Seventy Barcelona – Bunny’s Favourite Hotel in Barcelona
Barcelona is one of those cities in Europe that has had a hard time coping with the increasing number of tourists (20 million!) visiting each year. Tourists have brought a lot of wealth to the city, but not without accompanying challenges: many local people are disgruntled by the hordes, rising prices and the overall “touristification” of the city.
Bunny is partly to blame. She has visited Barcelona many times and contributed to the ongoing tourist craze. So when she last travelled to Barcelona a few months ago, she wanted to find a nice hotel, keep a low profile and just relax for a couple of days before embarking on her Transatlantic cruise from the port of Barcelona.
Seventy Barcelona
Enter Seventy Barcelona, a fabulous new hotel in the Eixample district of Barcelona.
Opened in October 2019, Seventy Barcelona is one of the newest hotels in town. It is a former factory building renovated into a stylish, modern hotel that offers inviting common spaces, elegant rooms and great spa facilities.
Love at First Sight
Bunny was sold the moment she first set her eyes in Seventy Barcelona. The hotel lobby, which looks like a cross between a really elegant library and a funky bar, has lots of space, hundreds of books, comfy lounging areas, massive plants and floor-to-ceiling windows bringing in lots and lots of light. It was one of the coolest hotel lobbies Bunny had seen anywhere in the world.
In addition to the initial wow factor, the check-in was very friendly and efficient. Five minutes after arriving, the Bunnies were on their way to the room, with a free drinks voucher in hand. Not a bad start at all.
Lovely Rooms
Bunny had reserved a Superior Double room. Unfortunately, none were available when the Bunnies checked in, so they were escorted to a Superior Twin room with its two beds pushed together.
Bunny saw no big deal in accepting the twin room substitution, but Mr. Bunny was in one of his moods and resisted. For him, the communication was not clear enough, the wait for the double room would have been too long, and there were not enough coffee capsules in the Nespresso machine. Sometimes he is a real joy to be around, Bunny says.
The hotel staff managed to handle grumpy Mr. Bunny in a friendly and professional manner and the Bunnies eventually decided to relent and stay in the twin room.
The room itself was lovely, very modern, stylish and luxurious. Bunny loved the wooden floors and the sparkling clean interior. The bed might have been put together with two singles, but it was amazingly comfortable, with silky, soft linen and fluffy pillows.
The bathroom was modern and spacious, with all the necessary toiletries and plenty of towels and storage space.
There was also a humongous TV screen and a high-tech Bluetooth connection to the room’s audio system. Bunny didn’t dare to touch it as her track record with modern technology is somewhat spotty.
Inviting Spa
After unpacking their suitcases, the Bunnies decided to head right for the hotel’s spa to relax and unwind.
Seventy Barcelona’s spa area is open to all hotel guests and includes a small gym, Finnish sauna, steam room, treatment rooms, relaxation area and an attractive stainless-steel pool.
Although the spa is not huge, it was completely empty when the Bunnies visited in late afternoon, so they had a splash all on their own. Bunny particularly loved the ice dispenser just outside the Finnish sauna. It’s small touches like this that make spa experiences just that much more luxurious.
Excellent Room Service
True to their intention of having a low-key visit, the Bunnies ordered room service on their first night in Barcelona.
The Mediterranean-inspired room service menu did not include many vegetarian options (this is Spain after all…), but the Bunnies managed to cobble together enough appetisers to create a decent meal, complimented by two glasses of red wine. The meal was delivered promptly but the two glasses of wine were missing on delivery. Now this was a problem.
Fortunately, Seventy Barcelona staff quickly realised the gravity of the situation and the missing wines appeared in minutes. And what’s best: the charge for the wine was taken off the room service bill. Classy service, Bunny says.
Good Breakfast
Bunny is a fan of super healthy hotel breakfasts (Austria does this well) and never misses a decent buffet to start the day.
The breakfast at Seventy Barcelona was buffet style and served in the hotel’s restaurant The Kitchen & Timeless, with funky industrial style decor. The spread included a variety of fruit and veggies, delicious bread, cereal, salads, cold-cuts, cheese and eggs. Bunny was quite happy with the selection and even managed to turn down a sparkling wine offered to her. That’s true willpower, she says.
The service was friendly and prompt, so Bunny had no complaints about her breakfast.
Perfect for Hanging Out
During her stay at Seventy Barcelona, Bunny spent a lot of time in the hotel lobby, which had a vibe more like a communal living room than a traditional lobby.
Bunny liked hanging around on the comfortable sofas, enjoying the super-fast Wi-Fi and the relative quietness of the place. Although the lobby area always had people coming and going, it never felt crowded, thanks to its remarkably high ceilings and its overall spaciousness.
While working in the lobby, Bunny ordered some delicious afternoon tea and snacks, which were delivered from the adjoining bar, charging them to her room – convenient!
For those tackling even more serious work than Bunny, there is a designer loft designated as a quiet workspace on the second floor overlooking the lobby. The space is accessible by a funky spiral staircase from the main entrance and worth checking out, even if just for the views down to the lower lobby area.
The Cors Bar
The Cors, Seventy Barcelona’s cool bar, seemed to be a happening place on most nights. The Bunnies headed there for some light tapas and the free drinks bestowed on them at check-in.
The friendly bartender advised the Bunnies that for better value they should redeem their drink vouchers for cocktails, rather than the beers they intended to order. Yes please and thanks for the tip! This is the kind of hotel staff Bunny strongly approves of.
The cocktail list was interesting but it lacked the Bunnies’ firm favourites so the bartender was kind enough to make cocktails the Bunnies fancied instead (Margarita with a salt rim and a Moscow Mule if you must to know). What great service!
Having enjoyed their bar outing, Bunny was sorry that they could not participate in the two weekly bar events - a cocktail masterclass and a wine-tasting - which happened to fall on days outside of the Bunnies’ stay. Both events would have been complimentary to hotel guests, so even Mr. Bunny felt like he missed out.
Great Location
No-one is going to spend all their time at their hotel in Barcelona, no matter how nice it is. Naturally the Bunnies also ventured out.
Seventy Barcelona is handily located between two distinct neighbourhoods: the iconic and diverse Eixample and Gracia, known for its local flavour, narrow streets and artsy and creative atmosphere. There are lots of interesting sights, restaurants (including a surprising number of vegetarian and vegan eateries!) and shops within walking distance from the hotel.
Passage de Gracia - one of the most famous boulevards in Barcelona - is only a short walk away.
Casa Batllo and La Pedera, two of Gaudi’s architectural gems, are also within a pleasant stroll from Seventy Barcelona. This visit, Bunny settled on admiring them from the outside only, but if you’re tempted to go in, buy your tickets online in advance - the queues were horrendous.
Opening in the Spring!
Bunny visited Seventy Barcelona in November 2019 so she missed out on one of the exciting, upcoming features of the hotel: in the spring 2020, a rooftop bar and terrace will open on the seventh floor of the building. What a great excuse to revisit, Bunny says.
Conclusions
Bunny stayed at dozens of hotels in 2019 and thinks that Seventy Barcelona offered the best value of them all. In fact, she was enchanted with her stay.
Seventy Barcelona is a stylish, modern hotel with amazing rooms and a good location. The hotel staff is very friendly and the general vibe is relaxed but sophisticated. At the same time, there is not a hint of pretentiousness despite the luxurious feel of the place. And, for now at least, the prices are very reasonable.
Was there anything Bunny didn’t like? Maybe the smell of the hair conditioner. Not exactly a huge problem, is it?
