Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I, Barcelona

This hotel's daring avant-garde design won the 1992-93 National Architecture Prize. It sports an elegant combination of the modern and the traditional, with lots of marble and wood throughout, as well as concrete, steel and glass. There are also romantic, 19th-century gardens. From the impressive lobby, the elevators take you to the luxurious bedrooms and suites. Its location at the far end of Diagonal places it in the midst of a busy commercial area. Spain's King and Queen were present at the opening ceremony in 1992 during the run-up to the Olympic Games.