Thanks to the 60,000 congress attendees expected to visit Barcelona next week to attend the Mobile World Congress, a good number of hotel establishments that had not yet reactivated their activity after suffering the ravages of the health crisis have opened their doors. This is the case of the Nobu Hotel Barcelona, located in the 23-story tower next to Sants Station, which offers some of the best panoramic views of the city.
The former Hotel Torre Catalunya reopened as Nobu after a major renovation in 2019, just before the pandemic. However, Barcelona was able to enjoy the establishment promoted by actor Robert de Niro, film producer Meir Teper, and renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa for only a short time, as it has been closed for two years as a consequence of covid-19.
The Selenta group, owned by the Mestre family, promoted Nobu's arrival in the Catalan capital, but it is no longer the owner of the hotel, which it had to sell at the end of 2020 to the ASG investment group for about 80 million euros to reduce its debt and face the crisis.
The new owner has reopened the Nobu Barcelona this week with renewed spirits and the hope of consolidating the establishment as one of the city's benchmarks thanks to a concept they call "unfussy luxury." "The reopening is a great joy for Nobu Hotel Barcelona, as Barcelona continues to be a key location for the brand," says Laurence Dubey, the hotel's general manager. According to the executive, Nobu's return comes "at a key moment for the destination," thus showing "the firm's clear commitment to contributing to projecting the Barcelona brand through the international prestige of Nobu Hotels."
The establishment has 259 rooms and suites; the most spectacular is on the 22nd floor, with 150 square meters. The Nobu restaurant ---an international reference brand--- is one of the main attractions of the hotel, which in this reopening features a new executive chef: Sergio Martínez, who replaces Hervé Courtot. "Martínez will offer a culinary proposal that combines the brand's classics with more personal interpretations and elaborations, which pay homage to Catalan cuisine and in which proximity ingredients prevail," explains the property. The menu price is around 85 euros and the Omakase tasting menu is 95 euros. Since 2017, Sergio Martínez has worked in several Nobu establishments located in London, Miami, Poland, Monaco, and Barbuda, among other destinations.
The new stage begins with other novelties: the hotel opens a new auditorium with capacity for 90 people to strengthen its offer of meetings and events, and has also been equipped with a co-working space. In the coming months, the Barcelona hotel will also inaugurate a spa with a gym and the terraces of the Kozara and Lobby Corner bars.
Nobu Barcelona is the chain's third establishment in Spain and tenth in Europe. The first Nobu restaurant opened in 1994 in New York and the first hotel opened in Las Vegas in 2013. Since then, the brand has grown with 50 restaurants and 27 hotels in the main capitals of the world.