ABaC H&R Barcelona Monument

We recommend the ABaC to gourmet couples who place the table at the centre of the stay, and accept being out of the way for it. It’s an address for the over-forties and up, wedding anniversaries, gastronomic weekends, travellers who have already done the rounds of the Passeig de Gràcia palaces. Families with young children will find the atmosphere too hushed, the place calls rather for calm and tasting.

The hotel occupies a Catalan Modernist villa from the early 20th century, renovated in 2015 with a contemporary extension by Taller de Arquitectura. White façade with clean lines, large picture windows onto the Mediterranean garden. Minimalist design interiors: grey terrazzo floors, bespoke light oak furniture, indirect lighting. Fifteen rooms spread over two floors, from 35 to 65 m², all different but in the same sober chromatic palette.

The restaurant ABaC justifies the trip on its own: three Michelin stars since 2017, Jordi Cruz offers technical Catalan cuisine in tasting menus (from 185 to 265 €). Contemporary room for forty covers, garden view, service orchestrated to the millimetre. Breakfast served in room or in the adjoining salon, short but refined menu. No proper bar, but a salon with visible cellar where one can have a drink before or after table.

The ABaC stands on avenue Tibidabo, on the northern heights of Barcelona, midway between Sarrià and the Tibidabo funicular. Upscale residential neighbourhood, very calm, green, fifteen minutes by car from the centre (Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla). No nearby metro, rely on taxi or hotel shuttle. El Prat airport thirty minutes off-peak. The neighbourhood is ideal for escaping tourist bustle, less so for those wanting to do everything on foot.