A room without a mirror but with large windows overlooking the forest. A classic fireplace illuminated by an Italian design lamp. Neutral tones and a soft clean scent. Bits of the best secallona in La Cerdanya together with a cold glass of Moet
The new Torre del Remei looks beautiful after the second reinvention in less than five years, by the Catalan group Serras Collection. “It is our flagship; it has everything a luxury boutique hotel should have, everything our demanding guest needs to be happy here”, explains Jordi Serra, president of the hotel group and also owner of The Serras, on Paseo de Colom in Barcelona, a stone's throw from stone of the Yacht Club. Opened in 2015, it was the seed of the Serras Collection, which also includes the Serras Andorra.
"When we opened the hotel in Barcelona, we took a risk, because it was an area that was neglected, but it has been a success that we are going to replicate in other establishments," says Serra. Recognized as one of the best hotels in Spain (Condé Nast, Trip Advisor), it is part of the select Virtuoso club, in which Spanish hotels can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Now, its privileged location a few minutes walk from the Club Náutico, will be one of the reference establishments for the teams and guests of the 2024 Copa del América.
Once the Barcelona hotel was consolidated, Jordi Serra together with his children Jordi and Carla Serra Sugrañés and two partners from outside the family, Ona Matas and Antonio Bignone, promoted the Serras Collection group to expand the model. “In addition to Andorra and the Torre del Remei, we continue to look for opportunities; We already have a place in Seville, next to the cathedral and we are studying more openings”, explains Jordi Jr., vice president and co-founder of the group.
“The concept of our hotels is to break the rules of the game with a comprehensive, silent luxury proposal that dissolves the barriers of formality, in exclusive facilities”, sums up the president. The Torre del Remei strictly follows the philosophy. The hotel, in a villa that the Catalan banker Agustí Manaut gave to his daughter Blanca in 1910, has become in recent decades the place of reference for the Catalan bourgeoisie, attracted by its excellent location next to Bolvir and by the culinary delights of the Chef Josep Maria Boix, former owner.
Today the establishment, with 24 rooms (12 in the historic building and another 12 in La Masia, the old stables) and located on a plot of more than three hectares of meadows and forests, including a small lagoon, is a collection of corners to enjoy. The overstuffed kidney sofa in the hall; the table in front of the bar window, entering to the left; the speakeasy of the cellar with more than 300 wines, in the basement; the terrace in front of the dining room of the Blanca restaurant; the gym installed in a greenhouse in the garden, or the shade of a huge fir tree under which to spread out a picnic.
One of the hotel's strong points is gastronomy, with the Blanca restaurant as its star, under the direction of Eugeni de Diego, former head chef at El Bulli. The menu will be based on the local products of the area and will recover some of the historical recipes of the Torre del Remei and La Cerdanya, such as duck or mountain rice. Far from the formality of yesteryear, the group wants the restaurant to be a "cozy and open space, with a proposal that adapts to different tastes and situations". The hotel also offers the option of having a snack or a more informal dish at the bar, open all day. And with the autumn or winter season in mind, a space for tasting and tasting has been created in the winery for informal dinners.
