East Coast finalizes the works of Barcelona's first large 'beach club'

The sound of the waves, muffled by the noise of the crowd, has given way to a new cacophony on Platja de Sant Sebastià, dominated by the incessant clatter of construction machinery. A large-scale, almost pharaonic, project is emerging on the Mediterranean from Barceloneta: the future beach club of the Costa Este group is beginning to take shape in a building that until now only housed facilities of the centenary Club Natació Barcelona.

Named Bastian Beach, the works are progressing with the America's Cup as a deadline and with the forecast of starting to receive visitors in June. Although the beach club is set to be the main attraction of the project, it will not be the only establishment housed in the building: in its 5,000 square meters, it will feature the club, with swimming pools, bar and restaurant; another restaurant establishment, and a rooftop where cocktails and its own gastronomic proposal will share the spotlight with direct sea views.

Precisely these views will turn the establishments in the building, especially its rooftop, into exclusive viewpoints for the America's Cup. The competition is accelerating the works on a tight schedule, in a project that has involved an investment of 15 million euros. Part of this will be allocated to the renovation and modernization of the facilities of Club Natació Barcelona, which will continue to have the adjacent building, and also spaces within the building that will house the beach club and the new restaurants, as the director of Costa Este, Jorge Bordas, explained to The New Barcelona Post.

Costa Este aims to position Bastian Beach "as a world reference and among the best beach clubs in the world"

The Barcelona group, with venues such as Opium and Bling Bling and also present in Madrid and Marbella, decided to seize the opportunity to invest in opening the beach club and in the renovation and modernization of the CNB, in a proportion of the investment for each of the two parts that they decline to specify.

Bastian Beach, which will offer special access conditions to CNB members, estimates it will employ 300 workers in high season. The group, which has a total of 1,500 employees, has resorted to staff from other establishments for some key positions in the Bastian Beach organizational chart, but has also looked to Barceloneta, prioritizing neighborhood residents to fill vacancies.

With 80 million in turnover in 2023, the group has applied sustainability measures to both the project and the works, with the installation of solar panels, the use of ecological and local construction materials, and the supply of filtered water to construction workers, to avoid the impact that countless plastic bottles would have generated.

Balinese beds and exclusive restaurants

Stairs crowned by lush vegetation will lead into the complex, with 2,300 square meters outdoors and a building with four floors of 650 meters each. The access, on the side closest to the W Hotel and the newly renovated Nova Bocana, leads to the pools of the beach club. Despite still being under construction, its rounded shapes, sand tones, and palm trees already evoke oases from exotic lands. In a few weeks, scaffolding and tools will be replaced by sun loungers and Balinese beds, and the bars taking shape between the pools and levels will be completed, offering visitors an informal menu.

This outdoor area of the beach club will feature various environments, with a solarium, chill out area, areas with poufs and a bar, enlivened with music by a DJ in the center of the space, which will open from midday until eight in the evening. "The idea is to offer the widest range of possibilities for the visitor," who will access the club through an entrance or by reserving a VIP area, with prices yet to be determined that will seek exclusivity.

The more casual gastronomic offer in the pool area will be complemented by that of the restaurant on the ground floor. Overlooking the bathing area and the sea, the group has designed it with the aim of it being "a very high-quality restaurant with very good produce", specializing in Mediterranean food featuring rice dishes and fish. Also named Bastian Beach, the establishment will occupy the ground floor, with a terrace, and an upper walkway, with sea views above the pool area.

The floor above the future restaurant will be dedicated to CNB spaces, which until now occupied the entire building. The club will retain this third floor of 650 square meters, and also another unique space in the building: the diving pool. Also undergoing renovation, it has replaced the water with an immense crane and dump trucks working on its comprehensive remodeling.

Above these CNB spaces, Costa Este is finalizing another space on the third floor, which will serve as a privileged viewpoint for the America's Cup. With a focus on the competition, it will open as a multifunctional space that can be rented out for third-party proposals. This will be the case during the regatta, which in turn has contributed to speeding up coastal reforms and launching services such as the nautical bus, which will dock a few meters from Bastian Beach. Once the event ends, the venue already has a tenant: starting in November, it will host a restaurant from the American meat-specialized brand STK Steakhouse, the second in the chain nationwide, after Ibiza.

And, above all of them, a rooftop will crown the building facing the Mediterranean. With the name yet to be defined and with a more extended opening schedule, the rooftop will not be ready in June but it will be before the America's Cup begins, which will kick off at the end of August.

With a gastronomic proposal in which cocktails will play a prominent role, the rooftop will open prioritizing that the space becomes a grandstand for the competition and, once it finishes, the possibility of including a pool will be evaluated: the space has been prepared for it, with a structure that will now be a meeting space but that could function as a pool in the future if deemed appropriate.

With these three venues, the Bastian Beach complex aims to position itself as a point of attraction for Barcelona residents, and also tourists. "Barcelona is a very summery city, but it lacked this offer," says Bordas. The group aims to fill this gap and make a name for itself internationally, "positioning it as a global benchmark and among the best beach clubs in the world."