New Life for Historic City Centre Hotel
The former Regencia Colón hotel, located at Carrer dels Sagristans 13 just metres from Barcelona Cathedral, will reopen on 1 October 2026 as Casa Aroa, a five-star boutique hotel. The reopening marks the end of a six-and-a-half-year closure that began with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Behind its long-closed white shutters and graffiti-covered boards, the building became a symbol of what locals called 'ghost hotels', long-vacant tourist accommodations in Ciutat Vella awaiting renovation or sale. Its prolonged closure was compounded by a legal dispute among descendants of founder Antonio Lamaro, a Milanese entrepreneur who established the Colón and Regencia Colón after a poor stay at the Ritz in the 1940s.
A Family-Led Revival
The project is led by two of Lamaro’s great-grandchildren, Pietro Allegri and Marta Correngia, who secured full ownership in the late 2010s. They first reopened the adjacent Hotel Colón as the Lamaro Hotel in March 2025 following an €8.5 million renovation. Now, they are launching Casa Aroa as their second luxury offering in the area. According to the official website, the new hotel will feature 36 rooms designed by Barcelona-based studio Cristina Carulla. Room rates start at €300 per night for standard accommodation and rise to €650 for premium suites. Reservations are already available through the TOT Barcelona and Cronica Global reports.
Missed Opportunity for Public Housing?
The reopening ends speculation about converting the building into public housing. During the pandemic, local advocacy groups urged the city council to acquire such vacant properties to address housing shortages in the historic centre. However, the council has prioritised using its right of first refusal on private residential sales rather than purchasing commercial or tourist buildings. As noted in a February 2023 report by the Barcelona Hotel Guild, there has been a notable rise in hotel sales since 2021, nearly fifteen transactions, reflecting growing interest in high-value tourism assets. While some closures were temporary, others like the Gargallo Rialto and Europa hostel have also since reopened.
The patrimonial value of a hotel in Barcelona is high, which is why it is not frequent for licenses to be abandoned.
, Manel Casals, General Director, Barcelona Hotel Guild (February 2023) With both the Lamaro Hotel and now Casa Aroa opening within months of each other, the Lamaro family has reasserted its presence in Barcelona’s luxury hospitality sector. The transformation signals a broader trend: the revival of dormant city-centre hotels amid shifting strategies between private investment and public housing needs.
Reported by totbarcelona.cat, cronicaglobal.elespanol.com, bcbnews.barcelonaturisme.com, Tot Barcelona.
