Читать книгу 101 Romantic Weekends in Europe - Sarah Woods - Страница 12

CONTACT Hotel Omm Tel: +34 934 454 000 Fax: +34 934 454 004 www.hotelomm.es

Catalonia Tourist Office

Email: turistex@correu.gencat.es Tel: +34 93 484 97 55 Fax: +34 93 484 98 20 www.gencat.net

Sharing a few intimate moments of peaceful ‘togetherness’ amidst Barcelona’s urban melee requires calculated planning. Noise permeates every stratum in a glorious metropolitan chorus of roaring traffic and blaring horns. Seductive and inviting, Barcelona’s buzzing vibe lures you in before delivering a mind-blowing sensory assault. Streetwise and stylish, it mixes contemporary architecture with wild imagination, adding tradition, style, neon-lit nightlife and primary hues to the blend. Bag-laden shoppers vie for curb space with street jugglers and vendors. Zen-inspired Hotel Omm offers a chance to flee the chaos of Gaudi and Gucci, offering a sanctuary of peacefulness where stepping into the ultra-chic lobby is to enter a meditative state.

Designed by architect Juli Capella to offer sleek and ambient city space, the Hotel Omm attracts a cool clientele who are hell-bent on chilling out. High above Barcelona’s madding crowds in trendy Paseo de Gracia, a funky rooftop pool provides awesome views. Its Michelin-starred restaurant Moo and hip bar Moodern may be permanently full but this shouldn’t put you off. Style is paramount at Hotel Omm where a clever jigsaw design pays homage to clutter-and-noise-free innovation. Even the rowdiest fashion-forward crowd is barely audible, such are the acoustics. Vast swathes of natural light flood the building, circumnavigating snug enclaves illuminated by mellow lamp glow. Muted earth tones are beautifully contrasted with lacquered crimson detail in a quirky twist on minimalist Asian chic.

In the sweet-smelling Spaciomm Spa, all stresses and strains are banished as you are swaddled in super-soft kimonos and serenaded by tumbling waterfall cascades close to to Jacuzzis, pools, Turkish baths, a steam room, sauna, ice fountain and gravity room. Perfect-pitch wind chimes are suitably soporific and have helped to sooth the furrowed brows of an A-list jet-set crowd that includes Natalie Portman, Joan Branson and numerous faces from Barcelona’s arts elite. An à la carte menu of therapies reads like an upscale Manhattan cocktail bar. As befitting an Asian-styled spa, several treatments centre on ancient Eastern health philosophies such as shiatsu and Ayurvedic massage. Keen to simply lounge around? Then cosy up in the Spaciomm’s stylish relaxation area where reclined steel Jacuzzi chairs offer the decadence of sleepy peacefulness close to a fizzing Champagne fountain.

Cuddle up by a very modern fireside in the Hotel Omm.