Mett Barcelona implies the fourth life of the Florida. And we start with who manages it now, the international group Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG), founded in Dubai by Spanish businessman Antonio González and investor Nazih Hafez, with a strong Catalan connection (office in Barcelona and hotel leadership by Catalan Jaime Buxó).
In alliance with the REIT Atom Hoteles, they have invested 15 million to revive it in September 2025, precisely on its centenary, as a five-star grand luxury urban resort, with 70 rooms, Europe's first Valmont Red Carpet spa, an infinity stainless steel pool, and gastronomic spaces open to guests and Barcelona residents.
100 years ago
What precedes is what one finds today when entering the hotel. However, let's go back a century. Everything began in 1925, when Salvador Andreu,the pharmacist who promoted the amusement park of theTibidabo, the funicular and the blue tram, fulfilled another dream: to build the best hotel in Barcelona in the best possible location. Designed by the architectRamon Raventós i Farraronsin stylenoucentista, with a monumental white facade, angular towers, and gardens by the landscape architectJean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, the Gran Hotel La Florida opened as a balcony over the city and the Mediterranean.In its early years, it even hosted international events sponsored by the League of Nations, the predecessor of the UN. The good times didn't last long. In 1936, the Civil War turned it into a military hospital, a use that prolonged its closure until well into the post-war period. It did not resurrect as a hotel until the 1950s, when it became a summer refuge for Barcelona's high society: wealthy families fled the urban heat to settle in the mountains, with elegant parties, dances, and discreet getaways.
Some celebrities of the time paraded through its halls: Ernest Hemingway, James Stewart, Rock Hudson, George Sanders or Fabiola of Belgium, the Spanish woman who secretly met with her fiancé, Baudouin, before becoming married and being the kings of the Belgians.
The sixties and seventies prolonged the glory, although in 1979 the accumulated wear and tear and lack of profitability took their toll: it closed. The white icon of Tibidabo remained abandoned for more than two decades, from 1979 to 2001.
A silhouette on the top of Barcelona
While the city was transforming for the Olympic Games and experienced a boomurban, the Florida stopped having guests. During that long hiatus, part of the building housed a sound studio and it was even considered as a headquarters for TV3, the desired Televisió de Catalunya. The adjoining amusement park dreamed of turning it intoThe House of Magic, and for years it was also rumored to host the Gran Casino de Barcelona.In 1999, the developer Salvador Tresserras, who had acquired the building after it passed through Danish and Andorran hands, commissioned the prestigious Japanese architect Arata Isozaki with an ambitious project: to rehabilitate it as a Relais & Châteaux, with a transparent roof in the attic for a panoramic restaurant and a circular service tower. Isozaki, already admired in Barcelona for the dome of the Palau Sant Jordi, saw in the Florida the opportunity to leave another important mark.
The plan did not prosper, although that failed almost-renaissance adds another layer of mystery to the mountain: what skyline would the city have had with a transparent dome signed by the Japanese crowning Tibidabo?
In 2001, the definitive rescue arrived: hotel entrepreneur David Stein, a jovial and efficient American, founder of the Stein Group, acquired the building and invested 42 million euros in a meticulous restoration that lasted until April 2003. With the declared ambition of turning it into the most luxurious hotel in the city, Stein organized a memorable inauguration party, with 2,000 guests.
The American merged the original noucentista style with contemporary elements: a 37-meter infinity pool, spa, live jazz, and a design that mixed old wrought iron with modern stainless steel. Bruce Springsteen made it his Barcelona headquarters: he always stayed here when he played in the city, attracted by the privacy and sea views. In April 2023, Barack and Michelle Obama shared a terrace with the Boss and Steven Spielberg before the inaugural concert of the European tour at the Estadi Olímpic, on one of those nights that confirmed that the Florida continued to attract world stars.
However, even icons show fatigue. Maintenance in such an elevated location proved costly and, in 2009, the hotel, then owned by the American fund Apollo, which had acquired it from the Stein group, was on the verge of being foreclosed by a German bank for non-payment. Although it continued to operate, those financial setbacks marked a period of decline, with low occupancy rates and no management chain for periods.
Coinciding with its pre-centenary, the fourth life arrived: SHG reinvented it as Mett Barcelona, with minimalist rooms in Mediterranean tones, Albarada restaurant with local and Catalan cuisine, Vermutería 1925 evoking the year of inauguration, vibrant Pool Club with DJs and a Florida Lounge in alliance with Lladró, full of sculptural pieces.
It preserves the patrimonial essence, with high ceilings, marbles, 360º balconies, although it gains contemporary freshness and that will to be an urban resort open to the city, with an emphasis on dining and entertainment. The city at its feet has grown, changed and modernized, but those legendary views remain intact. And the hotel, after wars, long abandonments, failed projects, financial crises and decadence, has managed to resurrect once more to continue being part of its history.