Palau Fugit boutique hotel in Girona by El Equipo Creativo

Barcelona-based El Equipo Creativo has completed the interior design of Palau Fugit. Located deep in Girona’s atmospheric Barri Vell (Old Quarter), the award-winning studio converted a disused 18th-century palace into a destination hotel as charming and seductive as Girona. By respecting the original architecture and decorative elements, the team’s goal was to provide guests with a warm and intriguing experience, with a feeling of home comfort.

El Equipo Creativo used the ‘two Gironas’ as their creative starting point. The first is the Barri Vell, an emblematic district of weathered stone facades, hidden cul-de-sacs, porticoes, and stone ramparts. In contrast, the designers have also highlighted the lighter side of the city – namely the vibrant colours that bathe the townhouses flanking the River Onyar along with Girona’s most famous spring celebration – El Temps de Flors (The Time of Flowers). These influences, enhanced with striking modern art and crafted objects, create a hotel that begs to be discovered and enjoyed. “We aimed to create a sense of high luxury minus the pretensions. To respect the original architecture, but also be fresh, elegant, surprising and, at times, a little disruptive”.

Palau Fugit unfolds in two principal parts, both adapted to the needs of modern travellers and experience hunters by the Barcelona-based architecture studio Isern Associats. The first is the original palauet. Here, an arched courtyard, renamed ‘La Placeta’, holds the reception area, restaurant and cocktail bar and a tucked-away spa-for-one. Guests ascend to rooms via the original staircase of the palace. The second building, named the Pavelló, is an annexe that takes shape with a modern, rational approach.

This project was the winner of the Interior Design Award – Best of Best in the Hospitality Interior by Architecture Masterprize.

A terrace or the ‘heart’ of the hotel connects the two buildings.

With a small swimming pool, abundant ferns, and a central sculpture, Font de Gararotes, by renowned local artist Frederic Amat, provides a serene oasis for guests and a natural connection between the two buildings.

Public Spaces

The designers intended La Placeta to be a little more disruptive than other areas by ​​reintroducing the palace to the social life of the city, which was essential to the project. Surrounded by stone arches and an original staircase, La Placeta is a place to meet and chat around brightly colored armchairs and tables.

Next to La Placeta is the reception, where guests check in at a Klein blue table, a custom design, crowned by an eye-catching golden pendant. This composition sets the tone for the rest of the hotel, a concept that balances history and modernity, formality and informality.

The Gipsy Bar is located at the rear of the courtyard. Guests enjoy cocktails, surrounded by vestiges of the old palace walls.

Casa Heras, the hotel’s restaurant, is inspired by the social and hospitality areas of the original palace and adapted to modern lifestyle and comfort.

As in other areas of the hotel, modern art and objects elevate the spaces, as seen in the whimsical murals created by Joana Santamans.

The library is a distinguished space conceived for private banquets and meetings around a beautiful oval marble table.

Private Spaces

El Palauet

For the rooms in El Palauet, El Equipo Creativo reimagined the sumptuous decor of the fin de siècle through a prism of contemporary design and art. The designers sought to instill a ‘feminine’ presence throughout, recreating a warm and eclectic ambiance of a noble family nest. Careful attention to detail and a discerning selection of materials and textures create a rich visual experience, enhanced by a curation of original paintings, sculptures, murals, and photographs by local artists.

Although each room and suite presents a design story, gothic arches, and porticoes, a dominant architectural motif of Girona’s Barri Vell, are a recurring influence. The studio combined custom furniture, decor, striking art, photography, ceramics, and sculptures created by local artists. “We believe the result strikes the perfect balance between history and contemporaneity, formality and informality, and offers a unique space to socialise and relax while experiencing the history and culture of Girona.”. Curvaceous chaise longues, bespoke rattan bed heads, and avant-garde lighting enfold guests. Surfaces and textiles, like velvet drapes and strategically placed mirrors, invite guests to linger and relax.

A custom-made marble vanity unit anchors each room. It is a monolithic interpretation of the traditional tocador (dressing table), which exemplifies the domestic life of the period.

The rooms in El Palauet brim in a palette of natural stone shades, soft blues, greys, and blush tones, creating an elegant mise en scène that is contemporary and lends new life to the interior’s original features, such as the ceiling medallions and carved balcony shutters.

El Pavelló

This mood changes in El Pavelló – an ode to the ‘la dolce vita’ of the Mediterranean. A palette of terracotta, locally made ceramics and wood impart a mid-century chic feel, enhanced with natural light pouring in through direct access to the patio. Handmade terracotta breeze blocks and tiles create rippling shadows and textured surfaces. Rattan chairs and tables evoke the local artisanship of Costa Brava

With splashes of colour and handspun textiles, the overall feel is casually glamorous and effortlessly cool.

Photography by Salva Lopez.

Founded in 2011 by architects Oliver Franz Schmidt, Natali Canas del Pozo, and Lucas Echeveste Lacy, El Equipo Creativo is a Barcelona-based interior architecture studio specializing in hospitality, gastronomy, and brand spaces. Their philosophy centers around the belief that spatial design should tell compelling stories and inspire people, always grounded in a solid conceptual approach. They have designed restaurants for some of the most prestigious chefs in the world, including those with 4-star Michelin restaurants, such as world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adrià. They have over 70 international design awards, including the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards, FRAME Awards, and BOY Awards, all known for honoring innovative and conceptual design. Beyond project recognition, the studio has also been honored for its trajectory and methodology. Their projects have won many awards, such as Best Interior Design Firm (Architizer A+Awards), Interiors Practice of the Year (WIN Awards), and Firm of the Year (The American Architecture Prize). To learn more, read Contemporary Mediterranean Style for Compartir Barcelona Restaurant by El Equipo Creativo and El Equipo Creativo Creates Urban Retreat for Travelers and Locals in the Kimpton Vividora Barcelona, and El Equipo Creativo Reimagines Barcelona’s Hotel Plaza as an Ode to the Montjuic Mountain.