Hesperia Tower Hotel, Barcelona

EVO Restaurant © Hesperia Tower Hotel

So, you've spent a glorious week being well and truly captivated by Barcelona: you've gorged on patatas bravas, posed and baked on the city's popular beach, soaked up the buzz of Las Ramblas, and danced until dawn with the aid of several sugary jugs of Sangria.

All that is required to complete your Spanish city break is a couple of days' rejuvenation somewhere comfort-driven and tranquil to recharge those batteries before jetting back to reality.

Located between the city centre and the airport, the Hesperia Tower Hotel is an ideal spot for this final dose of relaxation; freshly tanned bodies can steam and sauna themselves smooth, and well-trodden holiday feet can soak in a bubbling Jacuzzi before their owners get the deepest of sleeps in a gigantic bed.

Designed by award-winning British architect Richard Rogers - the creative force behind such prominent and contrasting projects as the Millennium Dome and Heathrow's Terminal 5 - the Hesperia Tower is a 107m (351ft) structure filled with luxury rooms and decadent suites.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows of our 23rd-floor Duplex Suite, the beige and dusty creams of Barcelona sprawled out in front of us. Being a few miles outside the central hub meant we could take in the whole city, picking out the spots we'd spent the last few days enjoying; La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the cobalt-blue sea gleaming in the distance; a prolonged final glance upon our fun-filled week.

As well as striking views, the lounge area featured two facing sofas split by a coffee table (topped with a pristine copy of Vanity Fair magazine), a mahogany dining table and chairs, and a sizeable plasma TV. A bottle of mineral water and clean glasses appeared on the dining table each day, together with a little sweet treat: soft jellies on canapé spoons on day one, and four large shot glasses filled with assorted fruit coulis on day two.

The ample bedroom, largely filled by a bed that's technical name must surely be super-duper-king-size, was fuss-free decadence, with a crimson velvet headboard rippling skyward from the soft bed linen, and a plasma TV opposite (just in case you're too snuggled into the thick duvet to move to the sitting room).

In the dressing room, it was floor-to-ceiling mirrors that gave the wow factor, with a selection of thick white bath robes ready to be lounged in.

The star of the adjoining bathroom was the large Jacuzzi, sat opposite a large walk-in hydro-massage shower. A gleaming and spacious sink area stocked with Bvlgari toiletry products separated the bathroom and dressing room. And not one, but two little toilet rooms could be found tucked away.

Our suite gave us access to the Tower Club: an area on the 5th floor where complimentary snacks and a large array of drinks were on hand all day. This had quite a corporate feel, as well a decidedly 1980s soundtrack, but the drinks and food were excellent.

Those looking at the hotel from the outside will notice one particularly distinctive feature: the glass dome on top. This is the EVO Restaurant - a Michelin-starred eatery on the 27th floor that serves a rich and high-brow menu that can include lambs brain, fois gras covered in white chocolate, and lashings of black truffles. Being situated in a glass dome atop the tower treats dinners to fantastic twinkling night-time views.

The hotel also has other, slightly less formal eateries: The Bouquet Restaurant serves top-quality food in a stylish but informal setting, and to start the day with a veritable feast, Azimut Restaurant serves up a vast buffet breakfast, with everything from cheese and meats, to fried breakfast, cereal, pastries, fresh fruit, juices, hot drinks and toast.

Before taking our fill of the food, we went next door to the Metropolitan spa - no whale music and scented candles here, simply sleek and modern facilities including sauna, steam room, icy-cold shower and ice to rub down with. Our afternoon there was a complete pleasure.

Clean, corporate and functional, the Hesperia Tower would serve as a great business hotel, and the building has a variety of business facilities, from small intimate meeting rooms to conference rooms that can fit up to 2,000 people. For the tourist, this is a peaceful and luxurious sanctuary, prolonging that holiday escapism right until the last moment.

Hesperia Tower Hotel & Convention Centre
Gran Via 144 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
08907 Barcelona, Spain
Tel: (020) 7380 3658.
Website: www.ghotw.com/hesperia-tower.htm
Price: Double rooms start from £132.

The Hesperia Tower Hotel & Convention Centre is a member of Great Hotels Of The World, "a collection of the world's finest hotels and resorts".