Success smiled on the first edition of Barcelona Hotel Bar Week 2025, the city’s inaugural event dedicated exclusively to hotel bars. The seven-day celebration (September 22–28) was met with enthusiasm from both the public and industry professionals. The outcome is highly encouraging and brings two immediate results: it confirms the strength of the original intuition—to shine a spotlight solely on hotel bars—and it lays solid foundations for the second edition, already scheduled for 2026.
Barcelona Hotel Bar Week 2025: The Numbers Behind Its Success
As the event came to a close, the results clearly spoke for themselves. The first edition of BHBW brought together 25 hotel bars and 21 guest bartenders—thirteen from Spain and eight from abroad. Over the course of the week, more than 60 events took place, including workshops, masterclasses, tastings, guest shifts, pairings, and cultural talks. The excitement of participants was well captured by one impressive figure: over 2,500 signature cocktails were served during the week.
Expectations Surpassed
The response to the first edition of Barcelona Hotel Bar Week 2025 exceeded all expectations. As Bianca Grisolia, the event’s founder and organizer, noted, “It was fantastic. We wanted to highlight the incredible hotel bar scene in Barcelona, and the enthusiasm from both the bars and the public went far beyond what we imagined. The city embraced the initiative with open arms, and we can’t wait to host the second edition in 2026.”
The Highlights of Barcelona Hotel Bar Week 2025
Among the many standout moments, one of the most talked-about events was the guest shift at Batuar Bar, which welcomed the team from The Donovan: Salvatore ‘The Maestro’ Calabrese, Federico Pavan, and Cristiana Pirinu.
Another highlight was the Mandarin Global Night, which united the bartenders from the Mandarin Oriental properties in Barcelona, London, and Madrid behind the same bar. The week also featured an evening with mixologist Emanuele Balestra and two remarkable pop-ups: Paradiso at the Hall0 Cocktail Bar of the Monument Hotel, and 1862 Dry Bar in a suite at the Miiro Borneta Hotel.
A thought-provoking roundtable discussion also took place at The Circle, the speakeasy of Hotel Hesperia Barri Gòtic, exploring the theme “Career and Leadership Culture in Hospitality.” Speakers included Arina Nikolskaya, Elayne Duff, Bianca Grisolia, Elvira Aldaz, Génesis Gelvez, and Meritxell Coll.
Coqtail – for fine drinkers at BHBW 2025
In a setting like BHBW 2025, Coqtail – for fine drinkers was an unmissable presence. The magazine took the opportunity to present its sixth print issue, Secret, with an event held on September 23 at Punch Room, the cocktail bar of The Barcelona Edition. The evening drew a strong turnout from media representatives and leading figures of the bar industry.
The drinks for the night were crafted by Marie Amélie Fabre, Head Bartender of Punch Room, and Davide Norcini, Bar Supervisor at Dr. Stravinsky. Fabre’s signature cocktail, Hasta la Raíz, was a low-ABV creation featuring soda, Acmella oleracea liqueur, grapefruit cordial, grapefruit essential oil, and rooibos tea.
Norcini’s El Jardín de la Condesa offered a more spirited profile, blending gin, Acmella oleracea liqueur, and a rose and bergamot cordial. A heartfelt thanks to all the professionals and media representatives who joined us. See you at the next Hotel Bar Week.
Images courtesy of Barcelona Hotel Bar Week 2025
