Recommend November 2011 - (Page 46)

BARCELONA will leave you beaming The fabulously chic rooftop terrace at the Hotel Claris. ■ And while strolling anywhere and everywhere, visitors should not be afraid to look up and around at the beautiful buildings lining the streets—the balconies, and in some cases their delicate and intricate ironwork, in this city are just magnificent, and the myriad styles of architecture are astounding. sleep on it One of our favorite places to call home here is the Hotel Claris, a 19th century palace that’s a beautiful accommodations option located steps away from Passeig de Gracia. Part of the Derby Hotels Collection as well as the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection, this 120room property is so comfortable and enchanting, it’s difficult to leave its embrace. Once you’ve entered its inviting lobby, you know you’ve entered a special place, where the service is top-notch, the decor exquisite and the rooms, cocoon-like. Adding to the allure is the property’s treasure trove of archaeological and antique pieces. The hotel, in fact, is home to over 400 pieces primarily composed of Egyptian pieces but also containing English furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries, Turkish kilims from the 19th century, Roman sculptures and mosaics from the second and third centuries, original engravings commissioned by Napoleon in 1812 and Indian and Burmese sculptures from the fifth to 13th centuries. Even the rooms—including a number of suites—are decorated with original pieces of Roman, Egyptian and Hindu art and since each accommodation is uniquely designed, guests will always be in for a delightful surprise—perhaps fine wood paneling, gold leaf tones, a metal hardboard. But whatever the decor, elegance reigns throughout. The building itself, too, is a showpiece, blending the old and the new in a whimsical manner, with corridors winding around a patio that cuts through the building from top to bottom, and housing two panoramic elevators that lead up to the terrace. On the ground floor, the patio forms a large interior garden made up by a pond with two waterfalls and an area with white marble stones in the style of a Japanese garden. But it’s the rooftop terrace that’s really this property’s most fabulous centerpiece. It’s easy to let the evening slip away here, delighting in the culinary creations cooked up at the onsite East 47 Tapas Bar, having a recommend.com we just can’t live without… To visit Barcelona and not visit at least one of its Gaudi masterpieces is a true sin. This architect’s visionary creations are everywhere, but perhaps two of the most iconic are Parc Guell and La Sagrada Familia, a basilica that has yet to be completed and to which Gaudi devoted the last 40 years of his life. If your clients opt to visit the basilica, tell them to pack lots of patience as the lines to enter can swirl around the block. Menahem stresses visitors “will want to see Gaudi’s Barcelona—the tour we offer in the Barcelona city package. Additionally, if clients are interested in art or music, we will suggest they visit the Miro foundation and its collection of contemporary art; the Barbier-Mueller Museuem of Pre-Columbian Art—the only museum in Europe devoted to Pre-Columbian Art; and the Palau de la Musica Catalana is a Barcelona landmark and one can tour the hall if there are no concerts performing.” Located in the Gothic Quarter, the Palau is a dazzling and colorful concert hall that offers some of the city’s most coveted musical entertainment and one of the monuments that best represents Catalan modernism. And when it comes to art museums, well the one not to be missed is the Museu Picasso, also in the Gothic Quarter. Here, clients will view key works that mark the various early times when Picasso was most intensely involved with the city of Barcelona. One of the museum’s most exquisite rooms is the one dedicated to Picasso’s reinterpretation and recreation of Velazquez’s “Las Meninas.” 46 november 2011 http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2011

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: RockResorts
Tour Talk: International Expeditions
River Cruise Product Expands Even More for 2012
Hot (or Cool) Toronto is Staid No More
Timeless Boston
South Africa Always Steals the Limelight
BVI: Beauty on the Water
Private Islands Sizzle
Barcelona Will Leave You Beaming
Unspoiled Myanmar is Open for Business
The Lowdown on South America's Capital Highs
Riviera Nayarit in the Pink
The Three Faces of Baja Sur

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