Hotel Arts is undertaking the largest investment in the renovation of a hotel in Barcelona.

BarcelonaWith permission from the future Sagrada Família, the city's tallest building is getting a facelift. The Hotel Arts is temporarily taking this title, along with its twin neighbor, the Mapfre Tower, both at 154 meters tall. Born with the urban transformation brought about by the Olympic Games as the city's first luxury hotel, the establishment has surpassed its 30th anniversary, surrounded by more competitors, and is undergoing a comprehensive renovation of its facilities, under the new leadership of Renato de Oliveira as general manager.

Located right on the seafront, the hotel provisionally opened in 1992, and the official opening didn't come until two years later. Since then, it has undergone minor updates, one in 2007 and another in 2014, but none of the current scale. All this without halting the activity of this five-star establishment and with the aim of not disturbing its guests, with a clear predominance of those from the United States.

Since early 2024, work has begun on the hotel operated by the Marriott chain under the luxury brand Ritz-Carlton. Initially, the budget was estimated at €60 million, but now the specific property suggests it will be closer to €220 million. Archer Hotel Capital is behind this establishment, an investment vehicle owned by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund and the Dutch pension fund APG.

The outlay made on the Hotel Arts is only exceeded in Spain by the €530 million cost of the Four Seasons in Madrid, which was not a renovation as such but a conversion of different buildings in the heart of the capital for hotel use. Other establishments such as the Mandarin Oriental Ritz and The Palace, both in Madrid, represented an investment of €99 million and €90 million, respectively.

In Barcelona, ​​industry sources don't recall a renovation with such a high budget. The Arts Hotel's renovation is the most expensive, compared to other recent renovations such as the Torre Melina Gran Meliá (formerly the Juan Carlos I Hotel) for €40 million and the Grand Hyatt Barcelona (formerly the Sofía Hotel) for €20 million. Now, a renovation is planned. An imminent renovation of the W Hotel, popularly known as the Vela, for 80 million euros.

New design for fewer rooms

The first phase of the work at the Arts focused on renovating the guest rooms, which range from the fifth to the thirty-third floor. A small exterior scaffolding has been installed on one side to prevent residents from noticing the work being done. With a redesign by New York-based Meyer Davis, the aim was to allow more light into the building, designed by architect Bruce Graham in the 1990s, but also to enhance the views, the hotel's main attraction, whether they focus on the urban landscape or the sea.

With the renovation, approximately 50 rooms have been lost, and the total number now stands at 432, with capacity for 800 guests compared to the previous 1,000. This is because there were also previously vaults between the second and fifth floors, spaces that will now be used as meeting rooms and corporate gatherings, and as offices for an establishment with approximately 400 employees.

There are three types of rooms at the Hotel Arts. The standard rooms are approximately 45 square meters in size. The average price is 550 euros per night, with rates increasing as you move up the floors and the views improve. Then there are the suites, located on the corners of the nineteenth to thirty-third floors. These suites measure 80 square meters, including a reception area, and prices start at 1,300 euros per night. Finally, the highest-end suites had rates between 6,000 and 10,000 euros per night before the renovation, and work is still underway to determine how they will look—and how much they will cost.

With the last three floors of rooms, where the most expensive rooms are, yet to be completed this July, the Hotel Arts is preparing to begin the second phase of the renovation starting in August. This phase will affect the common areas, tucked into a low-rise building attached to the tower's seafront. Here, the reception, restaurants, pools, and gardens are located, concentrated between the ground and second floors. The plan is to first complete the Llobregat side and then the Besòs side, ensuring that guests are fully serviced while the renovations are underway. However, the projected completion date is between late 2026 and early 2027, which will take three years to complete.

With 44 floors, not including the top floor used as the engine room, the last ten floors of the Arts are occupied by luxury apartments for long-stay stays. Also managed by the hotel, they consist of around thirty duplexes, ranging in size from 150 to 400 square meters. The space itself must also be seen in its aftermath after the renovation, as well as all the commercial premises across from the hotel, which have been in a precarious state for years.