Boutique Barcelona hotels Archives - Love it There*

Pros: Great location, stylish

Cons: Rooms are pretty small

Tip: Get a terrace room for a more spacious feel

Hotel Casa Elliot has undergone a renovation and name-change since my last stay, but there’s still plenty to recommend it.

The location is a gem – Sant Antoni is a little slice of Eixample wedged between the bustle of El Raval and Poble Sec, and is home to numerous bars and restaurants, as well as the renovated Sant Antoni Market.

While there aren’t a lot of areas in Barcelona that feel devoid of tourists, Sant Antoni retains a ‘local’ atmosphere that is really rather charming. You’re still only one Metro stop from the middle of Passage de Gracia.

The 38 rooms have mainly been tidied up a bit in the renovation, but that’s no bad thing. They’re compact, but functional enough, stylish, and feature decent-sized bathrooms. All have views either over the main street or the rear ‘courtyard’, and some even have small terraces. Nice

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What’s Nearby

Metro (Universitat) – 200m

Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona (CCCB) – 450m

Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) – 500m

Sant Antoni Market – 700m

Plaza Catalunya – 750m

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Camper may be famous for its shoes, but you’re not necessarily staying in a shoebox here (yuk, yuk).

Housed in a couple of old buildings on the fabulous Carrer d’Elisabets, Casa Camper is in a prime El Raval address. There are numerous cafés, boutiques, and galleries within a couple of blocks.

rooftop 'rain machine' at Casa Camper Barcelona

With only 40 rooms, Casa Camper reserves most of its space for guests – you need to be buzzed into the lobby – and provides a 24-hour buffet with sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, coffee and the like in the lobby area and at the pleasant rooftop terrace. Plus there’s an honesty bar and a ‘rain machine’ under which you can cool off on a hot day. There’s no pool though.

Rooms are…interesting.

The ‘Garden’ rooms (pictured) are actually two rooms. The main bedroom area has a bathroom that faces into an internal courtyard, which provides some natural light. (The courtyard isn’t accessible, so you’re unlikely to get a nasty surprise when you’re bathing). And across the hallway is another small room with a sofa, flat screen TV and hammock, and a tiny balcony overlooking the street.

It is an unusual arrangement, though may work well if your travel companion is a compulsive late-night TV junkie, I guess.

‘City’ rooms are in the other building – access is via lifts with doors on both sides – and are more regular all-in-one affairs.

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