Le Méridien Ra Beach Hotel & Spa

From Sanatorium to Mediterranean Resort

Stretching almost improbably along the sands of Sant Salvador on the Costa Daurada, Le Méridien Ra is a resort with architecture you notice before almost anything else. The original building dates from 1929, when it was constructed as a seaside sanatorium for children. Its long white façade, repetitive arches and extraordinary position directly beside the Mediterranean were conceived around sunlight, fresh air and recuperation. Those ideas remain surprisingly relevant today. After a careful restoration, the building reopened as Le Méridien Ra Beach Hotel & Spa in 2004, combining the historic structure with a contemporary addition housing many of its guestrooms. The result is an unusual architectural dialogue: part grand Mediterranean institution, part contemporary beach resort.

A New Design Chapter

In 2025, Le Méridien Ra entered another chapter with the redesign of several of its most important public spaces by London-based Transit Studio. Most intriguing is Bar Tempus, created inside the hotel’s former chapel, which for many years served as the Church of San Juan de Diós. Rather than erase that history, Transit Studio has given the space a distinctly contemporary identity through marble, natural plaster, bespoke terrazzo and warm, tactile finishes. It’s intimate and atmospheric — a counterpoint to the sheer scale of the building outside. The transformation continues at La Terrassa del Mar, where the design follows the journey from land towards the Mediterranean. Terracotta arches and tiled ceilings introduce earthy references before deep blues, greens and aquatic shades take over. Together, the spaces make the hotel feel less like a conventional seasonal beach resort and considerably more design-conscious.

150 Rooms Between Old and New

The hotel’s approximately 150 rooms, suites and apartments are divided between the original 1929 building and its newer architectural counterpart. The historic wing contains the Gran Deluxe rooms and suites, while elsewhere the mood is contemporary and restrained: warm neutrals, natural textures and flashes of Mediterranean colour, with the sea providing much of the decoration. Many rooms open onto private balconies or terraces. And this is one hotel where paying attention to orientation makes sense. With the Mediterranean immediately outside, a room facing the water transforms the experience from simply staying at a resort into waking up on the Costa Daurada.

Wellness Comes Full Circle

Few conversions could be more appropriate. A building originally created around recuperation and well-being now contains one of the largest hotel spas on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The 7,200-square-metre Ra Wellness & Thalasso Spa uses Mediterranean seawater as the basis for its thalassotherapy programme, alongside saunas, steam experiences, treatments and hydrotherapy. Its 2025 transformation by wellness specialists Core Essence added a rooftop thermal circuit and an approximately 900-square-metre outdoor hydrotherapy terrace overlooking the sea. It brings the story of the building neatly full circle: almost a century after people first came here for the restorative qualities of the coast, sea, air and sunlight are still fundamental to the experience.

Catalonia on the Table

Food is equally rooted in the Mediterranean. The redesigned La Terrassa del Mar strengthens that connection, while the hotel’s restaurants and bars draw on Catalan produce, seafood and the culinary traditions of the surrounding regions. There are beachside lunches, long dinners and cocktails overlooking the boardwalk, but this isn’t an isolated resort destination. El Vendrell sits within a particularly rich part of Catalonia for wine and food, making the hotel a useful base for discovering another side of the coast beyond Barcelona. And sometimes the most compelling dining room is simply the terrace. Sea air included.

Dalí by the Sea

Art has long been part of Le Méridien’s identity, but here the connection feels particularly appropriate. The landscaped grounds have displayed sculptures by Salvador Dalí, while contemporary artists are given space inside the hotel. Barcelona photographer Maite Caramés, for example, brought an eccentric streak to the corridors with her surreal Between Paradise and the Deep Blue Sea series. It adds an unexpected cultural layer to a property that could easily have relied on its beach and spa alone.

The Bright Side of Barcelona

Barcelona may be less than an hour away, but Le Méridien Ra feels psychologically much further. There is no need to manufacture the resort experience here. The hotel stands directly on Platja de Sant Salvador, with gardens, pools and terraces gradually giving way to sand and Mediterranean water. Stay put and it works as a self-contained coastal retreat. Head out and Tarragona, Catalan wine country and Barcelona itself make compelling excursions.

Why It Works

Le Méridien Ra could have become just another large five-star Mediterranean resort. Its architecture prevents that. The monumental 1929 building gives the property a history and visual identity that can’t simply be replicated, while the latest interventions by Transit Studio demonstrate how that heritage can continue evolving rather than becoming nostalgic scenery. Add one of Spain’s most substantial thalassotherapy spas, contemporary Catalan art, serious food and a beach literally outside the door, and its scale starts to make sense. Nearly a century after its story began with the restorative power of the Mediterranean, Le Méridien Ra is still fundamentally about the same thing: architecture, sea, sunlight and the luxury of slowing down.