The architectural legacy of Barcelona’s mercantile past is the lure of Autograph Collection’s new Cotton House Hotel in the district of Eixample. Occupying the former HQ of the Fundación Textil Algodonera, hub of Catalonia’s once booming textile industry, the 83-room property trades on the period splendours of its setting, a listed 1879 landmark designed by Catalan architect Elies Rogent. Interior design studio Lázaro Rosa-Violán has revitalised its elegant proportions and rich decorative details, setting contemporary furnishings and lighting against the eye-grabbing original floor tiles, wood panelling and ceiling frescoes. Embodying the building’s neoclassical character, the public spaces are sumptuous – off the dramatic mirrored reception, there’s an octagonal hall leading to two distinctive staircases, a lofty library-lounge and the bar-restaurant Batuar. The plum reservations with 19th-century features are the first-floor Ottoman and Damask Suites overlooking Gran Vía. From the second level up, the guest rooms are an exercise in understated monochrome chic. Come sundown, drift up to the rooftop pool terrace for a drink with a view of Sagrada Família.
