Villa Emilia ★★★★

The location of Villa Emilia **** is just fantastic. It’s within walking distance of all the iconic must-see sights of Barcelona: Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia, Plaza España, the Gothic quarter and, most importantly for us, just a fifteen minute walk down the aptly named Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes to the Universitat. Anywhere else we wanted to go was so easy to get to, as the nearest metro was so close: Rocafort Station on Line 1. Even though it is so central, the hotel is in a quiet residential street and so we were reassured that we would have peaceful nights and well as the fun of the city.

A bright and modern exterior led us into the reception and we received a warm welcome from the staff. Our rooms were bright and spacious, with a lovely clean, crisp and unfussy design. Mine had a pristine pale wood floor, plenty of space for chairs and a coffee table, including desk space as well as the bed with a two-tone grey bedspread. The bathroom was sophisticated and simple in lovely mauve-grey marble, rattan storage baskets, and really great quality luxury toiletries. You really felt that the designers had taken care over every little detail – lovely bed linen composed of luxurious Egyptian cotton, a big plasma screen TV, mini-bar, and safe.

That evening, we met up on the spacious terrace, with masses of sofas and chairs for relaxing in the fresh air with a glass of wine. In the evening, it is transformed into a romantic candle-lit hideaway where you can enjoy the gentle evening breeze under the stars. The Villa Emilia provides a barbecue up on the terrace on Thursday evenings and we were looking forward to joining in the fun! But that night, we decided to have a quiet evening for a bright and early start the next day for serious explorations.

We descended to the hotel’s Zinc Bar for supper. What a warm and cheerful space! It has beautifully designed modern furniture with the hotel’s signature criss-cross pattern on the stools. There is a grand piano and open fire. The menu is all sourced from fresh local produce procured at the city’s famous La Boquería market, and it was indeed excellent. We discovered hotel guests are invited to a ‘Break Hour’ between 5pm and 7pm for a complimentary selection of drinks and pastries, so we knew where we would be the next afternoon after a hard day’s sightseeing!

And what a day of sightseeing it was. First to the Universitat, a lovely old building of honey-coloured stone with arched mullioned windows and lovely cool pillared cloisters in the quadrangle. We were thrilled. Breaks for coffee and tapas followed, then an exploration of one the city’s trendiest and prettiest shopping districts in the El Born area, full of designer boutiques, little galleries, and café-filled squares. At the end of the day, we retired back to our own little haven in the Villa Emilia to rest and recover, ready to enjoy another hectic Barcelona day!