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TRAVELLER
Collins on places to stay
◆
My favourite hotel in
Barcelona is the Neri (
5
Carrer Sant Sever; book at
hotels.easyJet.com
). I love to
sit outside with a G&T and
enjoy the décor, which is very
opulent and gold.
◆
The Primero Primera (
25
Doctor Carulla; primeroprimera.
com
) has solid features that
won’t date, lots of communal
space and a large honesty bar.
◆
The Axel Hotel (
33 Aribau;
axelhotels.com
) is the place to
be seen, especially among the
gay fraternity. I love the crazy
furniture, like the OTT
high-backed chairs.
◆
Chic & Basic (
7 Pasaje
Gutenberg and 50 Calle
Princesa; chicandbasic.com
)
does exactly what it says on
the tin: comfortable rooms at
reasonable prices.
◆
The Petit Palace Opera
Garden (
10 Carrer la Boqueria;
hthoteles.com
) has a pretty
walled garden full of trees. The
design is agreeable rather than
wow, but I love the sense of
having found a secret garden.
BARCELONA
THE DESIGN GURU
Graham Collins
Since the 1992 Olympics, people have flocked to Barcelona
in search of a new life under the sun. Among themwas
Collins, who switched from renovation to property guru and
interior designer when the recession hit (
grahamcollinsbcn.
com
). Now he helps locals, expats and investors find and
create the homes of their dreams.
While the sun, sea and light have beenmassively
influential to his work – along with the prevalence of art
nouveau and deco everywhere – what most excites him
Left,
GrahamCollins, interior designer;
above, the lobby of hotel Neri
is the endless influx of new blood. “My assistant, Sophie
Thompson, is an artist (
soforbis.com
) with a space called La
Nave (
lanavebcnstudios.com
), where designers and artists
come for sixmonths just for the experience. Their energy
provides a lot of inspiration tomore long-term residents.”
Perhaps thanks to the recession, Collins says lived-in
design is playing an increasingly important role everywhere
here. “It’s becomingmore homely and relaxed, rather than
the stark, very po-faced design of a decade or so ago.”