Hotel El Palace

The next stop on my Spanish road trip was Hotel El Palace in Barcelona. Definitely the city’s most glamorous grande dame, located in the exclusive Passeig De Gràcia, in the heart of the historic Gothic Quarter and the emblematic Ramblas and surrounded by prestigious boutiques and trendy restaurants as well as essential modernist buildings such as La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. When I arrived, I was accompanied courteously to the checkin desk and it is possible to relax in the amazing and impressive Grand Lobby (The Hall), which evokes a regal age with polished marble floors and pillars, crystal chandeliers, thick swirly carpets and luxurious drapes gathered up with silk ropes. This palace originally opened in 1919 as the Ritz Hotel and has played host to endless luminaries including Salvador Dalí, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Joan Miró and Maria Callas. It was also here where Dalí famously had a horse sent up to his room. I had the pleasure of staying with my (smaller) four-legged companion, Lino, in a beautiful room on the fifth floor facing the Gran Via with beautiful vistas of the Gothic Quarter. Travelling with a pet can still be challenging even in today’s Spain but this palace welcomes your pet enthusiastically and treats your friend with full honours. The hotel has recently completed an ambitious full refurbishment and one of the most outstanding elements of this remodelling was the creation of the Rooftop Garden. It is a romantic space of 1,500 square metres with more than fifty types of plant, fountains, pergolas and a swimming pool. You have fabulous views of the hilltop of Tibidabo and Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Família especially at night. The rooftop is the crown jewel which, in addition to the hotel guests, attracts the ‘beau monde’ of Barcelona. It was here that I enjoyed a truly wonderful lunch and dinner by Chef Daniel Padró. I am sure that the recent appointment of the amiable Friedrich von Schönburg (son of the legendary Count Rudolph von Schönburg, one of the key figures in the history of the town of Marbella and the Marbella Club Hotel) as General Manager will lead this unrivalled icon into a prosperous future.