METT Barcelona by Kokaistudios
METT Barcelona occupies the historic Gran Hotel La Florida above Barcelona, Spain, where Kokaistudios reworks interiors for a renewed hilltop hotel. The project turns a once-fragmented landmark into a Mediterranean-inflected retreat, balancing restored ceilings and balustrades with new wood-and-fabric elements across public rooms, wellness zones, and guestrooms. Old grandeur stays present, yet the atmosphere now leans toward calm hospitality suited to contemporary travelers.
Guests step into METT Barcelona from the bright Tibidabo light, moving from panoramic views to the cool interior framed by restored ceilings and pale surfaces. A quieter register of color and texture settles the eye, guiding attention toward marble staircases, wrought-iron details, and the distant line of the Mediterranean.
Once a grand retreat above Barcelona’s intensity, the former Gran Hotel La Florida now functions as a contemporary hotel shaped by Kokaistudios for the METT brand. The project centers on interior character: how a restrained palette, calibrated contrasts, and customized furnishings can renew a historic property without erasing its memory. From lobby to guestrooms, the renovation organizes daily rituals around tactile materials, tailored joinery, and a consistent Mediterranean-inflected mood.
Reframing The Historic Lobby
In the entrance lobby, preserved decorative ceilings and wrought-iron balustrades set an architectural tone that Kokaistudios keeps firmly in view. Two groups of contemporary lounge seating sit opposite original fireplaces, so guests encounter heritage at eye level while sinking into deeper, more relaxed upholstery. Behind this foreground, bespoke wooden bookcases and a wood-and-fabric boiserie system articulate thresholds, turning walls into layered surfaces that absorb light and sound. The check-in area, wrapped in shelves and fabric panels, introduces gentle texture and quiet refinement, making arrival feel composed rather than ceremonial.
Wood Portals And Courtyard Rooms
Moving away from the entrance, three juxtaposed wooden portals organize circulation toward the lift lobby, restaurant, and garden lounge. Each portal acts as furniture scaled to architecture, sharpening transitions while keeping sightlines open toward the octagonal atrium and marble grand staircase. The garden lounge opens to a bright inner courtyard, where chandeliers and decorative objects by Lladró punctuate the warm, corduroy-lined ceiling overhead. Integrated bookcases and colorful lounge seating turn this room into an informal social living room, anchored by a compact bar and pastries counter suited to long conversations rather than hurried service.
Pools, Terraces, And Wellness
At the level of the indoor pool, Kokaistudios reworks circulation with a new staircase that ties guestroom floors directly to the lower-ground wellness zone. Gym, spa, and changing rooms with sauna and steam rooms now read as one continuous sequence, operated by Valmont Spa and unified by consistent finishes. The elongated indoor pool extends toward the exterior where the heated outdoor pool picks up the line, drawing swimmers toward open sky and the wide view of Barcelona and the sea. Around this edge, redesigned terraces, restaurant canopies, and an outdoor bar set the stage for evening gatherings, treating the panorama as part of the hotel’s interior palette.
Corridors, Rooms, And Quiet Tones
Ascending to the guestroom levels, corridors and shared areas adopt a calm language of wood-and-fabric boiserie that echoes the lobby while softening scale. Lift lobbies receive subtle framing that shifts them from purely functional nodes into small, furnished foyers, signaling the transition from collective life to private retreat. Within the 70 guestrooms and suites, preserved ceilings, existing floors, and bathroom finishes stay in place, then meet new METT elements such as wooden headboards, bespoke minibars, and integrated lounge furniture for relaxation or in-room dining. Large-format TV screens sit within this composition rather than on top of it, tucked into the overall framing so technology recedes behind grain, fabric, and light.
Light As Interior Material
Throughout the hotel, Kokaistudios treats light as part of the furnishing toolkit, not just a technical layer. In guestrooms, integrated headboard lamps, standing lamps, and slim linear lighting in the architectural framing create options, from clear task illumination to softer evening glow. Public areas rely on layered sources as well: chandeliers, concealed lines, and warm accents along bookcases and portals pull focus to key elements while leaving secondary surfaces quieter. Across the building, the balanced palette of woods, lacquered historic timber, fabric panels, and marble responds differently to each lighting condition, so rooms shift gently from day to night without losing their measured clarity.
From the terraces, the city stretches outward, tying the reworked interiors to Barcelona’s wider landscape and light. Inside, every corridor, lounge, and room carries traces of the original hotel, now filtered through contemporary materials and crafted joinery. METT Barcelona stands as a careful re-composition of a hilltop landmark, where history, Mediterranean climate, and present-day hospitality share the same refined interior frame.
Photography by Eugeni Pons
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