The “fifth museum” of Sitges
The history of the hotel is marked by the charismatic figure of Sobrer who, according to the Catalan Encyclopedia, turned the Hotel Romàntic “into a focus of cultural activity for half a century” in Sitges. 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).
The Hotel Romàntic was the “fifth museum” of the town for a long time, but its importance went far beyond the artistic: in the sixties it opened its doors to the gay community of the whole of Europe. The so-called “gay tourism” took discrete steps, first in the hotel, and then, little by little, it took hold until it achieved its current prominence. In the garden and in the Romàntic bar, they ended up celebrating festivals, parties, and the Carnival itself.
Indians, art, culture and changes in society: the history of the Hotel Romàntic is an extraordinary piece of Sitges’ own history.