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Details CITIES OF THE MONTH<br />
Fly to Barcelona<br />
with airBaltic<br />
ONE<br />
from €75 WAY<br />
Hotel Casa Mathilda<br />
Barcelona<br />
Hotel Room Mate Anna<br />
Barcelona has added a remarkable new trio of places to<br />
stay in the affordable luxury category. Room Mate Hotels (roommatehotels.com),<br />
a Spanish chain of cheery designer hotels, has<br />
opened two new branches – Room Mate Carla and Room Mate<br />
Anna. Both hotels bear women’s names, but just as in life, each<br />
of these ladies has a very specific character. Room Mate Carla<br />
(Carrer de Mallorca, 288), in the Eixample district not far from<br />
Barcelona’s main shopping avenue, the Passeig de Gràcia, is like<br />
an artistic aesthete. Its interior combines elements of industrial<br />
design, the colours of Catalonia, and elements inspired by Antoni<br />
Gaudí and Pop Art. It all forms an ambience that recalls an art<br />
gallery. The tone of the rooms is set by expressive wall paintings,<br />
ultramarine pillows and snow-white beds. The lobby is decorated<br />
with geometric chairs in bright blue and green. The design was<br />
additionally inspired by the legendary Catalan trencadís mosaic<br />
technique, which Gaudí often used.<br />
Room Mate Anna (Carrer d’Aragó 271) is by the Plaça de<br />
Catalunya, the “golden square’’ of Catalan Modernism. This<br />
building once housed the Barcelona branch of the Chicago School<br />
of Business. Its interior is a clear rejection of the once popular cool<br />
and reserved northern minimalism in hotel interiors. Instead, it is a<br />
veritable riot of colours and patterns reflecting the wild palette of<br />
Catalan nature and the Mediterranean coast. Gigantic seashells or<br />
models of bright red coral hover above the beds. Breakfast at the<br />
hotel is served until noon, and there’s a pleasant rooftop terrace<br />
with a swimming pool that provides a fabulous view of Gaudí’s<br />
extravagant masterwork, the Casa Batlló.<br />
The third newcomer is a charming B&B, the Casa Mathilda<br />
(Carrer de Roger de Llúria, 125-127; casamathilda.com). It can be<br />
found in what was once the family home of prominent textile<br />
manufacturers in the Eixample district. The Casa Mathilda has<br />
14 rooms designed by the Espacio studio in the Post-modern<br />
style that prevails in the district. The hotel’s oak floors have<br />
been restored and the fine brass doorknobs retained. There’s the<br />
comforting charm of a real home, enhanced by carefully chosen<br />
vintage furniture. The colours are warm and the mattresses suit a<br />
natural eco-lifestyle. Each room differs from the others, and some<br />
have terraces. Breakfast always incudes home-baked bread and<br />
freshly squeezed juices – the cook in the mornings is the proprietor<br />
himself, Assumpta Baldó. BO<br />
Hotel Room Mate Carla<br />
26 | AIRBALTIC.COM<br />
Photo by Marrovi
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