The Bar/Lounge at ABaC Hotel

"There are just fifteen rooms – cream and white decor, swishing drapes, sumptuous bathrooms with whirlpool baths and Hermes cosmetics – and services include a spa and lounge bar, though perhaps the measure of the place is the personal-shopper service available for guests"

"When to go: Barcelona is a delight year-round, but the Catalán capital celebrates holidays with enthusiasm"

"After 10 years at its original El Born address, ABaC moved north to the leafy residential Sant Gervasi barrio, the perfect site for its expansion"

"The rich, recreational roster includes a tempting spa with a welcome list of health and beauty regimes using Elemis Spa beauty products, a sauna, whirlpool, plunge pool with sunken lounge chairs and a small bar for wheatgrass and fresh-squeezed carrot juice"

"We lounge in bed for an hour or two, putting off the inevitable return to our three little darlings at home for as long as we possibly can"