After hours of walking Barcelona with a friend we found ourselves thirsty and hungry. I asked if there were any nice hotels in the vicinity (he wasn't yet aware of my hotel habit). He named a few but with every one of his suggestions my response was "nicer". And then he said, "How about the Mandarin Oriental?" Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner!
I approached the concierge and asked directions to the lobby bar. She said it wasn't yet open but that perhaps we'd consider Terrat, their rooftop destination. Well yeah! I'm all in for exploring a new destination! She graciously accompanied us to the elevator and rode up with us. My first thought was that she took one look at us and was afraid to let us wander alone...I was in my usual "uniform" of jeans and my t-shirt had a skull on it...it was Vivienne Westwood but she would have no way of knowing that. I was soon pleasantly surprised when she walked us onto the rooftop terrace and introduced us to the maitre d as "not guests but friends of the hotel." My friend was now beginning to understand that there really was a method to my madness of "nicer."
He and I hadn't seen each other since he moved to Barcelona the year before so we had a lot of catching up to do. I explained that to our waiter who was more than accommodating and in for the "long haul". Good! Cuz we were gonna be a while.
Drinks! Drinks were important and our first order of business. There is a very impressive cocktail menu here. "Plymouth's Garden" looked intriguing as did one called "It's Jack", and even the non alcoholic "The Flight of the Fenix" was tempting but I do have my "habits". So, it was decided, a Grey Goose Cosmopolitan and for him, a Negroni. Both arrived, pretty as a picture, and we settled in and took a look around. This place was awesome! The plunge pool looked incredibly inviting but we had much more important things to consider...like this unbelievable view! It was mid afternoon and Barcelona spread out in front of us in every direction. Simply beautiful is really the only adequate description and really...enough said.
Now to the menu. Peruvian cuisine by world acclaimed Chef Gaston Acurio. Didn't know who he was. I do now! Initially, I panicked. I'm not a seafood eater and there didn't appear to by any non fishy options...but then there, under the heading "sanguchitos" I found my pick...Bao Anticuchero...beef burgers with anticuchero sauce. Woo hoo! They were amazing!
Service and presentation were impeccable and trust me, we spent hours catching up. We laughed, we cried, we laughed some more and all the while the waiter was incredibly gracious, attentive and quick with refills.
We finally decided it was time to bid our farewells. I had spotted a Tiffany adjacent to the lobby and I thought a pit stop would be a really good idea (wink). I didn't buy anything but the sales girl was instrumental in finding me the piece I wanted and calling ahead to my next city where I found it waiting for me. Barcelona was incredibly accommodation and the Mandarin Oriental was the prefect respite.
Please leave a comment about your love of travel, your own travel experiences or your favorite boutique hotel (or any hotel, really)...I'd love to hear from you.
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