Q&A JORDI CLOS
parts of the common areas, and then create spaces where the client feels that they are in a luxury apartment. But I feel we have achieved that. It’s a very special hotel.
HI: It’s also a great example of ‘Catalan Design’. JC: That is true. Catalan design sensibility is very evident in all our hotels. It must be remembered that before I started in the hotel business I owned a construction and interior design company. I started in the world of design.
HI: Tell me about the Arai Aparthotel experience… JC: The Arai is a 17th-century palace in Barcelona’s Barri Gòtic. When I bought it, it was a mess. It had been residential apartments and offices, and both these functions had altered the
building in
some way. So, over five years, we tried to salvage what we could.
HI: But I heard there was also a disagreement with the powers that be? JC: Well yes. We wanted to exhibit some of the original pieces we unearthed during the restoration process in the
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lobby. But we were not allowed. And this decision, not allowing them to remain in situ, was wrong. Most of them are now in a warehouse somewhere and will never see the light of day. So what we did instead was create a small museum called the ‘Grand Tour’ with everyday objects that belonged to people that lived there over the centuries, from old photos to plates and even bombs from the civil war.
HI: Is restoring a period building a journey of discovery? JC: Yes it
is. Take the Banke [Derby’s boutique hotel in Paris]. I bought it as a
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