The whitest party: Sensation Barcelona

After a spectacular world premiere with an audience of 40,000 in Amsterdam in July, the new edition is going to fill the Palau Sant Jordi with people dressed in white and ready to dance to this new festival concept.

On the 8th of October 2011, Sensation will make its return to Barcelona. The venue, Palau Sant Jordi, will be transformed into Innerspace, making it the second city to host Sensation’s latest theme after the premiere in the Amsterdam Arena.

Sensation started in Amsterdam in the year 2000. Since then, over 1,5 million visitors in seventeen countries have experienced what is arguably the world’s most spectacular dance and music phenomenon. Each year, Sensation tours the globe with a completely new show. Consistently taking the acclaimed theme ‘be part of the night, dress in white’ to new heights, Sensation’s aim is to bring a positive message to a growing global audience.

Barcelona will be dressing up in white with Sensation Innerspace, a new, exclusive event dedicated to dance music. Wally López, Sharam, Fedde Le Grand and Mr White are just some of the artists who will be bringing Barcelona the very best in electronic music at the moment. Máxima FM, the media partner for Sensation Barcelona, will broadcast the event.

Allocation near Palau Sant Jordi can be found at B-Hotel and Hotel Barcelona Universal.

Hotel Jazz: Great rooms, great pool, great price

This is our second time spending a week in Barcelona at the Hotel Jazz. For the price it’s unbeatable. Comfortable rooms with contemporary Spanish design. Great rooftop pool – not huge, but not a puddle like at some other design hotels like Cram. The rooftop pool has enough comfortable loungers, enough nice fluffy towels, and a nice little bar.

Very helpful and friendly desk staff. Great central location right in between the main square (Plaza de Catalunya, direct bus to airport, Corte Ingles department store) and the Eixample/Gracia shopping, restaurant and nightlife area.

Experience posted by brianscottgross, August 2011.

Barcelona Fashion Showcase

The city’s main fashion events coincide once again. The Brandery fashion show, which takes place from 13 to 15 July, features an area open to the general public among its new features. The 080 Barcelona Fashion catwalk, from 12 to 15 July, is being held at historical site of the Barcelona University, while the ModaFad parade and market will be on from 14 to 15 July.

While The Brandery, an urban fashion fair designed to show off the latest trends from the big brands, is organising a competition for new talent, the 080 Barcelona Fashion catwalk, an indie fashion platform, is letting in big names.

The Brandery is the new hotspot of urban fashion, a hub of trends, design, music, creativity and business. Exhibitions, catwalk shows, live music… all under the same roof which, for the first time this year, will have a new sector open to the general public: The Brandtown Fashion Xperience, which will coexist with the traditional The Brandery trade show.Such apparent contradictions share the same spirit, that of putting Barcelona on the fashion map, publicising successful businesses and introducing up-and-coming designers.

Creativity and innovation are the concepts that inspire 080 Barcelona Fashion, an initiative driven by the Catalan Government, as an open, plural multidisciplinary, international fashion platform.

This July at least sees these two events coinciding with the ModaFad events and activities once again to provide a highly unique fashion week. And B-Hotel features Fitting Room, an event where design, fashion and arts come together.

The ModaFAD activity consists of the international showing of emerging fashion designers to boost the interdisciplinary, drive the concept of the designer and promoted, and encourage the relationship between the design schools, the young designers, the specialized modes of communication, and the industry.

Detailed information can be found on each event website:

• The Brandery
• 080 Barcelona Fashion
• ModaFAD
• Fitting Room at B-Hotel

Hotel Barcelona Universal: Sehr empfehlenswert

Das Hotel Barcelona Universal hat unsere Erwartungen voll erfüllt. Zimmer, Frühstück, Service ob an der Rezeption oder an der Dachterassenbar, alles in unserem Sinne gut. Das Zimmer 218 hatte sogar noch eine große Terasse, so dass vor dem Zubettgehen dort noch ein Bier genommen werden konnte. Wir würden bei einem Aufenthalt in Barcelona erneut dieses Hotel buchen. Sehr empfehlenswert.

Experience posted by Schöenenberg, July 2011.

SonarKids: Creative Music & Experiences for children

After the success of the last two events, the 3rd SonarKids on Sunday 19 June isthe ideal finishing touch to Sónar 2011 to enjoy with all the family. SonarKids has a great deal of activities and creative experiences designed for parents and children to have fun and learn about different artistic disciplines by playing in a new and original way.

SonarKids presents a musical line-up fulll of top drawer shows, with performances by the Portuguese group Buraka Som Sistema, the renowned British dj and BBC Radio 1 presenter Gilles Peterson, the kiddie pop group Papa Topo, the indie pop group Polock, the stories sung by Barbara i Els Morenos, DJ Amarelo and the wizardry on the decks of the Pioneer Dj Kids.

The fun characters of Pintatelotu are the stars of the new SonarKids image. Pintatelotu offers children the opportunity to have fun and learn while they are playing and colouring in their gallery of characters. Are they monsters? aliens? animals?

More inf@: SonarKids website

Frederic Marès Museum reopens

The Museu Frederic Marès is a unique collecting museum that preserves the collections assembled by its founder, sculptor Frederic Marès (1893-1991) in a part of the old Royal Palace of the Counts of Barcelona in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. Its original Verger or courtyard garden, still remains intact.

Throughout his lifetime he amassed an extensive Hispanic sculpture collection, as well as tens of thousands of objects that make up a vast collection of collections that documents past lifestyles and customs, mainly from the 19th century. There you can find amusing, unique items like fans, pipes, clocks, jewellery, photographs, toys, keys, pharmacy bottles and reliquaries, all presented in an intimate atmosphere.

The Verger of the Royal Palace is a courtyard filled with orange trees surrounded by arched galleries, a pleasant spot in fine weather; and its open from April to September, both for museum visitors and promenaders.

Frederic Marès i Deulovol (Portbou, 1893 – Barcelona, 1991) came to Barcelona with his family in 1903, when he was ten years old. He immediately started attending classes at the School of Fine Arts, La Llotja, where he received training as a sculptor, and where he would later work as a teacher until 1964.

However, in addition to being a sculptor, Marès also felt a passion for collecting from a tender age. He discovered the world of antiquarians and auctions in Paris back in 1911 and purchased his first collections. He gradually expanded them and gathered them in his sculpture workshop and at his home until in 1944 the Association of Friends of Catalan Museums held an exhibition with a selection from his collection at the City History Archive, and he publicly expressed his determination to donate his collection to the city.

More inf@: Museu Frederic Marès.

Shopping Night Barcelona

Passeig de Gràcia, the most glamourous and famous boulevard in Barcelona, will live a very special night on December 2nd. Our Hotel 1898 in Las Ramblas, the historical Hotel Granvía, and the recently refurbished Hotel Europark, are your best options to stay.

The Shopping Night Barcelona is an exclusive experience of shopping and night lifestyle in Passeig de Gràcia. Stores open their doors after hours –from 8 pm to 12 am– offering you a unique experience in one of the most specials sites in Barcelona. It’s a party where you can enjoy the shopping and the glamour.

International brands such as G-Star, Loewe, Lacoste or Yves Saint-Laurent are part of the collaborators, as well as Levi’s, Nike, Swarovski or Mango, just to name a few.

Besides shopping, many other activities will welcome you at Passeig de Gràcia, featuring fashion show-rooms, gastronomy experiences, art exhibitions and music. Designers Custo Barcelona and Xavier Mariscal will be active participants.

You can find related information at The Shopping Night website.

The hotel is just perfect!

we were last week-end in hotel soho for 2 nights. the hotel is just perfect! the price is good, the room (we had a terrasse room) is very nice, the lounge and pool on the roof are great, not too far from plaza catalunya, the staff is friendly…what else?
for our next stay in barcelona it will only one hotel: soho!

Julien, November 2010.

B-Hotel Barcellona: Tutto perfetto

Abbiamo soggiornato al B-Hotel per una notte, il 10 ottobre 2010.

Tutto perfetto: lo stile, i colori, le luci. Camere praticamente insonorizzate pur essendo ubicato lo stabile in Plaça de Espanya; colazione ottima, latte e caffè caldi, brioches, pane e affettato a volontà.

Gentilezza e disponibilità del personale… un tre stelle che potrebbe essere un *****!!!
Consiglierò ad amici e parenti il soggiorno in B-Hotel, senza dubbio. The best in Barcelona.

Experience posted by Simona, Oct. 2010.

Open House Barcelona: 48h of the best architecture

The first 48h Open House BCN, on 16th. and 17th. October, invites Barcelona residents to visit some 130 buildings throughout the city which are noted for their architecture and interior design. The initiative, which has been a success in London and New York, offers a unique opportunity to see inside houses, offices, hotels and mansions.

48h Open House BCN offers views ranging from the latest architecture in 22@ to Art-Noveau gems and 18th-century mansions. The intention is to hold it every year and include every type of building.

We also find variations in the way they are used. There are libraries, churches, restaurants, shops, flats, company headquarters etc., where you will be able to observe how architecture and interior design are adapted to the needs of each.

Visits to some buildings, like private residentials, will be restricted to small groups. Each building will have its own specific visiting hours, so we advise you to consult the 48h Open House BCN website.

Most of the buildings will have architects and other notable people, such as their current owners and users, who will be giving discussions and offering guided tours to explain the most characteristic and distinctive features of each one.

Furthermore, a bike tour round several buildings on the city’s seafront has been organised by the architect Pablo Pluvinet, on Saturday 16 October, and a photography competition aimed at everyone visiting any of the buildings involved in this festival of architecture.

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