Casa Bonay: ten years of feeling at home
Casa Bonay turns ten. We look back at the story of this Eixample hotel, where we regularly stay when visiting Barcelona, and the developments accompanying its anniversary.
Some places we recommend with particular affection. Casa Bonay is one of them. Those who follow us will know that we stay here almost every time we visit Barcelona. We have watched the project grow, enjoyed its spaces and found something we value greatly when travelling: feeling at ease from the moment we arrive.
This year marks its tenth anniversary, and we are delighted to celebrate it. For the experiences we have had here, for the people who bring it to life and because it remains one of our favourite places in Barcelona.
The anniversary also brings a celebration of food and music on 29 October, an updated visual identity and plans to take its approach to hospitality to other destinations.
Barcelona, from Casa Bonay
Our relationship with Barcelona encompasses many places, memories and people. Over successive stays, Casa Bonay has become part of that personal map, until choosing it has become almost automatic whenever we return to our city.
We like its design, the atmosphere in its communal spaces and the opportunity to experience the city within the hotel itself. We also appreciate the familiarity that develops gradually: knowing a place well enough to enjoy its changes while still recognising what drew us to it.
Staying somewhere repeatedly allows you to see how it works beyond a first impression. The novelty gives way to other considerations: how the spaces are maintained, what new ideas are introduced and how the atmosphere evolves. In our case, the desire to return has remained. And after so many years, that is worth writing about.
A decade in the Dreta de l’Eixample
Casa Bonay opened in 2016 in a neoclassical building dating from 1869, at 700 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes.
From this corner of the Dreta de l’Eixample, it developed a project in which food, craftsmanship and collaboration with the local community played an important role from the outset.
The building provided the architecture and history. The team and its collaborators shaped what would happen inside: over the past decade, chefs, artists, designers and craftspeople have contributed to a project that brings different sensibilities together and gives them room to coexist.
That connection with its surroundings accounts for much of its character. Casa Bonay offers visitors a way into Barcelona, while locals find reasons to come without booking a room. A meal, a drink, music, a gathering: the hotel is part of the city’s social life.
This is how it has established a place in the neighbourhood and in the routines of those who frequent it. Its programme and collaborations keep that exchange going, with a community that extends well beyond its overnight guests.
Rooms with Barcelona character
In Casa Bonay’s rooms, the building’s history sits alongside contemporary design. Restored encaustic floor tiles and original features are paired with pieces by local designers, preserving the connection with Barcelona that runs throughout the project. Rooms come in a range of categories and sizes, including options with terraces for those who would like their own outdoor space.
The everyday details matter too: toiletries by Malin+Goetz, a minibar stocked with treats from local producers and a yoga mat for guests to use. A thoughtful approach to the stay that extends beyond aesthetics.
From room to restaurant, bar to rooftop
One of the things we most enjoy about Casa Bonay is the life beyond its rooms. Its spaces each have their own personality, offering different reasons to drop by, from the first coffee of the morning to dinner or a final drink.
The day might begin at TosTao, its speciality coffee shop, which serves coffee from local roasters Nomad alongside bread and cakes made in-house by Japanese pastry chef Natsumi. A combination worth keeping in mind whether you are staying at the hotel or simply passing through the neighbourhood.
When it is time to sit down to eat, Bodega Bonay offers Italian-inspired cooking built around local produce, with handmade pasta and an emphasis on vegetables and salads. Its wine list, featuring more than 250 wines, provides another good reason to book a table and linger after the meal.
On the ground floor, Libertine is at the heart of the hotel’s social life. Both lounge and cocktail bar, it shifts pace throughout the day, offering somewhere to meet, have a bite or make a night of it. The menu brings together natural wines, dishes from Bodega Bonay and signature cocktails developed by Eric Stephenson. It is one of those spaces that helps explain why the hotel’s relationship with the city extends well beyond its overnight guests.
Upstairs, Chiringuito takes the gathering to the rooftop. Open seasonally from April to October, it serves Turkish-inspired food, with meze to share, grilled meats, vegetables and breads. A change of scene for dining outdoors and enjoying a different perspective on Barcelona.
Termas Bonay: a pause in the city
Termas Bonay Wellness deserves a mention of its own. This outdoor space brings together a dry sauna, hammam, ice bath and Japanese ofuro, surrounded by greenery. Andreu Carulla and landscape designer Fernando Martos collaborated on its design, bringing wellness, design and planting together.
The circuit’s 50-minute sessions are designed for small groups of up to six people, with the option to book the space exclusively. Two treatment rooms for massages and facials complete the experience. An opportunity to build a pause into your stay and enjoy the hotel at a different pace.
A place to gather and keep discovering Barcelona
This variety of spaces also allows for private gatherings.
Nica is part of that offering, with space for audiovisual presentations, while Bodega Bonay, Libertine and Chiringuito can accommodate different kinds of meetings and celebrations. The choice of settings opens up further ways to experience the hotel.
And there is another connection with Casa Bonay that we are particularly happy to share: its shop stocks the fifth edition of The Unusual Barcelona, our publication dedicated to the city. An invitation to keep discovering its places, people and creativity beyond the hotel’s doors.
A celebration to remember
On Thursday 29 October, from 6 pm to 3 am, Casa Bonay will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a programme of food and music across different areas of the hotel. Taking part will be chefs and DJs who have collaborated with the project over the past ten years.
Food will be one of the main attractions.
The line-up brings together Max and Stefano Colombo, associated with Bar Brutal, Brutal Bazar and Xemei; Rafa Peña, of Gresca and Provisiones; Maria Solivellas, of Ca na Toneta and Celler Tonet; and Estanislao Carenzo, of Bar Rey Sancho. They will be joined by Casa Bonay’s chef, Giacomo Hassan, alongside friends.
Each food offering will have its own spot, inviting visitors to explore the hotel and discover what is cooking in each space. With these names involved, there will be good reason to arrive hungry and make time for the culinary side of the programme.
The gathering is particularly fitting for this anniversary. Cooking, sitting down to eat and sharing have played an important part in Casa Bonay’s history. To mark the decade, the hotel is bringing together people who have helped shape its character.
Music will come from Whisper Not and a selection of resident DJs who have played at Casa Bonay over the years. The celebration will have something of a reunion about it behind the decks, too.
Admission to the event will be free. A good opportunity to discover the hotel if you have yet to visit, or to celebrate everything that has happened here since 2016.
A new look and forthcoming renovations
The tenth anniversary also brings some changes. This October, Casa Bonay has announced an updated visual identity and a new website designed by Omar Sosa Studio. Room renovations will follow as part of a renewal programme continuing over the coming months.
For those of us who stay here regularly, this will be an opportunity to rediscover the hotel. We are curious to see how these changes take shape within its spaces and how a place whose character we know well continues to evolve.
The celebrations have, in fact, been under way for months. Since April, the Thank You programme has offered monthly prize draws for overnight stays, coffees, dinners and other experiences. A thank-you to those who have been part of these ten years, and a way to extend the anniversary throughout the year.
From Barcelona to Palma, with Madrid and Cadaqués on the horizon
The team behind Casa Bonay is also behind Portella, in Palma de Mallorca’s historic centre. They tell us that further openings are planned in Madrid and Cadaqués over the next two years.
Meanwhile, we are celebrating the place where it all began. Ten years on, Casa Bonay remains our home in Barcelona and a place we recommend from the experience of having chosen it time and again.
Congratulations to the whole team and everyone who has contributed to these first ten years. We are glad to have shared them with you!
(*) Photographs supplied by Casa Bonay.
