Antiga Casa Buenavista

The Ronda de Sant Antoni is a borderland. On one side, you have the gentrifying, brunch-heavy streets of Sant Antoni; on the other, the beautiful, chaotic, and occasionally sharp-edged labyrinth of El Raval. Standing right on that fault line is Antiga Casa Buenavista, and it doesn’t just occupy the space—it owns the history of it. This isn't some glass-and-steel box dropped in by a multinational conglomerate. This place has been the Molleví family’s business since 1918, starting as a legendary restaurant where the city’s hungry souls came for honest Catalan cooking. Now, it’s a boutique hotel that manages to be both impossibly stylish and refreshingly grounded.

Walking in, you aren't hit with that sterile, lavender-scented hotel air. Instead, you get the sense of a building that has seen things. The renovation is a masterclass in keeping the soul while upgrading the skeleton. We’re talking about those iconic Catalan hydraulic floor tiles—the kind that look like a kaleidoscope frozen in clay—paired with high ceilings and large windows that invite the city’s frantic energy inside, only to be silenced by some seriously impressive soundproofing. It’s the kind of design that feels curated rather than decorated. It’s comfortable, sure, but it’s also got an edge.

The rooms are where the 'Antiga' meets the 'Modern.' You’ve got mid-century furniture that doesn't feel like a catalog cliché and balconies that let you hover over the Ronda like a gargoyle, watching the skaters, the commuters, and the late-night revelers drift by. If you’re the type who needs to get work done—and God help you if you are—the desks here are actually functional, not just an afterthought tucked behind a wardrobe. But you aren't here to work. You’re here to be in Barcelona.

Let’s talk about the roof. It’s not a massive, sprawling deck where you’ll find a thousand influencers fighting for a selfie. It’s intimate. The pool is more of a plunge—a place to wash off the Raval’s humidity with a drink in your hand while looking out over the terracotta rooftops and the distant spires of the cathedral. It’s a moment of quiet in a neighborhood that never shuts up.

And then there’s the food. They kept the name of the original restaurant, and they kept the spirit, too. This isn't 'hotel food' designed to offend the fewest number of palates. It’s a nod to the family’s roots, serving up dishes that actually taste like the region. You can get a proper breakfast here that isn't just a sad croissant and a lukewarm buffet. It’s a reminder that before this was a place to sleep, it was a place to eat, and in Barcelona, that distinction matters.

Is it perfect? If you want the hermetically sealed silence of a luxury compound in the hills, no. You will hear the city. You will step out the front door and immediately be confronted by the reality of a working, breathing, sometimes messy metropolis. The Raval is right there, with all its graffiti, its noise, and its unapologetic character. But that’s the point. Antiga Casa Buenavista is for the traveler who wants to feel the pulse of the city against their ribs, then retreat to a room that feels like a well-earned reward. It’s a piece of Barcelona’s past that has found a very stylish way to live in the present. If you can’t appreciate that, you’re probably in the wrong city.