Hotel Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain

The Gran Via is a unique boutique hotel, offering traditional, grand style and a quiet Barcelona atmosphere at reasonable prices. Situated right on the Gran Via itself, just by the Passeig de Gracia, the boutique hotel is halfway between the Diagonal and the sea. The 19th-century modernist facade gives way to a quaint reception area, dominated by a white balustraded staircase, lined in the same florid carpet as the entrance hall. The wide staircase, with its stained glass apex, leads to a first floor gallery and the main salon, referred as the ‘hall of mirrors’.

The facilities

Overwhelmingly green walls, a huge chandelier, dark regency-style wooden furniture and large gilt mirrors create an impressive, if faded, grandeur that also implies a lack of comfortable use. More welcoming is the sunny terrace beyond the salon, tiled in terracotta and dotted with plant pots and tables for al fresco breakfasts around the central dolphin fountain.

The rooms

The guest rooms are plain and rather soulless after the opulence of the public areas, but they are clean and nicely decorated with repro antiques, dark wooden floors, pastel bedspreads and small bathrooms. Couples should note that the majority of rooms have twin beds, some with hand-painted headboards matching painted cupboards. Best views are over the Gran Via, which can be admired from a small balcony, but noise pushes many guests to the rooms overlooking the patio or terrace at the back of the hotel.