Hines opens aparto Diagonal Suites, its new hotel in Barcelona

Hines, a global real estate investment and management firm, has inaugurated aparto Diagonal Suites, its new hotel located in Porta Diagonal (Esplugues de Llobregat), one of Barcelona’s emerging metropolitan areas.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by representatives from Hines, Grupo Inmobiliario Sacresa, and the architecture studio Batlleiroig, highlighting the project’s relevance within the urban transformation process of this area.

A strategic asset in one of Barcelona’s main healthcare hubs

aparto Diagonal Suites is located in Porta Diagonal, an area undergoing rapid consolidation as an academic, scientific, and healthcare hub, benefiting from its direct connection to Avenida Diagonal and its proximity to some of the city’s leading talent generators.

The asset is located a short distance from internationally recognised healthcare centres such as Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and the future SJD Precision Medicine building in Barcelona, a pioneering centre for the research and treatment of rare paediatric diseases, as well as the future Hospital Clínic and leading academic institutions such as the University of Barcelona (UB), whose sports facilities are also nearby, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), ESADE, and IESE. It is also close to the offices of multinational companies.

In this context, the project has been designed to respond to increasingly diverse demand, offering short-, medium-, and long-term accommodation solutions for professionals, researchers, healthcare staff, rotating clinical personnel, families accompanying patients, medical congress attendees, and international profiles linked to hospital and university activity. Its proposition combines flexibility, comfort, and services tailored to stays requiring proximity, connectivity, and a functional environment.

Its connectivity with central Barcelona and the airport further enhances its appeal for international profiles, in a context of growing demand for flexible, high-quality accommodation solutions.

An iconic project in scale, design, and quality standards

The building, designed by Batlle i Roig Arquitectura, is one of the most distinctive accommodation developments in Barcelona in recent years, featuring a 22-storey tower, nearly 100 metres in height, and a total surface area of 21,000 m². It offers 526 rooms designed with a focus on functionality, comfort, and efficiency.

The asset includes a comprehensive range of amenities such as a rooftop pool, gym, cinema room, study areas, and extensive communal spaces, creating an environment that combines privacy and community and meets international standards for the segment.

The project has been designed with advanced sustainability and wellbeing criteria. The building holds a BREEAM Excellent certification and aims to achieve WELL Platinum, reflecting its commitment to energy efficiency, sustainability, and indoor environmental quality.

During the ceremony, Vanessa Gelado, Head of Southern Europe at Hines, stated: “The living segment is our main global investment focus, and the inauguration of aparto Diagonal Suites represents a new milestone in our strategy for the sector. It is an asset that combines location, quality, and services to meet increasingly sophisticated demand, all of which are distinctive elements of Hines’ investment strategy. This project reflects our commitment to Barcelona as one of Europe’s leading markets and to the development of spaces that contribute to long-term value creation for the city.”

Juan Manuel Sanahuja, CEO of development partner Grupo Sacresa, added: “The inauguration of Aparto Diagonal Suites is not only the opening of a new building. It is, above all, the culmination of a long, demanding, and deeply transformative process: the evolution of the Finestrelles area. A setting that, for more than 25 years, has been shaped by our group with vision, patience, and a clear commitment to city-making. Today we see how that collective effort becomes a tangible and living reality.”

Enric Batlle, Founding Partner of Batlleiroig, highlighted: “aparto Diagonal Suites is the first operational building in Porta Diagonal and represents the beginning of a new metropolitan centrality area in Esplugues de Llobregat. The project has been conceived to respond to the specific needs of an environment linked to knowledge, research, and healthcare activity, integrating architecture, public space, and nature in dialogue with the Collserola Natural Park.”

aparto: an operational model focused on experience and community

The asset will be operated by aparto, Hines’ international platform specialised in student accommodation and flexible living solutions.

With this opening, Hines’ portfolio managed by aparto reaches 3,178 beds across operational and development assets in the Iberian Peninsula, distributed across Barcelona (1,616 beds), Madrid (339), Valencia (650), and Porto (573).

Its model is based on delivering a comprehensive guest experience, combining high-quality services, wellbeing-oriented programming, and spaces designed to foster social interaction and a sense of community, key elements in the differentiated positioning of this type of asset.

About Hines

Hines is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. We own and manage assets valued at $91.7 billion¹ across various property types and on behalf of a diverse range of institutional and private clients. Every day, our 5,000 employees in 30 countries draw on our 69-year history to build the future of real estate through investment, development, and management of some of the world’s best properties. For more information, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.

¹Includes both the global Hines organization and assets under management (AUM) of RIA as of December 31, 2025.

Hines European Real Estate Partners III (HEREP III)

HEREP III is a closed-end euro-denominated investment fund based in Luxembourg, managed by Hines. The final close was held in November 2023, raising more than €1.6 billion in capital, exceeding the fund’s €1.5 billion target. The objective of HEREP III is to acquire a diversified portfolio of prime commercial and residential real estate investments across major European markets on behalf of institutional investors. The fund has broad flexibility across sectors, with its portfolio primarily focused on thematic investment strategies in logistics, residential, office, and retail sectors, as well as value creation through active interventions leveraging Hines’ vertically integrated platform and market-leading ESG credentials. The fund was renamed from Hines European Value Fund (HEVF) to Hines European Real Estate Partners (HEREP). HEREP III follows its predecessors HEVF 1 (2018) and HEVF 2 (2021) as part of Hines’ flagship HEREP series in Europe

Caption (from left to right): Juan Manuel Sanahuja, CEO of the developer Sacresa Group; Vanessa Gelado, Head of Southern Europe at Hines; and Enric Batlle, Founding Partner at Batlleiroig.