Take a left turn halfway up Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona’s answer to the Champs-Élysées, and you’ll come to the Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, a luxurious boutique property tucked behind a discreet Eixample façade. A building of nineteenth-century pedigree, with mid-century styling and clean, contemporary interiors. The hotel has 115 rooms and suites, which are spread across eight floors, with a cluster of prized terraced junior suites complete with outdoor bathtubs. A hidden courtyard garden, terrace and pool sits at the back, while dining is centred around Enrique Valentí’s Solomillo steak house and at street level their charcuterie bar and delicatessen offer meats, cheeses and wines to enjoy bar side or on the street terrace. The Luxury Editor recently checked in, so read on to discover more.
Catalonia, Barcelona, Eixample
Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
Hotel(4 stars)
At a glanceRooms 115 rooms and suites, including the Modernist Suite and Dream Suite.Amenities Solomillo Restaurant, Charcutería Bar, outdoor pool with garden terrace, fitness centreMore In the Modernista Eixample, moments from Casa Batlló and La Pedrera
Part of Hilton’s design-led Curio Collection, the building itself dates back over a century, with interiors by studio Borrell Jover Arquitectura, setting period features against chic contemporary styling. Original Catalan hydraulic floor tiles run underfoot in bedrooms, while natural oak and walnut warm the contemporary lines. Designer furniture from the fifties and sixties is featured throughout communal areas and guest quarters, and nowhere is the design style put to better use than in the lobby. Deep, low-slung B&B Italian sofas are arranged in a generous island with a long, backlit run of oak shelving stacked with books and ceramics running beside.
I arrived at the hotel ahead of the 3 pm check-in. The staff are extremely accommodating and can store luggage, and there’s somewhere to freshen up too if you arrive before your room is ready. I used their business centre area (see below) to catch up on some emails and charge my phone, and by a stroke of luck, my room was ready an hour earlier than anticipated. And just to the left of the business centre sits a bank of bikes, available to hire for a small daily fee if you fancy exploring the city on two wheels.
Location
The hotel couldn’t be more central for the bustle of Barcelona life. Located on Carrer de Mallorca in Eixample, one corner from Passeig de Gràcia, the city’s fashion and shopping thoroughfare, with Rambla de Catalunya running parallel on the other side. Gaudí’s Casa Batlló and La Pedrera are a two-block stroll, the spires of the Sagrada Família around a mile and a half away, and Park Güell a similar distance north. The Gothic Quarter and Las Ramblas are an easy 15-minute walk away. Metro and rail connections sit close to the hotel’s door, and the airport is roughly ten miles away and takes 40 minutes by metro and 25 minutes by taxi, the latter depending on traffic.
Rooms & Suites
The 115 rooms and suites start with the compact Cozy and Classic rooms before moving to Queen, King Collection, and Twin Rooms with either a pool view or a city view. Above this sit the King Junior Suites with their separate living areas, the Junior Suites with Terrace, which come with a private outdoor bathtub. Rooms are dressed in parquet or original modernist tiling, with incredibly comfortable beds, a minibar, Nespresso, a laptop-sized safe, USB-A and USB-C sockets, and organic, natural bath amenities in the shower.
During my stay, I was hosted in room 118, a King Junior Suite, which was extremely generous in floor space, with a separate seating area built around a Chesterfield sofa and a sculptural Eames and Saarinen Organic Chair, and a slim cruciform side table. A vintage teak writing desk sat across from it, and a striped shell table lamp, with corrugated contours which projected the most mesmerising light as day progressed to night.
The bed sits against a warm oak-panelled wall, its headboard recessed and hung with a pair of framed black-and-white photographs that form part of the art running throughout the hotel; mine were of a quiet rooftop scene against a night sky raked by searchlights. Underfoot, the pale parquet gives way to a run of original Catalan hydraulic floor tiles in a geometric brown-and-cream mosaic.
The bed sits floating almost in the centre of the room, with the bathroom wrapped around either side behind and split in two. Hop out of the bed on one side, and you reach the open-plan wet room, while the other side leads to a separate WC. In the wet room, a long floating vanity runs along one wall, topped with an oval vessel basin. Besides, it is a large walk-in rain shower and a full-size whirlpool bath with Jacuzzi jets. Amenities come from Prija, and a complimentary canvas wash bag, which you could take home, was packed with everything you might forget to bring.
What turned the room from just a guest room into something truly special in my opinion was the large French doors, which opened onto a Juliet balcony looking over Carrer de Mallorca. I had a moment of complete contentment when I opened the doors and the warm afternoon air drifted in, and I could hear the hum of the city below while I was napping.
The room has a double wardrobe, a Nespresso machine, and a mini bar stocked with pay as you eat snacks and drinks, along with two large bottles of complimentary water.
Solomillo
Solomillo, the hotel’s restaurant, has become a Barcelona institution in its own right. It sits mezzanine-like on the first floor, a long, low-lit room wrapped in olive-green walls giving off a fine dining finish to it. The concept is the work of chef-restaurateur Enrique Valentí, and it’s simple and delicious: you pick your beef breed, graded by depth of flavour from the soft, delicate Salers, through marbled Simmental and the more intense Frisian, up to the boldly flavoured Rubia Gallega, a long-lived Galician breed with well-matured meat. Then the weight, from a modest 125g, up to a sharing-sized 500g slab, then the cooking point, and finally the sauce: béarnaise, Café de París, Solomillo-style, blue cheese, black pepper, mustard, herb mojo or roasted jalapeño. Green garnishes, vegetables, and potatoes are extra.
Dinner
As I looked over the menu, I ordered a glass of Galician Albariño; it’s become my failsafe these days. I have never had a bad one, and this particular one was delicious. I immediately bonded with my server, bubbly and knowledgeable, we chatted about the menu – she said the steak tartare was good to begin with, but I was thinking beef; then beef for mains felt indulgent, so I opted for the Burrata with heritage tomatoes to start, and she insisted I pair it with some Pan con tomate, a Catalonian classic, I just couldn’t say no.
For main course, it was a simple decision. My waiter said that the Rubia Gallega was her favourite, rich in flavour and depth, so I went for that, medium rare. I also said I loved gratin dauphinos, and she agreed it was a classic combo, so I was sold, and for a sauce, I’m a chimichurri fan, so the closest was the roasted jalapeño.
Beyond full by this point and with a couple of glasses of wine in my system, it still felt worth exploring the dessert menu, which my server agreed was an excellent option, so I rounded things off with a slice of homemade cheese cake.
Breakfast
After a thoroughly good night’s sleep, I made my way back down to Solomillo for breakfast. Being a bank holiday, the breakfast ran to a leisurely 11 am. All served buffet style, various tables and countertops displayed a wide variety of hot and cold breakfast staples.
Downstairs Cafe
Down at street level, lies Solomillo’s more informal deli – a long black marble bartop runs the length of the space with stools pulled up to the counter. A tiled curing station where whole Jabugo hams, coils of sausage, strings of garlic, and bunches of dried ñora peppers hang above the counter and the space spills out onto a canopied terrace on the pavement of Carrer de Mallorca, shaded by the plane trees.
Pool & Patio Area
If the hotel has a secret, this is it. Tucked away at the back and up a floor, you will find the outdoor pool and patio area. The pool is a good length for gentle laps and far larger than the token plunge pools I have seen in many Barcelona hotels. A row of cushioned loungers runs along one side, with towels invitingly rolled and waiting. Sitting adjacent, the patio area, shaded by a slatted steel canopy and cooled by much-needed ceiling fans. Here you can enjoy a drink from the bar or enjoy the open-air home of Enrique Valentí’s Patio menu, where you can order from Solomillo or simply see out the afternoon with a glass of something cold to refresh you. Post breakfast, I took my coffee up to enjoy the outdoor space while I woke up.
Gym
I never seem to make use of the hotel gym, and this time I had a credible excuse: the door wouldn’t open with my room key, so I turned back and went out for a glass of wine in the sun, which seemed like a much more sensible use of time. There is however, a comprehensive gym area with a good selection of equipment and weights if you need to top up on your cardio.
Final Thoughts
This is a design hotel you would happily enjoy as your own home! Its hidden courtyard pool is a real bonus for its city centre postcode, combined with its superb dining offering and convenient location, I genuinely don’t think you will find a better boutique hotel in Barcelona.
