W Hotel

Many locals were up in arms when this surreal sail-shaped glass edifice appeared on the end of the southern tip Sant Sebastian peninsula, looking for all the world like a vast ghost ship setting out to sea. According to some this conspicuous construction ruins the sea views, although as far as we're concerned it looks pretty cool in a transported-from-Dubai-during-a-freak-tornado kind of way. Starwood are the international brand behind the W-Hotel Barcelona, whilst local Catalan architect Richardo Bofill was the mastermind behind the design. Indeed the W-Hotel (aka Hotel Vela in Spanish) was very much created with looks in mind and the rooms and suites are swanky to say the least, with all manner of iPod decks, LCD TVs and Jacuzzis also helping justify the price. A wealth of leisure and spa facilities and trendy bars and restaurants make whiling away an hour or two in the Vela a real pleasure, whilst the views from up high are spectacular. A stay at Barcelona's W Hotel is sure to make your friends wery wery jealous.

absolut marvelous.. we love to stay in this amazing hotel, thank you W, we will come back asap..

Not sure about the politics but the W is a magnificent hotel and the views were scintillating. There are several great bars and restaurants in the hotel itself, although perhaps the only minus is that the location - whilst spectacular - is also a long walk from the rest of town (by the time you have backtracked all the way down the promontory). We ended up relying on taxis.

ugly and illegal and paid for by bribes. don't stay there