The Hotel Arts is a 44-storey, 483 room luxury hotel on the seafront of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It is operated by

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

History

Contrary to popular belief, it was not built to service the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, though its construction was part of the big changes undergone by the city to prepare the Games. The hotel opened as a 10-story building in 1992, then closed down to finish the construction project. The construction was finished in 1994 and it is an example of

high-tech architecture High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew fr ...

. It is 154 metres tall and was designed by

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

with Colombian-

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Bruce Graham Bruce John Graham (December 1, 1925 – March 6, 2010) was a Peruvian-American architect. Graham built buildings all over the world and was deeply involved with evolving the Burnham Plan of Chicago. Among his most notable buildings are the ...

as partner in charge. The design team was led by Senior Architect Miguel Ruano, with Dr Agustí Obiol as local Architect of Record. In 2006, the hotel was acquired by the consortium composed of the Investment Fund of Singapour's Government (GIC), Host Hotels, and ABP. The consortium paid 417 million euros to acquire the hotel. The hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2006, installing new technology and upgrading the rooms and bathrooms into modern, luxurious spaces. In 2009, the rooms of the 40th floor were replaced by meeting rooms. In 2013, the Hotel Arts launched a digital guide for its guests. For the wedding of his niece in 2014, Lakshmi Mittal rented almost the whole building to house his guests. In 2014, the hotel recorded an average 80% occupancy. In December 2015, Raúl Salcido became the new director of the hotel, replacing Rivero Delgado who was heading the hotel since 2010. In June 2016,

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

rented the whole 36th floor when she passed by Barcelona.

Description

Hotel Arts is set on the shore of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, its pool is surrounded by gardens and offers guests the chance to sunbathe next to one of Barcelona's most famous pieces of contemporary public art—a monumental golden fish-like sculpture by

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

, which was created for the ’92 Games. The hotel has 483 rooms, including 56 executive suites, 28 duplex penthouses, the royal penthouse and the presidential penthouse. A spa is located on the 43rd floor of the building. In March 2019, the restaurant Bites opened in the hotel. The restaurant Enoteca, also located in the hotel, is the only one in town with a 2-star Michelin rating. The hotel has a total of 6 restaurants. The Hotel Arts is considered the second most expensive hotel in Spain.

References

External links

Hotel Arts Website

Hotel Arts at Factoría Urbana: Photos and technical information about the building

Architect Website
{{Barcelona landmarks Hotel buildings completed in 1994 Sant Martí (district) Skyscraper hotels in Barcelona Hotels established in 1994 High-tech architecture 1994 establishments in Spain Colombian inventions Peruvian inventions

History

Description

See also

References

External links