Vasanta powered by Sonder

Barcelona’s Eixample is a grand, geometric dream of 19th-century urban planning, and Carrer de Casp is one of its quieter, more dignified arteries. Here, behind a cheerful yellow facade on one of those iconic octagonal blocks, sits Vasanta. It’s a hotel, sure, but it’s a Sonder, which means it’s a different kind of beast. It’s hospitality for the digital age—a 'ghost hotel' where the friction of the traditional front desk has been sanded down and replaced by a smartphone app. If you’re looking for a concierge to bow and scrape or a bellhop to hover for a tip, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want the bones of old Barcelona with the efficiency of a Silicon Valley startup, you’ve arrived.

The arrival is the first clue. You don’t walk into a bustling lobby filled with tourists clutching maps. You walk into a space that feels more like a private residence or a high-end coworking lounge. You check in on your phone, get your digital key, and bypass the human element entirely. For some, this is a cold, sterile nightmare; for others, it’s the ultimate luxury—the luxury of being left alone. The staff is there if you need them, lurking in the digital ether or available during business hours, but the experience is designed to be autonomous. It’s you, your phone, and the city.

Inside the rooms, the building’s history speaks louder than the tech. This is where Vasanta wins. You’ve got the high ceilings that make you feel like you can actually breathe, and the tall windows that flood the space with that specific, golden Mediterranean light. Many rooms feature the original hydraulic floor tiles—those intricate, colorful patterns that are the soul of Catalan Modernista design. The furniture is minimalist, clean, and functional—think IKEA but with a much better budget and a sense of place. Whether you’re in a Guest Room with a balcony overlooking the street or a Superior Room with a terrace, the vibe is 'stylish apartment' rather than 'generic hotel room.'

There is no traditional breakfast buffet here—no lukewarm eggs or sad bacon under heat lamps. Instead, you get the basics done right: good coffee and fresh pastries in the lounge to kickstart your heart before you hit the pavement. And you will hit the pavement. You are a five-minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya, the chaotic, pigeon-swarmed heart of the city, and even closer to the Urquinaona metro station. You’re perfectly positioned between the upscale boutiques of Passeig de Gràcia and the winding, narrow alleys of the Gothic Quarter.

Is it perfect? No. The app-based check-in can be a headache if your battery is dying or your roaming data is acting up. The walls of these 19th-century buildings weren't exactly designed for soundproofing, so you might hear the occasional echo of a neighbor’s suitcase or the city’s morning rhythm. But that’s the trade-off. You’re staying in a real piece of the city’s fabric, not a hermetically sealed box on the outskirts. Vasanta is for the traveler who knows how to navigate a city on their own terms, who values a good aesthetic and a great location over the performative fluff of traditional hotels. It’s honest, it’s efficient, and it’s got just enough of the old world left to remind you exactly where you are.