chic&basic Reding Hotel

If you’re the kind of traveler who needs a chocolate on your pillow and a man in a top hat to open your car door, keep walking. chic&basic Reding Hotel isn’t for you. But if you view a hotel room as a tactical base of operations—a clean, sharp, well-located place to wash off the city’s grit before heading back out for more—then you’ve found your spot. Located on Carrer de Gravina, this place sits at the messy, beautiful intersection of everything that matters in Barcelona.

Arriving here is a lesson in efficiency. You’re a three-minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya, the massive, pigeon-swarmed heart of the city where the Aerobús dumps weary travelers every ten minutes. You step off the bus, drag your bag past the chaos of the El Corte Inglés department store, and duck into the relatively quiet side street of Gravina. The lobby doesn't try too hard. It’s got that signature chic&basic aesthetic: white walls, clever lighting, and a 'Help Yourself' area with coffee and water that feels more like a friend’s kitchen than a corporate hotel lounge. It’s a relief from the sensory overload of the Ramblas, which is just a few blocks away.

The rooms are an exercise in minimalism. We’re talking white-on-white with pops of color, functional furniture, and just enough space to live without feeling like you’re in a submarine. They are small—this is old Barcelona, after all—but they are smart. The beds are firm, the showers have actual water pressure, and the windows are thick enough to keep out the 2 AM arguments of the Raval. It’s clinical but cool, like a Scandinavian design lab that took a wrong turn and ended up in the Mediterranean. You won't find a mahogany desk or a mini-bar stocked with ten-euro cashews, and honestly, you shouldn't want them.

The real reason you stay here is the geography. You are perched on the edge of the Ciutat Vella, with the Raval breathing down your neck. Walk south and you’re in the labyrinth of the old city, where the smell of frying garlic and old stone hangs heavy in the air. Walk north and you’re in the Eixample, with its wide boulevards and high-end boutiques. It’s the best area to stay in Barcelona if you want to see both sides of the city’s personality: the polished and the profane. You can spend your morning looking at Gaudí’s masterpieces on Passeig de Gràcia and your midnight drinking cheap gin in a bar that hasn't been cleaned since the 1970s, all within a ten-minute radius of your bed.

Let’s be honest about the flaws. If you’re looking for a 'resort experience,' you’ll be disappointed. There is no rooftop pool to pose by, and the gym is more of a polite suggestion than a fitness center. The breakfast is decent, but you’re in a city with some of the best markets on the planet—go to La Boqueria and eat something that was swimming or growing yesterday instead. The service is friendly but hands-off; they’ll help you with a map or a taxi, but they aren't going to faff over you.

In a city that is increasingly being turned into a theme park for tourists, chic&basic Reding feels like an honest deal. It’s affordable, it’s stylish in an unfussy way, and it puts you exactly where you need to be. It’s for the traveler who spends their money on dinner at a hidden tapas joint rather than on a room they’re only going to see with their eyes closed. It’s a solid, no-bullshit choice in a neighborhood that can often feel like it’s trying too hard to sell you something.