pastel Cosmopolitan beauty was summoned for the occasion arriving in her signature come hither shade of lipstick pink, beautifully chilled and wickedly polished, with clean vodka slipping into the tart crimson bite of cranberry and a bright citrusy snap sharpening each sip proving exactly the kind of liquid accomplice one wants beneath 410 illuminated bottles, and a rather fabulous full stop to luncheon before the Barcelona EDITION tempted me towards my next gastronomic indiscretion.
Golden Hours And Sultry Suppers At The Roof
Ten floors above Barcelona’s hedonistic playground, The ROOF twinkles as The EDITION’s sky-high jewel, a poolside garden sanctuary where the city’s discerning, couture clad cliques gather to see, be seen and surrender to that flaxen golden hour interval. Iroko parquet, cloud white sunbeds and low-slung sofas were serenely nestled amongst terracotta pots overflowing with aromatic greenery, whilst flickering lanterns and bougainvillea framed a colossal 360 degree panorama stretching across Santa Caterina Market’s kaleidoscopic rooftop, the Gothic majesty of Santa Maria del Mar and onwards to the shimmering Mediterranean. Adding a further sleek measure of exotic swagger to this skyward playground was a colourful Levantine feast curated by Beirut Barcelona’s Chef Paul Haddad, who transported Lebanon’s time-honoured culinary traditions ten storeys skywards through a delectable parade of spice perfumed meats, silken hummus, crisp golden pastries and vibrant mezze, bringing the sun kissed, convivial spirit of Beirut rather deliciously into Barcelona’s haute monde rooftop orbit.
Taking up residence beside the sculptural travertine bar, my sundowner proceedings commenced with a wickedly refreshing Margarita, where the silky agave swagger of Volcán X.A tequila collided with Triple Sec and a lip puckering rush of lime, before a procession of easy on the eye epicurean delights began colonising the table. Cream laden burrata tangled deliciously with plump seasonal tomatoes, as golden Iberian ham croquettes concealed an intensely step of savoury centres beneath their crisp shells alongside the Beirut Barcelona’s Lebanese hummus, arriving decadently smooth with a velvet earthy profile dressed with fine lashings of lemon and virgin olive oil, before crowned with a sprinkling of buttery pine nuts primed for shameless scooping with warm pita.
A blush tinted bottle of Whispering Angel Côtes de Provence kept glasses deliciously occupied its clean red berry hints as dinner gathered momentum with a succulent Kafta skewer of prime beef and tender lamb perfumed with moreish tongue tingling Lebanese spices, followed by delicate cheese Rikak whose brittle filo surrendered to salty feta, making way for the zingy scrupulously diced Fattoush salad, enlivened by to touches of grassy sweet mint, smoked sumac and a glossy sweet, pomegranate reduction.
By the ebony cloaked nightfall hour where candlelight flickered across the greenery and Barcelona glittered beneath us, it was for the Berry Mischief concoction to supply the final liquid indiscretion. A voluptuous toothsome sangria creation, El Pispa red wine came meddled with a splash of Martini Rubin and rich Hennessy cognac, before the invigorating hit of ripe strawberry and zesty lemon all flowing inside a bold, berry drenched nightcap right while behind the decks the DJ steadily turned up the seduction, his foot thumping, hypnotic rhythms pulsing across the terrace and transforming our languorous rooftop supper, into the kind of Saturday night one had absolutely no desire to leave, but in time had to exit with a heavy grief-stricken heart.
The Art of the Barcelona EDITION Nightcap At The Punch Room
Netting in on the ritzy success of its refined London sibling, Punch Room Barcelona plays the devastatingly handsome night owl of The Barcelona EDITION’s drinking dens illustrating a clandestine speakeasy reached via the hotel’s dramatic spiral staircase, where the bright lights dim and the mood slips into a full, irresistible James Bond seduction spirit. Cocooned in lustrous oak panelling, the dashing hideaway smouldered beneath an amber illumination against deep emerald velvet settings, and supple lustrous leather elevated next to a black granite fireplace and THAT, scene stealing Castilian pool table dressed in audacious golden cloth lending the room its rakish private members club swagger, whilst Andrea Torres’ photography supplied a distinctly, Barcelonian flourish.
The treasured punch however was to remain the delicious protagonist, born from the spirited marriage of liquor, spice, citrus, sugar and water travelling the historic trade routes, where this centuries old concoction has given gifted a thoroughly newfangled and swanky wardrobe through the COMPASS menu with specialty serves arriving from the hands of a handsome mixologist crew, besuited in their topmost crisp, razor sharp attire and more than willing to indulge yours truly with a mixology theatric or three.
The Privateer’s Punch had sailed first into my divine view with plenty of liquid bravado, with Glenmorangie whisky washing the palate in silky waves of honeyed malt and mellow vanilla warmth before bittersweet Aperol slipped into the mix with its ruby citrus bite, enveloped with a dab of Pollen syrup bringing a luscious, nectar like sweetness before an aromatic sage whispered an earthy herbal elegance, and the powerful smidgens of orange bitters supplying the final zesty flick to leave behind a beautifully layered, smoky sweet concoction with just enough bite to demand another sip. The Caribbean Punch promptly turned up the exotic mischief, Brugal 1888 rum and Lillet Blanc forming a voluptuous backbone of caramelised warmth and floral finesse, lavishly perfumed with heady earthed cinnamon, spiced clove and tantalising sprinkles of black pepper before the sultry nuances of dark cocoa and roasted coffee, collided with a bright citrus tang creating the kind of dangerously quaffable nectar that made restraint feel terribly, unfashionable.
Between those silver bowl temptations came an equally seductive parade of bite sized gourmet wickedness, with plump crispy prawns cocooned beneath a delicate golden crunch and slicked through with creamy citrus mayonnaise, followed by fried polenta, crisp at its bronzed edges yet delectably soft within, its mellow corn sweetness jolted by a punchy tomato chutney as the glamour puss finale belonged to the caviar cones, dainty little vessels of salty oceanic pearls lavished with cool sour cream and fresh chives, each decadent mouthful begging to be chased with another spiced, ice cold sip. At this debonair after hours lair, one final nightcap could very easily, and rather shamelessly, become three.
The Barcelona EDITION Agenda
For those determined to keep their physiques every bit as polished as their Catalan wardrobes, The Barcelona EDITION keeps the endorphins flowing around the clock with its cutting edge 24 hour gym, armed with state-of-the-art cardiovascular wizardry, personal flat screen TVs, free weights and a dedicated stretching zone primed for anything from a sunrise sweat session to a post indulgence penance.
Beyond its glossy confinements, Barcelona provides a rather more glamorous playground. Mere steps from the city’s golden beaches, guests can strut beneath the leafy splendour of Passeig de Gràcia, saunter along the perpetually spirited Las Ramblas, or surrender credit cards to a little boutique temptation before grazing through the city’s restaurant scene. The labyrinthine Gothic Quarter beckons with the majestic Barcelona Cathedral and ancient Roman Wall, whilst the nearby cruise port and Mediterranean shoreline place yet more Catalan escapades tantalisingly within reach.
The Final EDITION
The Barcelona EDITION readers like a deliciously slick love letter to the Catalan capital’s younger haute monde, where five-star luxury loosens its collar, turns up the soundtrack and swaps old school ceremony for design led swagger, seductive social spaces and an atmosphere that feels effortlessly plugged into the city beyond its doors. From those serene, walnut dressed private quarters to the sky grazing revelry of The ROOF, every corner possesses its own personality, yet remains connected by that unmistakable EDITION thread of polished minimalism, playful indulgence and after dark allure.
For all its immaculate aesthetics however, The Barcelona EDITION this is certainly no hotel designed simply to sit pretty, where lingering days can begin with market fresh feasting and end several cocktails later beneath Barcelona’s glittering skyline, while the magnetic Punch Room ensures bedtime remains very much open to negotiation. Serenely planted between El Born and the Gothic Quarter, The Barcelona EDITION delivers the city exactly as its most discerning pleasure seekers desire it, cultured, cosmopolitan, deliciously nocturnal and never remotely dull, proving that sometimes the most memorable way to experience Barcelona is to check into its coolest EDITION.
