National Geographic Traveller (UK)
Landmark hotels
Spain’s interior is littered with grand retreats to add your hotel wish list, from urban palaces to spectacular paradors — state-run hotels often set within ancient monuments
Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, Madrid
Spain’s first-ever Four Seasons opened in September 2020 after a monumental construction project that fused seven 19th-century former financial buildings at the centre of the capital. The luxury amenities list is equally extensive; there’s an in-house mall of boutiques, a multistorey spa and a roofline restaurant run by internationally acclaimed Andalucian chef Dani García. Accommodation-wise, even the standard doubles are a pretty sumptuous offer. Doubles from €550 (£475), room only. fourseasons.com
Hotel Torre del Marqués, Teruel
An Aragonese farmhouse from the 18th century has been recast as the sustainable, rural hotel of the future. Built around a stone tower, it’s largely run by solar power and has at its heart a ‘kilometre zero’ restaurant, stocked with produce sourced from nearby. It doesn’t seem like much of a challenge, given the ethereal landscape of gardens, farms, olive groves and vineyards that guests can survey from the dining patio or outdoor pool. Doubles from €234 (£202), room only. hoteltorredelmarques.com
Parador de León, León
For a compact provincial capital, León is so wall-to-wall with medieval and Renaissance facades that it’s no surprise its main state-run hotel is housed in the 16th-century former San Marcos Monastery. The building reopened at the end of 2020 after a three-year renovation that partly restored the original stone carvings, cloister and plateresque frontage while refitting the rooms in decadent style. Doubles from €200 (£173), room only. parador.es
Joya del Casco, Seville
Portugal’s Shiadu hotel group opened this small, simple boutique property in late 2019. Fifteen fresh rooms are spread across a pleasingly sharp-angled interior, and bold-coloured canvases and mustard-yellow furnishings add pops of energy. Location-wise, it’s hard to beat: the sun terrace and small rooftop pool look directly onto the Giralda belltower of Seville’s mammoth cathedral. Doubles from €62 (£54), room only. shiadu.com
Hotel Bodega Tío Pepe, Jerez de la Frontera
True sherry can only be made in one specific region
— the so-called ‘Sherry Triangle’ of Andalucia — and in one corner of it, there’s a dedicated sherry hotel. Respected winery González Byass put impressive thought and effort into converting this 19th-century bodega, with highceilinged guest rooms set in former workers’ quarters. Several in-house bars and restaurants use the bodega’s superb sherry for meal pairings and signature cocktails. Doubles from €165 (£143), B&B. tiopepe.com
Parador de Trujillo, Trujillo
The hometown of conquistador Francisco Pizarro stands as something of an outpost, dominated by a medieval castle. Its new parador slots cleanly into the stone structure of the former Santa Clara Convent — a grand building that centres around two cloisters, one of which retains its original Renaissance columns and arches. There’s an outdoor swimming pool in the courtyard and a scholarly calm prevails throughout. Doubles from €80 (£68), room only. parador.es