Exe Plaza Catalunya

Let’s be honest about why you’re looking at a map of Ronda de la Universitat. You aren’t looking for a silent monastery or a rustic retreat in the hills of Montjuïc. You want to be in the thick of it. You want to be at the exact point where the city’s veins converge, where the Aerobús from El Prat dumps its cargo of weary travelers, and where the Metro lines tangle like a plate of black ink pasta. That is what Exe Plaza Catalunya offers: a front-row seat to the beautiful, relentless theater of Barcelona.

The building itself is a classic piece of Eixample architecture—stately, imposing, and possessing that particular Catalan gravity. When you walk in, you’re leaving behind the cacophony of the street for something surprisingly composed. It’s an Exe hotel, which means it’s part of a larger machine, but it hasn’t lost its soul to corporate blandness. The high ceilings and the scale of the original structure give it a sense of place that a modern glass box simply can’t replicate.

Let’s talk about the rooms, specifically the ones with the windows. In many city hotels, a window is just a glass pane looking at a brick wall or a ventilation shaft. Here, the windows are the main event. They are massive, floor-to-ceiling portals that let in that sharp, Mediterranean light that has inspired every painter from Dalí to Miró. You stand there, coffee in hand, watching the city wake up—the delivery trucks rattling over the paving stones, the first wave of commuters disappearing into the Metro, the pigeons claiming their territory on the plaza. It’s a protein rush for the senses before you’ve even put on your shoes.

The interior design is clean, functional, and unapologetically modern. It doesn’t try to compete with the history outside; it provides a neutral, comfortable base of operations. The beds are designed for the kind of deep, dreamless sleep you need after walking twelve miles through the Barri Gòtic and drinking too much Priorat. It’s not 'boutique' in the sense that there’s a DJ in the lobby or artisanal beard oil in the minibar, and frankly, that’s a relief. It’s a hotel that knows its job: provide a quiet, cool, and efficient sanctuary in the most frantic part of town.

The location is the real currency here. You are steps away from Plaça de Catalunya, the sun around which the rest of the city orbits. To your north, the grid-like elegance of Eixample and the high-end boutiques of Passeig de Gràcia. To your south, the labyrinthine alleys of the Gothic Quarter and the Raval. You can walk to the Boqueria market in ten minutes, fight the crowds for a cone of jamón, and be back in your room before the grease has even cooled on your fingers.

Is it perfect? No. If you’re a light sleeper, the hum of the city might find its way through the double glazing, and the breakfast room can feel a bit like a transit lounge during peak hours. But if you value your time, and if you want to feel the pulse of Barcelona vibrating under your feet, this is where you plant your flag. It’s honest, it’s central, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a damn good place to stay while you’re busy devouring the city. You aren't here to hide; you're here to engage. And from this corner of the Ronda, the entire city is within your grasp.