Even before you step inside the hotel you see Peix, the giant goldfish which is a symbol of post-Olympic Barcelona.

Hotel Arts Barcelona, the exposed-steel superstructure which rises up to the sky with its 44 floors on the waterfront of Barcelona, was chosen by Los Angeles based architect Frank Gehry  to install his now iconic 115-foot-tall sculpture Peix at the foot of the hotel.

So the word “art” is embedded right from the entrance of this beautiful  hotel of the Ritz Carlton’s luxury European portfolio (now under Marriott) .

Luxury and art always go together and Arts Barcelona in its interior decoration is the perfect example of that perception. 

The luxurious interior is complemented by its famous flower arrangement  and together they give you the feel of a vibrant and classic hotel which has otherwise kept a touch of uncluttered minimalism in many things, including in its super luxury suites and penthouses.

So when the hotel staff greet you with a welcome drink,  a perfect feel-good holiday begins.

Any visitor with a sense of some aesthetics will bow to the works of Arts Barcelona florist Donna Stain, who makes the hotel lively with flowers, the emblem of beauty and purity that infuse life in a property otherwise meant to be for  a short comfortable stay.

A large number of long necked vases at entrance welcome guests. The vases stand together like a huddle of disciplined people standing  together.

As you step out of the elevator into the main reception on the first floor  you encounter a number of large vases with fuchsia color hydrangeas balls half dipped in water.

They are a wonderful contrast with the dark walls. A grand white chandelier adds to the dramatic interior.

Wait, it’s just the curtain raiser. More dramatic ambiance awaits you thanks to the creative ideas of Donna Stain, florist, Arts Barcelona.

Moving towards the main elevators for the upper floors from the front desk  it is another journey with flowers.  Beside a white marble statue of a bent demure woman you find more flowers in transparent vases and bowls.

As you wait for the elevator they (flowers) are there to please your visual senses and communicate with you.  Flowers are good communicator; you can hear their voices at every corner of this hotel.

The use of flower combining with pots of different shapes and made of different material is absolutely stunning in this hotel.

Each flower vase in Arts Barcelona is like a canvas where every composition is made out of different colors, textures and medium.

Not to be missed is also the use of foliage and stem, offering a perfect break from any monotony in composition.

Same flower like hydrangeas are used in different vases in a different manner in this hotel- some floating in half water filled vases, some standing tall in their stems and forming a bouquet above the neck of the vases. 

In one cylindrical vase four pink anthurium are placed in  a manner that you feel the essence of close friends enjoying their closeness in a late night party.

If in one arrangement roses are floating in water with leaves, in another they are without leaves.

As you walk into the Club Lounge on the 33rd floor and take your seat at a table, you are greeted with a small bunch of pink camellias. They can transform you into a happy mood. In the same lounge at the drink counter, you also find the slipper orchids combined with anthurium leaf inviting you with a seductive presence.

Flowers are an integral part of Arts Barcelona. It adds one more star to this charming five-star property.

Hans Christian Andersen had said, “Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

Arts Barcelona lives up to his famous words.