Barcelona has always been a city on the cutting edge. It was at the frontier of Spain’s industrial revolution and the location of its first railway in 1848.
In 1992, it played host to one of the most memorable Olympic Games in recent history.
And in 2017, Barcelona notched up another proud accolade as it welcomed Europe’s first ever sex doll brothel.
It’s a brave new world out there.
Here’s what you need to know about the LumiDolls enterprise.
Plastic and payment
LumiDolls opened to punters in February 2017, the brainchild of a team of young entrepreneurs who spotted a gap in the market.
‘Our services are unique in the world and have generated great expectations,’ says Sergi Prieto, co-founder of LumiDolls.
The brothel is a place where men, and presumably women, can ‘fulfill [their] fantasies without any limits’.
‘Customers come to seek new sexual experiences and new ways of “living sex”. Like us, they believe that this is the beginning of the sex of the future,’ says Sergi.
If you take his word for it then ‘sex of the future’ involves money and moulded plastic.
The hyper-realistic sex dolls are crafted from thermoplastic elastomer – a polymer known to be especially soft.
Sessions start at around £70 for 30 minutes, going up to approximately £158 for a two-hour love-in.
Couples’ sessions are available for £140, and if you can’t or don’t want to leave your house then the dolls can come to you: expect to pay £210 for ‘home service’.
You’ll no doubt be relieved to know that hygiene is a top priority: each doll is thoroughly disinfected with ‘special antibacterial soap’ and customers are encouraged to wear condoms.
Yet what goes on in the private rooms – that come complete with plasma TV and a selection of adult films – (mercifully) stays there.
Visitors can even specify how they would like their plastic playmate to be positioned and dressed, with three fetish looks to choose from: executive (shirt, skirt, sexy stockings), school girl (don’t make me spell it out) and rather unexpectedly, fitness girl, who comes attired in running leggings and sports bra. With optional underwear, of course.
Meet the ladies
LumiDolls offer clients four girls: Katy, Kanda, Lily and Yoko.
At first, it was Katy who proved most popular. At 5ft 6in with inflated lips, giant boobs and a long blonde mane, it’s not hard to work out why.
But Katy has competition.
Prieto explains: ‘Now we have Yoko, a doll with a heating system and a step above the others in quality. Its price is higher but our customers pay it.’
Yoko has a temperature of 37C throughout her body – perhaps a sign that there really is no substitute for the warmth of another human being after all.
Or maybe the draw is just Yoko’s pants, which have ‘F*** me’ emblazoned across the front.
They have no cellulite, no morning breath, no conversation – no demands. The majority has been designed to look you