City break in Barcelona | from Gaudi to gastronomic bliss

I’d love to take up residence in one of Barcelona’s old townhouses, and Casa Bonay allows you to do just that. A converted 1860s apartment block, this cool hotel has a Spanish townhouse vibe. Old mosaic tiled floors are blended with industrial features like whitewashed brick walls and high ceilings. Each room is flooded with natural light, and there’s a roof terrace that provides a slice of zen in the city. This is also where the hotel hosts film screenings and BBQs.

Barcelona’s architecture is one of the things that draws me to the city, and grand old beauty Cotton House shows why this is the home of great design. Set in a neoclassical building – once a wealthy family home and then the cotton guild headquarters – it is crammed with antiques and original features that make me dream of being a fancy pants aristocrat on my holidays. Rooms are white and cottony fresh, and there’s a rooftop pool perfect for those steaming Barcelona summers.

As soon as I heard about Margot House I knew I had to visit. Not because of its position opposite the beautiful Casa Battló, not because of its intimate offering of just nine rooms and not even because of its pared back Scandi style interiors. This hotel was formed in honour of one of my favourite film characters, the Gwyneth-Paltrow-portrayed Margot from The Royal Tenenbaums. It borrows her refined personality to create a thoughtful and too-cool-for-school space in the heart of Barcelona.

Second on my list of must-stays was The Wittmore. With a hidden entrance down an alleyway in the glorious Gothic Quarter, it has a no photos policy and frankly, I was relieved to take a break from all the Instagram-instigated snapping. The Wittmore is a sumptuously designed dream of plush velvet and patterned wallpaper, with old countryside style rooms and topped off by the fabulously portrayed but not actually real Lord Wittmore. Spot his portrait in the hotel lobby.