WHAT IS ITS AESTHETIC APPEAL? The most outstanding design element at Hotel Claris is the sheer size of its art collection, whether paintings, sculptures, or furniture. In addition to being distributed throughout the common areas and rooms, the hotel’s exceptional assemblage of art can also be viewed at its first-floor museum, which houses rare Egyptian artefacts, 19th-century Turkish kilims, Roman mosaics and sculptures from the second and third centuries, sketches by Catalan painter Josep Guinovart, original etchings commissioned by Napoleon in 1812, and fifth – to eighth – century Burmese and Indian sculptures, amongst many others. Its exterior is equally a sight to behold, the former nineteenth-century neo-classical Verduna Palace reworked and extended upward using glass and steel to house a rooftop pool and provide a constant stream of natural light.

BEYOND ITS BEAUTIFUL WALLS? Located in Barcelona’s central Eixample neighbourhood, just steps away from the bustling Passeig de Gracia, Hotel Claris is a great base from which to explore the city’s world-famous architecture and exciting gastronomy. Visit the top tourist attraction in town, La Sagrada Familia, educate yourself on the eponymous painter’s early years at the Picasso Museum, or drink in the plethora of sights and sounds along colourful Las Ramblas.