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Come Sail Away

Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

Custom beds occupy the center of the guest rooms.

firm: ricardo bofill taller de arquitectura
site: barcelona, spain

The main building at Spain's W Barcelona has earned it a nickname among Ricardo Bofill's staffers. They call it the vela hotel, a reference to the 26-story sail shape that dominates the site. Standing at a new entrance to the city's harbor, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the project anchors Passeig de Joan de Borbó, a large urban-renewal undertaking aimed at bringing office, retail, and entertainment projects to the area.

Corridors have stucco walls.

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura conceived the hotel as three components. The two with silvered glass curtain walls, reflecting the sea and the sky, are the "sail" building—which houses 476 rooms and 70 suites in addition to the W's usual host of food and beverage venues, a Bliss spa, and a gym—and a cube containing more than 27,000 square feet of events space. The third volume is a low-slung lobby atrium.

Set on a 25-acre site, the hotel comprises a 26-story main building, a lobby atrium, and a conference center. A marble sculpture by Ricardo Bofill stands near the beach.

Given the sunny climate, the W Barcelona boasts a full quota of terrace lounges. Too sleepy and hungry to wait for the late-night dining hours of cafés on Las Ramblas nearby? Try ordering up room-service tapas and rioja. Enjoy them on the bed, set smack in the center of the room for the best sea view.

The deck is ipe.

Down on the way to the water, four marble columns are illuminated at night. This site-specific sculpture, a work by Bofill, proves his prowess in yet another medium.

Custom tables in this suite are oak. Carpet in the suites is wool.