Am I wrong if I say that a few years ago no Barcelonian would have thought of setting foot in a hotel in the city? Let's say it clearly and at the risk of falling into a certain cuñadismo: the Barcelonian only went to a hotel in their own city if they had an extramarital affair or if their partner had caught them in fraganti, had kicked them out of the house and ended up, by force, in a lonely hotel room where they dedicated themselves to emptying the minibar to drown their sorrows. Perhaps I exaggerate a little, agreed, but you will admit that until not long ago the majority of Barcelonians passed in front of these establishments without daring to enter or, of course, stay for dinner because, on top of that, the cliché said that hotel restaurants served terrible food.
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Fortunately, and in the same way that Barcelonians in the early nineties rediscovered the sea as a result of the city's Olympic transformation, one day we also stopped living with our backs to hotels, as if that had nothing to do with us, and we fell in love with them. Well, perhaps it is more accurate to say that it was a mutual falling in love, since hoteliers also began to think of locals as potential clients.
In my case, this romance with the city's hotels began at the iconic Omm hotel -the current Sir Victor Hotel-, an innovative project with a vocation to build the city created by one of the great names in the restaurant business in our country, Rosa Esteva, co-founder of Grupo Tragaluz. Opened in 2003, the Omm immediately conquered not only guests from all over the world -as, on the other hand, many hotels in the city were already successfully doing in the midst of the tourist boom- but also, and in this I believe it was a pioneer, Barcelonians who quickly turned its elegant and comfortable lobby into what we call the place to be. But also, at the Omm, the food was wonderful! Roca Moo, a Michelin-starred restaurant advised by the Roca brothers, also quickly gained fame among locals.
To be fair, I must say that a few years earlier, specifically in 1999, the Majestic had already paved the way in providing the city's hotel establishments with a first-class gastronomic offer with the opening of Fermí Puig's legendary Drolma. Afterwards, many others have followed, such as Martin Berasategui's Lasarte at the Condes de Barcelona -currently, Monument Hotel- or Carme Ruscalleda and Raül Balam's Moments at the Mandarin Oriental, all also with Michelin stars.
Therefore, first we started with the lobbies, then we continued with the restaurants and, finally, Barcelonians also made the hotel terraces their own, transformed into sophisticated spaces that offered locals previously unknown views of the city, where they could have a drink or dinner, often accompanied by live music. I believe that one of the first establishments to open its terrace to the general public was precisely the Condes, which called it Terraza Alaire. Among my favorites is also the much more intimate terrace of the Marquesa de Cardona; La Isabela de 1898 is an oasis of calm in the middle of La Rambla and, of course, I cannot forget the Claris' rooftop, a true classic. I also want to specifically mention the garden of the Hotel Alma, a secluded and peaceful space next to Paseo de Gracia, and the magnificent terrace of the Hotel Casa Fuster, among other reasons, because every year, for Sant Jordi, they host parties that have become a classic for people in the book sector. Hopefully, next year they can be celebrated normally again.
I write these lines months after a large part of the city's hotels have been closed due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and I do so precisely because it is after having lived a summer without hotels that I have realized to what extent these establishments have also become indispensable spaces for leisure and social life, in general, but also for the economic and cultural life of Barcelonians. Therefore, let's not fall into the trap of thinking that the hotel offer is only aimed at outsiders, let's claim the city's hotels as our own because, over the years, Barcelonians have made them ours.