Numa | Roca Rooms & Apartments

Barcelona’s Eixample is a masterpiece of urban planning or a repetitive nightmare, depending on how much gin you’ve had. It’s a grid of octagonal blocks, grand boulevards, and soaring 19th-century facades that make you feel small in the best way possible. Right in the thick of it, on Carrer de Girona, sits Numa Roca. It’s housed in one of those stately buildings that looks like it’s seen empires rise and fall, but inside, the vibe is decidedly more '1970s Milanese bachelor pad' than 'stuffy Spanish aristocrat.'

Let’s get the elephant out of the room: Numa is a tech-first operation. If you’re the kind of traveler who needs a man in a gold-braided hat to carry your bags and ask about your flight, you’re going to be disappointed. There is no reception desk. There is no concierge to lie to you about which tapas bar is 'authentic.' You get a digital code on your phone, you walk through the heavy front door, and you’re in. It’s efficient, it’s cold, and for the independent traveler who values their privacy over forced small talk, it’s a godsend. It’s the death of the lobby as a social performance, and frankly, I’m here for it.

The rooms—or 'apartments,' if you want to be fancy—are the main event. They’ve leaned hard into the retro aesthetic. Think deep velvets, dark wood, brass accents, and the kind of lighting that makes everyone look like they’re about to star in a noir film. The ceilings are high enough to accommodate your largest ego, and many rooms come with those iconic Eixample balconies. There is nothing quite like standing out there at 8:00 AM, watching the city shake off its hangover while the smell of toasted sandwiches and diesel exhaust drifts up from the street. It’s noisy, it’s alive, and it’s undeniably Barcelona.

Location-wise, you’re in the 'Dreta de l'Eixample.' It’s the more polished, slightly more grown-up sibling of the neighborhood. You’re a short walk from the architectural madness of Casa Batlló and the high-end shopping of Passeig de Gràcia, but Carrer de Girona itself feels like a neighborhood where people actually live. There are hardware stores next to specialty coffee shops, and old men drinking vermouth next to digital nomads clutching MacBooks. The Girona metro station is right there, ready to spit you out at the beach or the Gothic Quarter in minutes, but you’d be a fool not to walk. The walk down to the Arc de Triomf and the Parc de la Ciutadella is one of the best ways to burn off a heavy lunch.

Is it perfect? No. The digital-only service means if your phone dies or you’re tech-illiterate, you’re going to have a bad time. Some might find the lack of human presence eerie, like staying in a very well-decorated ghost ship. And because it’s an old building, you might hear the occasional rumble of the city or a neighbor’s conversation. But that’s the trade-off for staying in a place with actual soul.

If you want a sanitized, cookie-cutter hotel experience where every room looks like a corporate boardroom, go stay at a Hilton. But if you want a place that feels like a secret, a place that respects your intelligence and gives you a stylish base to explore one of the greatest cities on earth, Numa Roca is the play. It’s for the traveler who knows that the best part of any trip isn't the hotel—it's the city outside—but who still wants a damn fine place to collapse at the end of the night. It’s honest, it’s beautiful, and it’s exactly what Eixample needs right now.