When Casa Bonay opened in 2016, the hotel’s stretch of Gran Via wasn’t somewhere travellers went. It’s in a quiet corner of the Eixample Dret, inside a neoclassical building from 1869, and at the time the area had little to bring visitors in. Ten years on, the neighbourhood has changed, and Casa Bonay has changed with it.
Founders Inés Miró-Sans didn’t bring the hotel’s identity in from somewhere else. Miró-Sans is from Barcelona and had worked at the Ace Hotel in New York. She came home with a clear idea: build the hotel with the people already in the area. Local chefs, tradesmen, artists and designers each shaped it a little at a time. That’s why it has always felt more like a meeting place than a hotel. Travellers and locals sit at the same tables, and the door is open to people who aren’t staying upstairs.
The food tells the story best. Over the decade, Casa Bonay has worked with some of the most interesting kitchens in Barcelona and beyond, including the Colombo family of Bar Brutal and Xemei, Rafa Peña of Gresca, and Estanis Carenzo of Bar Rey Sancho. Wellness came later, with the opening of Termas Bonay. The hotel’s sense of community has gone beyond its own building too, as with the charity bingo dinner with Arrels Fundació for Valencia’s climate relief.
Casa Bonay has used the anniversary to look back and look ahead. Since April, it has run a monthly “Thank You” programme for guests, neighbours and collaborators, giving away rooms, coffee, dinners and more. This month brings a light brand refresh and a new website, with content by Sam Youklis and design by Omar Sosa’s studio, both longtime collaborators. Room refurbishments will continue over the coming months.
The centrepiece is a party. On Thursday 29 October, the whole hotel comes together for one night, hosted by the chefs and musicians who have been part of its first ten years.
Ten years in, Casa Bonay is still investing in the same things it started with. That’s rarer than it should be.
