A hotel with history

Architect Oriol Mestres designs the building as the private residence of the López y López family, Marquis de Comillas, among them Don Claudio López i Bru, whose bust, sculpted by Josep Llimona, may be observed in one of the hotel’s Colonial halls.

The building is converted into the headquarters of the General Philippines Tobacco Company, remodeled under the guidance of Josep Maria Sagnier and Josep Maria Rivas.

The building opens up onto Calle Xuclà, taking into its façade the bust of Maria Fortuny, made by Miquel i Llucià Oslé.

The mid-century sees the rise of poet Jaime Gil de Biedma, a member of the literary generation of 50, and also secretary general of the Tobacco Company. His old office is now among the Colonial spaces in the hotel.

The building renovation gets underway, spearheaded by Núñez i Navarro, whose team of experts made amazing efforts to restore one of Barcelona’s most emblematic structures.

Hotel 1898 officially opens, its namesake paying tribute to the year that Cuba and the Philippines, the last remaining Spanish colonies, formally declared independence.