After four years of renovation of the old Hostal El Nilo, Hotel Boutique La Pau has opened a few meters from La Rambla with 24 rooms and a serene proposal in an exclusive atmosphere. The four-star establishment has opened its doors to its first guests after investing four million euros in renovating the property, which Grup Enjoy BCN bought in 2018 for another six million, and then undertook a remodeling interrupted by the pandemic.
Located on Anselm Clavé street, the hotel opened at the end of May, and has registered good occupancy levels, according to the hotel director, Siscu Raya, who has extensive experience in the hotel sector, especially in grand luxury. "It's a good time to open, there's a lot of demand," he defended alongside Carmen de la Maza, head of sustainability at Grup Enjoy BCN. When the hotel is at full capacity, the group expects to bill close to four million annually with the establishment. These will be added to the group's global turnover, focused on tourist apartments, which in 2023 billed nine million.
The building that houses the hotel was built at the end of the 19th century as housing for military personnel and as a stable, then a banana company used it to ripen its bananas, in the same space that now houses the reception. The building became Hostal El Nilo in the 1970s, and now the Barcelona family group has completely renovated it. It has done so with the color red as a common thread, opting for exposed brickwork, exposed wooden beams, and Mediterranean design and craftsmanship. A sculpture by artist Jordi Díaz, also the author of El Saltador de Urquinaona; lamps made from recycled bicycles by Ramiro Sobral, and a painting by Jordi Díez preside over the reception.
With the renovation, the establishment has gone from 53 rooms to 24, opting for a boutique model with seven types of rooms, ranging from 21 square meters to more than 100 offered by an area with three rooms that can be reserved both separately and as a whole, to combine and add a capacity of ten people. It also has a terrace with a pool —also red— on its quiet rooftop, from which it is easy to forget that one is next to the bustling Rambla. However, Colón peeks over the rooftops a few meters away to remind you, while La Mercè does the same at the other end of the terrace, exclusive to hotel guests. To this terrace, with views that bypass buildings up to Port Vell and La Rambla, another one will be added facing the mountain, which will open soon.
The hotel's promoters are committed to the project adding value to its surroundings, which is why they have prioritized local suppliers with a social and sustainable outlook, such as teas from the Tetérum brand, which works with people with autism. In addition, the group collaborates with the Fundació Llindar for young people at risk of exclusion, offering them training programs and who will work in Restaurant La Pau, next to the hotel. The establishment joins the activity of Grup Enjoy BCN, focused on the management of tourist apartments grouped in buildings. It has 56 in total, especially in Ciutat Vella, where it has now also opened its first hotel.