One of Barcelona's most gorgeous boutique hotels, the Murmuri, calls the Rambla de Catalunya district home. Close to Las Ramblas and La Pedrera, it occupies a building that the Catalan architect Enrique Sagnier designed in 1892.

The facilities

Impeccable service is something of a given here, as is the innate sense of style. No rare thing in this city of course, but Murmuri is well able to hold its own here. The restaurant, supervised by the infamous Thai chef Ian Chalermkittichai, promises to become something of a foodie hotspot. The bar, Marfil by Murmuri, offers a refreshing range of light meals and cocktails to be enjoyed both inside and on the summer terrace. With an interior design by Kelly Hoppen (sober, refined and sensual), Murmuri is a grown-up hideaway: a classy affair.

The rooms

All fifty-three rooms have been decorated to exquisite standards. Hoppen has made intelligent use of neutral colours and rich textures. All rooms offer state of the art technology, such as control panels to regulate the four different of lighting effects, WIFI throughout, 32'' flatscreen televisions and iPod docks.