Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona

Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola oversaw the conversion of this midcentury bank building (at the main intersection of Barcelona’s elegant Eixample district) to a luxurious Mandarin outpost in late 2009. Urquiola’s décor—in both the common areas and the hotel’s 98 smallish rooms—is a harmonious marriage of clean-lined modernity with Mandarin group’s signature Asian style (modular white-leather furniture accented with black-lacquer tables and ceramics; brushed steel and glass side-by-side with gauzy screens and delicate metal latticework). If design’s your bag, stroll down Passeig de Gràcia to admire two of Gaudí’s most famous Art Nouveau buildings, Casa Milà “La Pedrera” and Casa Battló.