History
The building that houses hotel medium romàntic is an obligatory stop on the Route of the Indianos in Sitges.
From a private residence...
The Indianos or Americanos (as they are called in Sitges) left Spain for the American colonies (Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc.) in the middle and late 19th century, due to the serious economic crisis that the country was going through.
In Sitges, which was a fishing village, there were many young people who left to try to make a fortune, among them Facundo Bacardí (founder of the Bacardí brand of alcoholic beverages) and Brugal, founder of Brugal Rum. The Indianos who prospered, returned and built large houses where they spent the last years of their lives, retired and living off their earnings.
...to a hotel
Our building, built in 1897 in colonial style, is a typical Indiano house and was the residence of wealthy families until the 1950s, when it became Hotel Tropic. Among the employees of the Tropic was Gonçal Sobrer, an artist and painter who was very active on the Barcelona art scene. In 1958, he took the plunge and bought the hotel and another building, changing the name of the establishment to Hotel Romàntic.
The 'fifth museum' of Sitges
The history of the hotel is marked by the charismatic figure of Sobrer, who, in the words of the Enciclopèdia Catalana, turned Hotel Romàntic into “a centre of cultural activity in Sitges for half a century”. Today, the hotel houses a collection of more than 300 works of art, with murals by Sobrer himself and paintings and sculptures by various Catalan artists (Arranz Bravo, Rosa Bachs, Xaus, Pilar Perdices, Subirats, Joan Iriarte and Gerard Sala).
Hotel Romàntic was the city’s “fifth museum” for a long time, but its importance went beyond the artistic world. In the 1960s, it opened its doors to the gay community from all over Europe. So-called “gay tourism” developed discreetly, passing through the hotel, gradually gaining a foothold until it reached its current visibility. Festivals, parties and even the carnival have been held in the garden and bar at Romàntic.
Indianos, art, culture and social change: the story of Hotel Romàntic is an extraordinary fragment of the history of Sitges.
