A Historic Palace Reimagined for Contemporary Hospitality
Nestled within Girona’s medieval Barri Vell, Palau Fugit Hotel occupies an 18th-century palace carefully restored and expanded by Isern Associats. Rather than preserving the building as a static historical artifact, the project reinterprets its cultural heritage through contemporary hospitality design. Inspired by Girona’s colourful riverside façades and celebrated floral festival, the interiors introduce vibrant tones, curated artworks, and expressive design elements that establish a dynamic dialogue between past and present.
Where Gothic Heritage Meets Playful Contemporary Design
The hotel unfolds between the restored historic palace, known as El Palauet, and the contemporary annex, El Pavelló, connected through a lush garden oasis. Vaulted ceilings, stone arches, and centuries-old architectural details are complemented by bold furnishings, custom-designed pieces, and unexpected colour combinations conceived by El Equipo Creativo. Spaces such as La Placeta and La Biblioteca demonstrate how contemporary design can enrich historic settings without diminishing their character, creating an atmosphere that feels both sophisticated and refreshingly playful.
▏Taking its name from Casa Heras de Puig, the property’s original name, the hotel’s restaurant, Casa Heras, unfolds across two rooms – a more formal space adorned with an expansive black and white landscape mural by Joana Santamans, plush banquette seating and herringbone parquet flooring, and a more casual, bistro-like space with fluted ceramic wall tiling, marble checkerboard flooring and a decorative display of copper pots and pans in an antique dresser. Serving traditional Mediterranean dishes with a twist, courtesy of Chef César Calfa, the restaurant effortlessly straddles heritage and modernity in both culinary and design terms.
Tucked at the back of La Placeta, the hotel’s intimate bar, Gipsy combines a sleek minimalist bar counter with plush furnishings in blush, red and mustard hues, and exposed sections of the building’s original stonemasonry. Named after an iconic bar in old Girona, Gipsy serves up some of the best cocktails in the city along with craft beers and exclusive wines.
▏The soulful mix of turn-of-the-century aesthetics and contemporary art and design continues in the rooms in ‘El Palauet’, which are accessed via the building’s original stone staircase. A curvaceous design language, inspired by the arches and porticos of Girona’s Barri Vell paired with a muted colour palette of soft blues, greys and blush tones, imbues the rooms with a feminine sensibility. Original features such as ceiling roses and carved balcony shutters are complemented by bespoke furnishings such as rattan headboards and monolithic marble vanity units, the latter being a modern interpretation of the tocador, a dressing table typical of 19th-century domestic life. Together with plush velvet drapes, parquet flooring and mirrors, these elements constitute a rich tapestry of textures, while an eclectic curation of paintings, sculptures and photographs by local artists adds contemporary notes.
▏For the rooms in ‘El Pavelló’, the designers have opted for a more mid-century-chic aesthetic combined with a sense of craftsmanship as an ode to the ‘la dolce vita’ of Mediterranean life. Underpinned by a muted palette of earthy hues and the use of natural materials such as stone and wood, the rooms’ pared-down, modernist-inspired decor is animated by handmade terracotta blocks and tiles that introduce playful geometries. Rattan chairs and hand-spun textiles, which speak of Costa Brava’s craft ateliers, add more textures, while large windows and patio doors bring in plenty of natural light and serene views of the hotel’s garden and more intimate patios. With each room boasting unique interiors, Palau Fugit’s accommodation encapsulates a rather unique brand of hospitality that graciously tiptoes between the casually glamorous and effortlessly cool.
