“A waterfront wonderland” is how the brand new SLS Barcelona describes itself—phrases that is also utilized to town that the resort calls dwelling. While there have been no white rabbits or mad hatters in attendance on the grand opening, company could really feel somewhat like Alice as they uncover the numerous surprises that SLS has included in its European debut.
Why e book?
The higher query could also be “why not book?” when you understand all that this distinctive resort affords. The design and workers exude an unrestrained luxurious, the views of the Mediterranean present a continuing and great backdrop, and the delicacies at its eating places may have you eager to dine at them for a number of meals. But maybe essentially the most interesting side of the resort is the way it combines an inviting and cozy ambiance with the facilities of an city resort.
The backstory
SLS motels and resorts world wide have positioned the model on the high of any checklist of immediately’s luxurious hospitality choices. While totally different resort teams deliver their very own distinctive approaches to luxurious, SLS opts for one that’s vigorous, carefree, and even typically theatrical, in one of the best sense of the phrase. Its motels got down to appeal to consideration, and so they succeed. Its openings in locations together with Beverly Hills, Miami, the Bahamas, Cancun, Dubai, and Buenos Aires have been acclaimed, and now it’s Barcelona’s flip.
At the guts of the SLS tackle luxurious is a philosophy centered on life-style, which is why creating alternatives to socialize inside the resort is a key ingredient of their properties. This development may be seen in particulars comparable to the selection of music, which is greater than only a background accompaniment and is as a substitute central to making a sure environment, and within the many cozy areas in its widespread areas that invite company to linger.
The neighborhood
The new SLS is positioned within the coronary heart of Barcelona’s Port Fòrum, moored on the shore of the ocean like a grand yacht—though given its measurement maybe a extra correct comparability can be to a cruise ship. Although it’s not an space frequented by many locals, SLS’s technique to show it into a brand new vacation spot inside Barcelona features a assortment of high eating places, a cocktail bar that we count on would be the topic of a lot buzz, and a rooftop that goals to be the envy of town. The space can also be not too removed from the favored Poblenou neighborhood and it’s simply accessible from town heart, each by tram and by subway.
While the SLS is crammed with causes to remain on property, the encompassing space has some sights too making the resort’s location a serious draw. With direct entry to the port, company can hire catamarans and personal boats for excursions, however they aren’t essential in case you merely wish to spend a day on the seaside, which is just 200 yards from the resort and infrequently crowded. The Parc del Fòrum, the place the favored Primavera Sound pageant is held (the resort is an official associate), can also be just some steps away.
There are bold plans for this a part of Barcelona together with the creation of latest inexperienced areas whereas the opportunity of developing a seaside membership can also be being mentioned. One new venture already underway is Tres Xemeneies, which may be seen from the resort’s rooftop. The architectural landmark, constructed as an influence plant within the Nineteen Seventies, will probably be remodeled into a brand new dwelling for inventive industries, technological analysis, and digital experiences. As initiatives unfold, each factors to this space between Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs turning into a brand new heart of city life.
The resort
SLS Barcelona is the lifetime of the social gathering, that charming visitor that everybody desires to hang around with, famous for his or her overwhelming charisma and infectious good temper. This makes it very troublesome to depart when you stroll by the resort’s doorways and begin exploring all it affords. In the foyer, your eyes will probably be drawn to the pink neon lights that illuminate what seems to be like a path guiding Alice to Wonderland (it really results in the port). That shiny hallway hypnotizes each visitor and affords an understandably fashionable Instagram alternative (one which we took benefit of ourselves).
The widespread areas and rooms have the playful and theatrical angle that’s typical of many Rockwell Group initiatives. The resort’s inside design eschews minimalism and as a substitute embraces the concept extra is extra. This is a resort for individuals who wish to “see and be seen,” within the phrases of General Manager Ignacio Rodríguez, not for individuals who favor to maintain all of it low-key. Extravagance and mischief reign right here from the silver partitions of the reception space to the large chandelier hanging at an uncommon angle within the foyer and even to the flooring of the elevators. The design of this SLS is addictive and leaves you wanting extra.
The first flooring results in the pool with its views of the port. There’s an enormous statue of a rubber duck which is the model’s emblem—you’ll additionally discover it on the pins that staff put on on their uniforms. On the identical flooring, you’ll discover the health heart which, removed from providing solely the naked necessities to maintain you in form throughout your trip, is as a substitute a paradise for fitness-minded vacationers. It’s flooded with pure mild and has a mess of machines, a spinning studio, and a wellness supervisor who can reply any questions and supply help. Plus, it’s open 24 hours a day.
As the saying goes, good issues come to those that wait and the resort will embody a spa that can open its doorways on the finish of 2025. It will transcend many resort spa choices and be an immersive expertise that can transport you removed from Barcelona. You’ll even be capable to select between several types of rain once you soak within the pool. Details relating to the remedies and different companies will probably be unveiled within the coming months.
A characteristic that may be loved now, the Grand Ballroom is among the locations the place SLS has finished essentially the most to create a uniquely luxurious environment. Any assembly or occasion held within the 8,600-square-foot house with room for as much as 600 folks will set the bar excessive. From its crimson curtains to different pleasant particulars, the theatrical setting gives a backdrop for unforgettable occasions.
The rooms
When you lastly make it to your room—getting misplaced within the SLS is simple, and enjoyable—you’ll discover the design is extra restrained however even right here there are theatrical and kooky touches: avant-garde lamps, Venetian mirrors, stunning work, and even the curtain tiebacks are uncommon. The crown jewel in rooms is the minibar—a small, mirrored bar topped by a round shelf. You can think about your self as a mysterious character from a movie, ingesting a martini in your bathrobe.
Somehow the design by b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos has managed to make sure that all 471 rooms within the resort have balconies. These out of doors refuges permit company to breathe within the sea air, admire town, and, in some circumstances, look down on the scene by the pool. Among the rooms, 70 characteristic further luxuries like a tub subsequent to the balcony, a separate kitchen and eating room, and particularly spacious non-public terraces.
Gastronomy
To do justice to the culinary choices at SLS Barcelona, we would wish far more house than the few paragraphs on this resort overview. There are a complete of six stellar venues and Juan Gómez, culinary director, is liable for assuring that they provide one thing for everybody, and at each hour of the day and night.
We’ll begin with the primary restaurant you’ll encounter once you arrive on the resort, Deluxe. It’s positioned within the foyer and its elegant bar is a tempting place to take pleasure in a number of cocktails. There’s typically a DJ and company scattered at tables within the house. Here, appetizers, desserts, and different mild snacks are served, various in accordance with the time of day. You’ll discover home made granola, poached eggs, and vegan burritos within the mornings, and steak tartare, katsu sandwiches, and plantains with lobster within the evenings.
Deluxe’s sturdy level is its cocktails. Their names are as authentic as their components. Choose from the Not Fancy Paloma (white rum, lime, grapefruit, and bergamot liqueur), The Night Passenger (400 Conejos mezcal, ardour fruit, lemongrass, lemon, and vanilla), and Breakfast with Diamonds (Stolichnaya, yuzu, chamomile, lemon, egg white, and Veuve Clicquot), and you may’t go improper.
One flooring up, subsequent to the pool, Coral is a bar/restaurant the place each season appears like summer season. Its mild dishes and refreshing drinks are greatest when loved on sunny days together with your ft within the water. Some must-try dishes embody melon infused with mojito, inexperienced apple tabbouleh, hen quesadilla, and coconut ice cream for dessert. Coral is the one restaurant on the SLS that’s solely for resort company.
Now to maneuver on to the primary course: SLS’s flagship eating places, Lora and L’Anxova Divina, each designed by AvroKO. Located off of the foyer, Lora takes you on a journey alongside the Mediterranean coast and the gastronomic magic of its villages. It is, within the restaurant’s phrases, “a journey from Barcelona to Beirut,” incorporating influences from North Africa. The elegant and massive house (which is able to serve breakfast too) welcomes you with an open kitchen and there’s a wood-fired oven in the back of the room. It’s not solely strikingly lovely but in addition produces among the most scrumptious breads on this planet.
Justin Collinge, the manager chef at Lora, has a ardour for cooking that’s evident as quickly as you begin speaking to him and listen to his suggestions. We adopted his ideas and the consequence was a eating expertise as thrilling as he had promised. You can order something from Lora’s menu and be assured will probably be scrumptious, however in order for you extra steerage, we propose beginning with among the dips like muhammara (roasted crimson peppers, chili, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses) and, my absolute favourite, spinach borani (with caramelized onions, yogurt, feta cheese, and pistachios), together with some pita and kubaneh (a brioche-style bread). Standouts among the many predominant programs embody sea bass with chermoula and grilled octopus with hamoosta sauce. The jewel within the restaurant’s crown, is an beautiful uncooked sea bass with muscat French dressing, orange, and pickled fennel. It alone would justify a visit to Barcelona. We have not forgotten about dessert: the blood orange sorbet is unbelievable and the bougatsa (a crispy filo pastry with custard and vanilla ice cream) is an ideal conclusion to a meal.
The subsequent cease is L’Anxova Divina. At the top of a brightly lit hallway, a implausible and colourful universe awaits. The restaurant celebrates Catalan delicacies and government chef Oriol Lagé leads diners on their culinary journeys right here. His love affair with native delicacies is mirrored in every thing from his cautious choice of merchandise and components to the menu that pays homage to tapas tradition and regional flavors. The design of its extra casual areas is impressed by one in all Barcelona’s most well-known sons, the architect Antoni Gaudí.
We advocate ordering a choice of tapas so you’ll be able to attempt as many as your urge for food will permit. Among the choices are classics comparable to a Spanish potato and onion omelet, patatas bravas, fried pork snout with adobo dressing, Perol’s botifarra sausage and toasted brioche with butter, anchovy picadillo, and fried capers. Alongside backyard produce, rice dishes, and cured meats, which at all times style higher when accompanied by one in all their breads comparable to coca bread with tomato, there are basic Catalan casseroles and stews just like the scrumptious beef fricassee with mushrooms, arbequina olive tapenade, and sage oil. Choosing between desserts isn’t any simple process, however two good choices are the Garrotxa cheesecake and a standard favourite, bread with olive oil, chocolate, and salt.
Finally, the final cease as you make your manner up the resort is Cósmico, the rooftop bar which guarantees to be an thrilling addition. (It wasn’t open on the time of our go to.) Its menu will embody cocktails and floating trays of sushi which are supposed to be loved subsequent to, and even in, the pool. It will probably be accessible immediately from the road with out having to undergo the foyer, and we count on its sundown views and dwell DJs will make it a favourite of each guests to Barcelona and locals too.
Drinks
If you’ve been protecting rely, you’ll know that we nonetheless haven’t lined all six gastronomic areas. Kyara deserves a particular point out of its personal. This bar on the fifth flooring of the resort has emerged as one of many SLS’s greatest sights. The well-known mixology duo Monica Berg and Alex Kratena have launched their first venture in Spain, and so they did it in grand model. Their names will probably be acquainted to many followers of cocktail tradition from their award-winning Tayēr + Elementary bar in London, and now they goal to proceed their success with this new postmodern cocktail bar.
Their method to cocktails right here attracts inspiration from the world of perfumes, as they translate the rules of making fragrances to the world of drinks. Unusual components are used to make each conventional cocktails and impressed new creations. The house has a retro-futuristic inside design incorporating avant-garde particulars in line with the theme that that is an uncommon laboratory of refreshment.
Sustainability
In this resort that aspires to be on the chopping fringe of hospitality, sustainability is a central precedence. To this finish, the SLS has used sustainable, wholesome, and responsibly sourced supplies and has adopted many measures to scale back power utilization, carbon output, and water consumption comparable to photo voltaic panels and the acquisition of inexperienced power, selecting native and drought-resistant vegetation for the landscaping, and making each effort attainable to scale back waste together with by eliminating single-use plastics, utilizing keys constituted of recycled wooden, and implementing a recycling program. When it involves sustainability, no side of the constructing or its environment has been ignored.
Accessibility
All of the resort was designed to be accessible to company with restricted mobility.
Anything else so as to add?
With the third season of The White Lotus nonetheless contemporary in our minds, you could discover the multitude of monkeys integrated into the resort’s décor, transporting us to the well-known resort in Thailand from the collection. Finding the monkeys hidden within the SLS Barcelona—within the work, within the ornamental parts, and even within the type of lamps—may be an amusing pastime on the resort. Go see if you could find all of them!
Photos by Pol Viladoms / Food photographs from Lora by Hugo Sebastian Alaimo
This overview was first printed by Condé Nast Traveler Spain. It was translated by John Newton.