If you’re heading to Barcelona this summer, make sure you rest your head in the city’s chicest boutique hotel, The 5 Rooms.
When you find a hidden gem on your travels, be it a backstreet restaurant serving the best local food or a bar that no one’s ever heard of, you often want to keep it to yourselves.
Well, Barcelona’s 5 Rooms is just that. It’s like our very own Catalonian secret – part of us wants to rave and rant about it, the other, we could quite happily keep close to our chests.
Hidden away inside a 19th Century Catalan apartment building, The 5 Rooms sits incognito amongst homes and a few local shops on the tree-lined Calle Pau Claris. We’re told that some taxi drivers have never even heard of the boutique hotel, and thanks to the fact that it doesn’t have a sign outside it’s pretty hard to find. We realised this after jumping out of our cab, crossing the road in confusion, and crossing again to find the tiny 5 Rooms name on the apartment block buzzer, along with apartment blocks, uno and cuatro.
Inside, the building opens up into traditional Catalan courtyard, all cool monochrome tiles and huge plant pots. Despite the name, The 5 Rooms actually consists of 12, made up of simple rooms, suites and two apartments.
There’s not a classic hotel reception set up, but the staff are extremely accommodating and as long as you tell them your arrival time they’ll be there ready and waiting to greet you. We arrived around 8pm, to a warm and welcoming staff member, who immediately got out the map to circle everything and anything we wanted to see, eat or do whilst in the city. The guidebooks we’d purchased back in the UK suddenly became obsolete, we had our bespoke travel plan mapped out.
On the first floor are the five original rooms, which owner Yessica purchased after a successful career in the fashion industry. Each room she designed and revamped into its own unique space, hearing her describe the process makes you realise what a real labour of love the project must have been.
Our room had a New York loft feel too it, with exposed brickwork, low-height beds, subtle lamps and contemporary artwork mounted on the walls. The bathroom was a modern, with a huge shower and stocked with complementary luxury toiletries– something that is often overlooked when you’re staying in an apartment/B&B type set up. There’s a rough, urban vibe to the place but dressed up in the luxury of high quality bed lines and gorgeous leather armchairs.
On the level above, which Yessica purchased after the success of the original five rooms, sits more rooms, suites and two beautifully designed apartments. The mood is lighter and more feminine, which Yessica jokes was probably because she was pregnant whilst designing the rooms.
On this floor there is also the breakfast area, which is stocked each morning with fresh juices, fruit, bread, cheese and meats – perfect for setting you up for a day of sightseeing.
In terms of locations, The 5 Rooms is ideal if you’re looking to sink your teeth into Barcelona. Just two minutes walk from the luxury shopping on Passeig de Gràcia, 10minutes from the breath taking Sagrada Familia cathedral and 20minues from the beach.
There’s plenty of cosy tapas restaurants and bars nearby, be sure to check out Casa Alfonso round the corner on Carrer de Roger de Llúria for affordable, homemade Spanish favourites from croquettes to best peppers Padrón we’ve ever tried.
If you’re after fuss-free, yet chic and stylish accommodation, The 5 Rooms is it. From the décor to the staff, it’s full of heart. And we have to admit; the fact that it’s still relatively unknown does make us feel just a little bit cool.
Need To Know:
Rooms: 12, including rooms, suites and 2 apartments
Rates: Doubles from £132 per room per night
Facilities: Breakfast is included in all room rates, flat screen TV, iPod dock, honesty fridge with snacks and refreshments, balcony in room, common areas and toiletries in on-suite.
Check out time: flexible
How to get there: Daily direct flights from London Gatwick, London Heathrow and London Standsted to Barcelona-El Prat Airport fly on various operators including British Airways and EasyJet. A taxi ride from Barcelona-El Prat to The 5 Rooms takes about 20minutes.
The 5 Rooms, Carrer Pau Claris, 72, 1º, 08010 Barcelona, Spain Tel. +34 933 42 78 80
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