Hotel Arts Barcelona is an ultra-luxury hotel, overlooking Barcelona’s Olympic Marina, and complemented by
Frank Gehry’s world-famous El Peix sculpture, the hotel was designed by
Bruce Graham of
SOM and was built for the
1992 Summer Olympics. The hotel opened as a 10-story building in 1992, then closed down to finish the construction project. The construction was finished in 1994 and it is an example of
high-tech architecture. It is 154 metres tall, features 483 keys, and was designed by
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with Mr.Graham as partner in charge. The design team was led by Senior Architect Miguel Ruano, with Dr Agustí Obiol as local Architect of Record. The Hotel Arts was planned to be managed by
Ritz-Carlton chain before
the Olympics, and opened in 1994 as the first hotel in Europe managed by Ritz-Carlton. In 2006, the hotel was acquired by the consortium composed of the Investment Fund of Singapore's Government (GIC),
Host Hotels, and ABP. The consortium paid 417 million euros to acquire the hotel, now owned by Archer Hotel Capital The hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2006, installing new technology and upgrading the rooms and bathrooms into modern, luxurious spaces. In 2009, the rooms of the 40th floor were replaced by meeting rooms. In 2013, the Hotel Arts launched a digital guide for its guests. For the wedding of his niece in 2014, Lakshmi Mittal rented almost the whole building to house his guests. In 2014, the hotel recorded an average 80% occupancy. In June 2016,
Ariana Grande rented the whole 36th floor when she passed by Barcelona. As of December 2025, the hotel is currently undergoing its biggest renovation since it was originally developed, a significant investment which will reach completion in 2026. == Description ==