Room Mate Gerard — Barcelona, Spain
![Communal area with leather armchairs & tables](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rTdaEEVoe5j37jbqANaBDi-415-80.jpg)
So bullish is the Room Mate Hotels group about Barcelona that it’s opened its fifth property there, this time, themed around a fictitious young Catalan architect who lends his name to the hotel, Room Mate Gerard.
Architect Jaime Beriestain has turned a classic six-storey Eixample building complete with courtyard and balconies in the Ensanche district into a 66-room modernist space. The lobby, especially, feels more like the private residence of roguish young Turk with great taste than a hotel.
For Beriestain, the Gerard breaks new ground in that this is the first time he has worked with rough materials, sandblasted pine and waxed concrete especially, which might explain the calm masculine vibe of the spaces.
The lighting too is appropriately moody, especially in the bedrooms which are layered with a colour palette of black ink. All that sombreness throughout the hotel is counterpoised by sudden flashes of colour by way of back-lit stuccoed walls, grey terrazzo, Portobello marble, customised deep blue high-backed stools, blue velvet drapes and natural lights from the double-height windows.
Besides the obligatory breakfast room, bijou gym and pool, the facilities are somewhat limited, but then again, this is Barcelona and there are distractions aplenty nearby, not least Plaça Catalunya, the Gothic quarter, the Paseo de Sant Joan, and the modernist masterpiece of Casa Burés.
ADDRESS
Carrer Ausiàs March 34
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Retreat to Casa Montelongo, a modern Fuertaventuran guest house filled with Canarian warmth
Courtesy of Spanish architect Néstor Pérez Batista, Casa Montelongo is the perfect contemporary shelter to enjoy Fuerteventura
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Soak up Barcelona vistas from the redesigned Grand Hotel Central's rooftop pool
Grand Hotel Central, designed by Sagrada, opens its doors in the heart of Barcelona’s old town
By Agnish Ray Published
-
Madrid bars: a local’s guide to sipping in style
Discover the best design-led Madrid bars, as sampled by local travel and culture writer Agnish Ray
By Agnish Ray Published
-
Tour the new Mondrian Ibiza, chic sophistication by the Balearic Sea
Mondrian opens in Ibiza with a bold and inventive design by Madrid-based Cuarto Interior
By Lauren Ho Published
-
It’s a Paul & Shark summer at Juvia restaurant in Formentera
Paul & Shark dresses Formentera restaurant Juvia for the summer season, with suitably nautical nods
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The free-spirited Hyde brand opens its first European outpost in Ibiza
Hyde Ibiza is a laid-back, modern hideaway right by the locally-loved beaches of Cala Llonga Bay
By Lauren Ho Published
-
Brutalist restaurant opens at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum
The restaurant at The Cantabrian Maritime Museum is a concrete-garnished space designed by Zooco Estudio overlooking Santander Bay
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Still got it: Marbella Club celebrates 70 years of uninhibited glamour
Marbella Club announces a summertime of parties, retreats and collaborations to celebrate its platinum anniversary
By Tianna Williams Published