In the previous chapter of this series, dedicated to the Hotel Majestic, we discussed the 1996 political pact that allowed the Popular Party to govern for the first time with the support of Convergència i Unió. Months later, those same parties agreed on a key modification to the Ports Law, which until then explicitly prohibited buildings intended for residence or lodging in public port domain.
The amendment opened the door to a new stage on the maritime front of the capital of Catalonia and made possible the construction of emblematic hotels such as the W Barcelona, protagonist of the third chapter of this series, and the Grand Marina itself, the focus of this tenth installment of Hotels with History and Stories of Hotels.
A historical and very visible port element accompanies the transformation of the Barcelona pier: the Aeri del Port. Conceived in the wake of the International Exhibition of 1929, it was intended to connect Montjuïc, the main venue of the event, with Barceloneta and bring the exhibition closer to the sea. The cable car did not come into operation until 1931 for budgetary reasons and also did not follow the initially planned route. The central tower, the Jaume I tower, was not finally located on the Muelle de España, where the Maremagnum stands today, but in its current location, in front of the future hotel.
The Jaume I tower has been a privileged viewpoint of the port's evolution and one of the biggest changes it witnessed, along with the opening of the second entrance, was the beginning of the World Trade Center project.
WTC Barcelona
The complex began to take shape in 1989, with construction starting in 1990, although these were interrupted in 1992 due to the economic crisis. Work resumed in 1996 and culminated with its inauguration in 1999. The project consisted of three blocks designed byHenry N. Cobb, founding partner of the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners studio and direct disciple ofI. M. Pei. Cobb is the author of buildings that marked cities and eras, such as the John Hancock tower in Boston or the U.S. Bank tower in Los Angeles, for years the tallest skyscraper in California's largest city.The hotel, the fourth building in the complex (the one located to the west), was built later, closing the circle of the WTC Barcelona. Its design was also carried out by the same team of architects, with the execution and interior design assumed by the Barcelona studio GCA Arquitectes Associats, directed by Josep Juanpere.
An especially symbolic detail was and continues to be the spiral staircase, located to the left of the lobby and designed by I. M. Pei himself, where glass, steel, and marble combine with an almost sculptural sobriety. Pei marks this reception space in the same way he did, on a large scale and commissioned by François Mitterrand, at the Louvre Museum in Paris, with his groundbreaking glass pyramid, popularized years later by the film The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.
A hotel on the pier
The project was born with a clear ambition: to create a five-star grand urban hotel, closely linked to the port, international trade, and cultural and business tourism. The Grand Marina thus became the crown jewel of the groupHotusaand in the foundational argument of the brandEurostars. The company, based in Barcelona, is today the leading Spanish chain by number of establishments and the third by number of rooms.The hotel's grand opening was consistent with that vocation for growth. On June 19, 2002, a big inauguration party was held that lasted all day. The first bell rang at noon: the Grand Marina hosted the sixteen contestants of the mythical first edition of Operación Triunfo, then at its media peak, in an appearance that gathered more than 130 journalists. It is worth remembering that that OT marked a before and after in the history of television in Spain.
In the afternoon, an institutional visit led by Artur Mas, then Conseller en Cap of the Generalitat presided over by Jordi Pujol, brought together authorities from the Port of Barcelona and the artists who had left their mark on the hotel in the form of original works, such as Josep Maria Subirachs, Albert Ràfols Casamada or Lluís Lleó. As night fell, a party gathered more than two thousand people on the hotel's terrace, with a staging worthy of a five-star grand luxury hotel of the new century. The symbolic handover of the hotel keys to representatives of sports, culture, business, tourism and institutions sealed an inauguration that, from today, is seen as a portrait of the optimistic and expansive Barcelona of 2002.
Since then, in addition to the artists who are a permanent part of its decoration, the Grand Marina has maintained a constant relationship with the cultural world. The hotel has promoted a stable policy in this area, with special attention to literature and photography, directly promoted by the group's presidency. The latest winner of the Eurostars Travel Narrative Award has been Espido Freire. Added to this is its role as an institutional hotel: headquarters of the Prix Pyrénées, a regular meeting place for events of the PP of Catalunya and a recurring accommodation for many of the First Division teams that travel to Barcelona to face Espanyol or Barça.
Thus, between rewritten port laws, signature architecture, political pacts, contemporary art, and popular culture, the Eurostars Grand Marina finished closing the circle of the World Trade Center and of a Barcelona that drew even closer to its sea.
A hotel and an urban complex that not only transformed the profile of the port but also added to its landscape what most resembles a grand ocean liner. A place where travelers, writers, footballers, politicians, and architects cross paths on Barcelona's pier, in the shadow of Jaume I's enormous tower.