Ohla Barcelona sits on a historically rich plot in the Gothic Quarter where a palace belonging to the first Count of Barcelona once stood. Long before welcoming travelers, the site evolved with the city, transforming from a noble residence into “Casa Vilardell”—one of Barcelona’s very first luxury department stores in the 1920s—and later serving as a central police station.
Architect Daniel Isern led a massive five-year renovation completed in 2011, essentially gutting the interior while keeping the historic neoclassical façade entirely suspended in mid-air for a year. This massive engineering feat allowed the team to construct three underground floors for hotel services and parking while maintaining the building’s heritage layout centered around the original main staircase.
The hotel’s absolute showstopper is its avant-garde exterior art installation, which earned it the local nickname “the hotel with eyes.” Renowned Catalan artist Frederic Amat adorned the neoclassical walls with more than 1,000 surrealist ceramic eyeballs mounted on long pins. Amat envisioned these sculptures as a way to “biologize” the building, turning the façade into an urban mirror that watches the city as the city watches it.
Inside, the neoclassical exterior gives way to stark, contemporary minimalism characterized by high-contrast black and white tones. The property also features a glass-walled rooftop infinity pool with panoramic views of the old town, perfectly balancing historical reverence with innovative design.
Expert reviews
“The Ohla Hotel, opened in 2011, has 74 rooms and suites with modern design. The location, two blocks from Plaça Catalunya, is ideal even if you don’t have a reservation at the in-house, Michelin-starred restaurant Saüc.”
Featured in New York Times’ 36 Hours in Barcelona.
“Smart but understated, the Ohla provides all mod cons, along with plenty of luxuries – such as a clear-sided rooftop dipping pool – and places you right in the heart of the action. The cocktail bar has award-winning mixologists, and the restaurant is Michelin-starred.”
What guests liked
- Rooftop bar
- Helpful staff
- Excellent location
- Comfortable beds
- Excellent Wifi
Location
Recent guest reviews
9 March 2026
Excellent customer service and very comfy stay
The staff were exceptional - always keen to help. Excellent customer service. The beds were also very comfy.
The pool is very small and there are not any loungers by the pool. It seems like more of a destination for the rooftop bar than a swimming pool people would use.
26 February 2026
Great location bit over priced.
Great location and great service
Rooftop bar was too crowded by people that were not from the hotel that we never got to experience it properly
21 January 2026
Elegant and esclusive
The confort, the design, the professional skill of the staff
Nothing
21 January 2026
The confort of the elegance
The confort, the design, the professional skill of the staff, the esclusivity
Nothing
6 January 2026
Perfect location, spacious room, best service ever at a hotel!
My wife turned 30, we got an upgrade for the rol
And they left us a bottle of champagne. Top notch service
Nothing
4 January 2026
Great hotel in perfect location! Amazing staff, wonderful vibe and breakfast was an added bonus! Made our New Year trip
Location, decor, helpful staff, rooftop bar & breakfast, all fabulous!
22 December 2025
Comfortable accommodation with excellent and personable service.
Location was convenient to many attractions and the old city. All personnel were professional, helpful, and personable. Restaurant was convenient with a nice breakfast buffet and fresh-cooked omelets. Very comfortable accommodation. Highly recommend.
20 December 2025
Excellent centralised location with easy assessability to everywhere.
We were allowed to check-in early when rooms were available around 9am, after a long flight from Singapore. This means a lot to us because it allowed us to have a good rest early before start of our holiday. Special thanks to hotel staff Xavi, Rafael and Iago for their hospitality during our stay. Friendly and personalized service made our stay a very pleasant one.
None
18 December 2025
I’ve stayed in many quality hotels and the service here is next level.
Truly exceptional service, great location and superior quality amenities.
Nothing!
15 December 2025
Staff were wonderful
Very enjoyable and relaxing stay
Nothing I didn’t like
2 November 2025
I had a great stay & wouldn’t hesitate to stay again!
I appreciated the level of service from both management & staff. I had an issue with my room and it was handled beautifully, for which I greatly appreciated!
A recommendation for a restaurant (on a Sunday night) that didn’t end up being anything memorable, only a lot of money spent.
22 October 2025
Excellent and comfortable
Most of the staff were helpful and friendly. Breakfast was great. Sauna and gym facilities were good. Room was comfortable, we moved rooms as the room did not have a shower but the hotel was very accommodating. They ensured we had a comfortable stay.
A few staff required customer training.
8 October 2025
Top location in the heart of gothic Barcelona
The hotel is very well located in the Gothic Quarter, the rooms are beautiful and well equipped, the rooftop bar is a plus and the Michelin-starred restaurant was fantastic. The hotel staff was also very nice and helpful to arrange the little details.
Still some fine-tuning to become a real 5 star hotel (spontaneous service at reception, breakfast variety), but I'm confident it's just a matter of time.
3 October 2025
Comfortable, relaxing pampered stay
Centrally located. Friendly helpful staff. Large rooms. Excellent facilities. Great service.
Room was a little noisy on the street. But was expected staying in a city.
1 October 2025
An absolutely fabulous way to end our 3 week trip around Spain before flying home.
Ohla Hotel is in a great location in the central city within walking distance to cafes, restaurants, shopping and local attractions. The breakfast was excellent and the room was spacious, nicely presented and well equipped. We went to dinner in the hotel at 'Caelis' which is a one star Michelin restaurant. This was a real treat, with impeccable service and a very beautifully creative degustation menu. We also went to the stunning rooftop bar which is very popular with every reason, but the staff always leave well positioned tables for guests of the hotel.
16 September 2025
Only stayed one night with no breakfast so can only comment on the staff and room which were both excellent
Great location and staff
15 September 2025
Welcoming on arrival and Friendly staff.
Great location, Friendly staff, Nice Breakfast
Nothing really
13 September 2025
Great hotel in central location, perfect for a short break if you are unfamiliar with Barcelona.
This is my 2nd visit in the last 3 years. Great hotel, amazing location, within walking distance of many main attractions. Clean comfortable room, the rooftop pool/bar has the best views but can get very busy at night as its so popular, will definitely stay here again. It is on the pricey side however that's what 5 star costs in Barcelona.
Its expensive, the breakfast buffet is very European so not to my taste.
7 September 2025
Great location but pricey
Staff really good
Bar on leaving the concierge wouldn’t cancel a taxi
Food and drink
Way over priced by a third
23 August 2025
The ohla is home from home
Great room and rooftop pool is lovely.
The restaurant downstairs the staff were incredibly rude to the point we actually left.
15 August 2025
Overall it was a pleasant stay!
The staff were excellent, professional and super friendly. They made our stay more positive, especially Marc really cool and professional gentlemen. The overall stay was positive which few slight suggestions to be considered.
Key restaurant Michelin star wasn't available always but only on selected days. We booked the junior sweet with the intention that their was a balcony per the pictures presented but wasn't the case. The carpet of the room was not as clean as expected. And the price was higher than usual, we'd appreciate a slight adjustment for the facilities provided.
1 August 2025
Greeted by a lovely gentleman who took out bags to our room for us and made every effort to explain what he could about
Central location, super convenient and great place to stay and relax.
Nothing. It was all wonderful
27 July 2025
Great location and friendly staff
Great location and pool was stunning
Rooms small and hotel is quite dark and narrow.
24 July 2025
Great day, would always recommend the Ohla!
Location, rooftop Terrace and pool
Gym was a bit inadequate for a Modern properly
19 July 2025
Amongst the vibe of Barcelona - staff friendly and effecient
Location and staff and roof top
Not enough shade on roof top during the day
13 July 2025
Would definitely return and highly recommend
Location, rooftop, staff!
Nothing
10 July 2025
Perfection! We will be back
Breakfast was amazing so many options
Staff went above and beyond to help
Would have loved to stay longer!
6 July 2025
Great location, lovely room, would definitely stay again
Very central in Barcelona, lovely room, great staff
This is only a small thing but staff in breakfast restaurant were very slow to clean tables, but otherwise really good
24 June 2025
amazing hotel, in the centrer of Barcelona. Beatutiful swimmingpool at he roof. Delicious breakfast
Everything
20 June 2025
We had an overall fantastic time
Perfect central location - Excellent bedding - very helpful concierge - Delicious breakfast - Toilet separated from bathroom - professional personnel with eye for details & care - room extra clean
Rooftop and pool available to clients to 16pm then open to public (though understandable hotel needs to make business and rooftop is pretty & therefore popular)
Room decoration could be upper market
Value for money : slightly over priced but surely the premium of 15% is the price to pay to be centrally located
17 June 2025
Excellent, we will be visiting again
Excellent location , friendly and very helpful staff . Room was very clean and big .
Nothing
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Snack bar
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Wine/champagne (additional charge)
- - Fruits (additional charge)
- - Coffee house on site
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Soundproof rooms
- - Packed lunches
- - Car hire
- - Heating
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Shuttle service (additional charge)
- - Airport shuttle (additional charge)
- - Grocery deliveries (additional charge)
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out
- - Currency exchange
- - Tour desk
- - Luggage storage
- - Concierge service
- - Private check-in/check-out
Activities
- - Sauna
- - Fitness centre
- - Solarium
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Beauty services
- - Facial treatments
- - Make-up services
- - Hair treatments
- - Manicure
- - Pedicure
- - Haircut
- - Hair styling
- - Body treatments
- - Spa lounge/relaxation area
- - Spa/wellness packages
- - Fitness
- - Personal trainer
- - Bicycle rental (additional charge)
Outdoors
- - Terrace
- - Outdoor pool
- - Sun terrace
- - Outdoor pool (all year)
- - Outdoor furniture
Entertainment & family services
- - Babysitting/child services (additional charge)
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Daily housekeeping
Pool and wellness
- - Pool with view
- - Fence around pool
- - Swimming pool
Transport
- - Airport pick up (additional charge)
- - Airport drop off (additional charge)
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key card access
- - Security alarm
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available

More photos

13 March 2026
Beautiful and relaxing