"The doorman at Alma Barcelona takes his job seriously. Should you dare to make eye contact with the door handle, you sense that he’s poised to throw himself at it in order to save your hand from the indignity of touching its weighty, polished surface. Once inside—not by your own doing, naturally—the atmosphere is more art gallery than hotel. Brushed concrete walls and floors could be stark; but here they're elegant, softened by leather chairs, beautiful lighting, a single painting of a polar bear, and, most notably, sincere service. The elegant Passeig de Gràcia is next door, placing Gaudí’s Casa Batlló a five-minute walk from your breakfast, and putting you within credit-card-tapping distance of the city’s best designer shopping. In a city with a loud, look-at-me hotel scene, the Alma is like your friend who wears a simple T-shirt and jeans and still manages to turn every head." - Gemma Askham, Isabelle Kliger
