Sotto Voce Barcelona, Spain

We had one night at the Hotel Porta Fira, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, not far from the El Prat Airport and we looked up their restaurant menu online we knew it wasn't for us, so we looked for an alternative at the nearby shopping mall Gran Via 2. 

We liked Sottovoce, an Italian restaurant.

It is located on the ground level of the food court and has outdoor seating.

The interior was understated in black and white.

We could choose to sit anywhere we wanted to and decided to use the terrace. The staff was efficient and friendly.

We ordered a large bottle of still water, two glasses of the red house wine, ravioli with romanseco sauce and shrimps, Pizza Sottovoce, Pana Cotta and Crème Catalan. The pasta was good, but having tried his pizza, I know what is better, so next time around I'm also going to have a pizza.

The Pana Cotta and Crème Catalan looked similar, the taste and consistency was different, though. It was delicious and the highlight for me.

When we arrived the restaurant was nearly empty, by the time we left it was full.

We paid a bit under 50 Euro (ca. 67.50 USD).

We enjoyed the atmosphere and the food, so we are going to return hopefully soon for another dinner.

©2013

Hotel Porta Fira

When we planned our European tour we tried to find a way from Santiago de Compostela to Florence. There were no direct flights, and with a connection it would have meant we would arrive very late in Florence.

We didn't want to arrive close to midnight in a city we've never been before. We decided to break up the flights. We bought a Vueling ticket to Barcelona and another one for the following day from Barcelona to Florence.

That meant we needed a hotel for our roughly 19 hours in Barcelona. After a long discussion we thought we had found the right hotel with the Renaissance. It is located in Hospitalet de Llobregat, a suburb, between the airport and Barcelona.

Shortly before booking we decided to have a closer look again. We spied the Hotel Porta Fira, belonging to Hoteles Santos of Spain and after that it was a done deal. We believed it was more interesting and better suitable for us.

The location is similar to the Renaissance - in fact our room faced it, from accross the road.

The Porta Fira hotel's architect was Toyo Ito. The building is covered in red tubes and shaped like a lotus flower. It won in 2010 best skyscraper in the world by Emporis.

From the airport we took the bus 46 to Amadeu Torner - tickets were 2 Euro (ca. 2.70 USD) per person one way.

The Hotel Porta Fira is around 50 to 100 m from the stop.

We admired the building before checking in. It looked really great. The lobby was large. Check in was only staffed with one person.

Our check in was fast, professional and efficient. Since there was only one member of staff, she was very busy and was asked even while we were dealing with the formalities for maps.

To the left of the reception were the bar and restaurant and the elevators, to the right meeting rooms.

We had booked a Privilege Room including breakfast. It was located on the higher floors and offered stunning views. The facade tubes were cut, so that they were undisturbed.

The color scheme was black, white and red.

There was a king sized bed with a bench in front, a stylish writing desk and chair - it wasn't comfortable -, a sofa that looked uncomfortable, but was the whole opposite, large storage space, wooden floors and a white carpet.

The TV offered a wide choice of international channels, including Arirang South Korea and Bloomberg. The mini bar was well stocked with the usual items and priced according to staying in Barcelona.

The bathroom concept was unusual. The double sinks were placed in the bed room, while there was a separate one for the toilet and bidet and another one for the bathroom.

The bathroom was a typical Japanese wet shower.

The amenities were Porta Fira own branded, there was also a comb provided.

There is also 24 hour room service available.

We already knew that the restaurant was unsuitable for our needs, so we went to Gran Via 2, a shopping center just ten minutes walk away and had dinner at Sottovoce and it was very good.

The next morning we had breakfast at the restaurant. The facade tubes continued inside. The buffet offered everything including melon juice, cold cuts, bread, cheese, salad, hot items and much more. The quality was good and we enjoyed it very much.

After breakfast it was already time for check out.

We were sad to leave, because the stay was too short.

Check out was quick. The only cost incurred was the city tax of 1.98 Euro (ca. 2.65 USD).

Of course we are going to return, but would like to stay longer and test the bar.

©2013