Best Spanish hotels for food lovers

Best Spanish hotels for food lovers

Castilla Termal Brihuega, Castilla-La Mancha

• From £226 per room, check availability at booking.com

Surrounded by lavender fields, this little town in the region of La Alcarria is home to a new boutique hotel in a restored cloth factory. Perfect for food lovers seeking to make new discoveries, it showcases regional specialities, while its thermal waters provide an opportunity to fully relax and rejuvenate.

Breakfast is a delight: all the Spanish goodies like jamón ibérico, pan con tomate and tortilla, plus local ingredients like manchego, honeycomb and tarta de uvas – a grape sponge cake which teams well with the more contemporary touch in the cold drip coffee offered. At dinner, rustic plates like kid goat and the region’s famous rum baba style cake are served in the large glass-domed restaurant. Nearby food experiences include truffle hunting at family-owned TrufaZero, which supplies many restaurants in the region. Guests can dig for the black gold sniffed out by their dog, Nino.

Brihuega’s thermal spa promotes a sense of wellness and relaxation with an outdoor pool, massage jets and a bespoke lavender treatment – a two-hour ritual which includes a lavender scrub, wrap and massage. Exposed brick, wooden beams and floors, a neutral colour palette and dried floral displays add to the calming effect. castillatermal.com

From £226 per room, check availability at booking.com

Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel, Ibiza

• Doubles from €245, check availability at booking.com

Luxury meets nature in a hotel with exquisite indoor-outdoor design, a spa set within orange groves and a hard-working farm.

White-washed buildings, manicured gardens and glistening swimming pools surrounded by huge, pristine day beds all create a gorgeous first impression. Discrete, secret VIP deluxe suites are where celebrities can holiday with complete privacy. So far, so luxe. But a stroll through the orange groves to the hotel’s vast vegetable plot reveals how sustainable and farm-to-fork this family-owned estate is. Solar panels and an on-site well supply power and water to the gardens, pools, spa and rooms.

Herbs and botanicals are used in rejuvenating spa treatments. Figs, tomatoes, cucumbers and pomegranates are picked that day, and served just minutes and metres aways in the hotel’s sunny, vine-covered veranda. The garden also supplies its nearby, laid-back sister restaurant, Aubergine by Atzaró, where clever combinations like roasted aubergine carpaccio, cherry tomatoes, feta, dates, pistachio and rocket pesto create texture and zing. At Atzaró beach club, tuna ceviche with mango, chilli, coriander and tiger’s milk is light and flavour-packed.

Design at Atzaró Agroturismo references Ibiza’s natural beauty with a profusion of plants, natural wicker and wood, bright whites, with splashes of colour provided through bougainvillea or swimming pool azure. atzaro.com

Doubles from €245, check availability at booking.com

Monasterio de Valbuena, Castile and León

• Doubles from £245, check availability at booking.com

A kitchen garden, impressive cellar and spa experience make this converted monastery set within vineyards spectacularly unique.

As you might expect in the Ribera del Duero, wine is a focus – from a welcome glass of sparkling verdejo to the hotel’s own production of Converso, an earthy tempranillo with well-balanced dark fruits. In the kitchen garden, rare-breed Black Castilian hens happily cluck away. Dishes made with produce nurtured here are expertly paired with the best regional wines in its three restaurants. Pickled partridge, ravioli stuffed with poultry and sheep’s cheese, game and mushroom rice and pigeon combine traditional regional ingredients with modern cooking techniques.

A converted 12th-century monastery with high arches, courtyards and cloisters has windows overlooking the vineyards and river. The spa has an intriguing St Peter’s Chapel experience which reimagines the design of the monastery’s working chapel into a private spa experience including a relaxing sauna, invigorating shower and bathing, and atmospheric lighting.

The hotel has forged ties with sympathetic businesses who share its values of sustainability and respect, and support for the land and community. At high-end bodega Pago de Carraovejas guests can discover the wine-making process, visit the cellars, taste the wines and have lunch at Michelin-starred restaurant Ambivium. castillatermal.com

Doubles from £245, check availability at booking.com

El Gran Sueño, Asturias

• Doubles from £124, check availability at booking.com

There’s a “slow hotel” philosophy at El Gran Sueño, a boutique rural retreat in the mountains of Asturias. It uses renewable energy and serves only homemade, organic food, with at least one dinner a week meat-free.

Tuck into freshly baked bread with grated tomato and local artisan cheeses for breakfast (with a glass of freshly squeezed Valencia orange juice or pressed Asturian cider-apple juice) before heading out to explore the surrounding mountains and woodlands. Having worked up an appetite, return to base for a hearty, home-cooked three-course dinner (the vegan chocolate and beetroot brownie is a must-try pudding). elgransueno.es

Doubles from £124, check availability at booking.com

Torralbenc, Menorca

• Doubles from £208, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

A cluster of 19th-century whitewashed farm buildings, with views out over the sparkling Med, Torralbenc is now a luxury hotel, surrounded by 70 hectares of fields, orchards and vineyards in the south-western corner of Menorca. The restored estate not only makes its own olive oil but also produces wine.

Starting with just five hectares of vines in 2006, the property now has 16 hectares dedicated to growing grapes. Its first wine was bottled in 2016 and the estate now produces a merlot and syrah blend (all red berries and spicy black pepper with a tinge of toasted vanilla), a bright rosé from indigenous monstrell and parellada grapes (floral with strawberries and cherries on the palate) and an easy-drinking white blended from sauvignon blanc, viognier, chardonnay and parellada with citrus, stone fruits and floral notes.

Guests can book a vineyard experience with the hotel’s oenologist, exploring the vineyards on foot or by bike, learning how the wines are produced and enjoying a tasting, with local Menorcan cheeses, among the vines. torralbenc.com

Doubles from £208, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Only YOU Hotel Atocha, Madrid

• Doubles from £127, check availability at booking.com

Usefully positioned opposite Puerta de Atocha railway station, Only YOU Hotel Atocha impresses with its buzzy industrial-chic lobby (complete with barber, patisserie and restaurant) and complimentary glass of fizz on arrival. Spacious rooms have a sleek mid-century feel, and the hotel’s rooftop Sép7ima bar (with panoramic views of the city) puts on a lavish buffet every morning that includes pastries and churros, charcuterie and cheeses, fresh juice, fruit and cooked breakfasts. onlyyouhotels.com

Doubles from £127, check availability at booking.com

Son Brull, Mallorca, Spain

• Doubles from £530, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Guests at gastronomic bolthole Son Brull can ask the kitchen to pack a gourmet picnic if they’re heading out to hike or bike around the surrounding hills. This elegant finca, or farmhouse, in the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana, dates back to the 12th century but the approach to food and wine is bang up to date.

The kitchen garden, where chef Rafel Perello sources the ingredients for his inventive menus and cookery classes, brims with home-grown herbs, salad leaves and vegetables, while the trees surrounding the hotel are laden with oranges, lemons and figs. The hotel has its own organic vineyard: pair its wines with dinner in the fine-dining restaurant, 365, where seasonal eight-course tasting menus showcase local Mallorcan ingredients. More casual, bistro-style dining can be had in the bar (with its ancient olive press) during the winter or on the terrace in sunnier months. sonbrull.com

Doubles from £530, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Casa Bonay, Barcelona

• Doubles from £197, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Check into hip Casa Bonay, a renovated mansion where traditional hydraulic floor tiles are mixed with Gaudí’s iconic paving stones, adding a hint of edginess to its ground floor lounges, coffee bars and restaurant. Stylish, pared-back bedrooms redefine luxury with hand-woven blankets from Els Teixidors, maxi-bars stocked with premium gin, vodka and single malt, and room service in the shape of a tiffin tin to be eaten in bed.

Casa Bonay makes other foodie hotels seem dull by comparison. Think house restaurant Bodega Bonay serving Mediterranean sharing plates, the hotel bar Libertine for grown up cocktails mixed with aplomb by a team of savvy mixologists, and the tropical-themed Chiringuito on the buzzy roof terrace for tapas as you watch the sunset. casabonay.com

Doubles from £197, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Corner House, Seville

• Doubles from £86, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

Doubles at the Corner House, in the buzzy Alameda de Hércules (one of Seville’s most iconic squares), are very affordable. There's also an in-house restaurant/bar, El Disparate, serving a selection of traditional and innovative dishes; if you're lucky grab one of the tables on its spacious terrace, overlooking the square. thecornerhousesevilla.com

Doubles from £86, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

Iturrienea Ostatua, Bilbao

• Doubles from £58, check availability at booking.com

This simple yet charming bed and breakfast is located right in the centre of the Old Town, housed in a property built in 1906 for a countess. Originally designed to look like a typical Basque country house, inside the largely modern décor is modest (simple white bedlinen, colourful quilted headboards, practical en-suite shower rooms) but homely. The nine bedrooms nod to the building’s history, with stone floors and wooden-beamed ceilings, and some have small private balconies. Breakfast is served in a country-style kitchen and stretches to local cheeses, charcuterie, sticky pastries and toast. iturrieneaostatua.com

Doubles from £58, check availability at booking.com

Hospes Casas del Rey de Baeza, Seville

• Doubles from €135 per night, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

The Hospes Casas del Rey de Baeza is a charming hotel housed in a beautiful 18th-century ‘corral de vecino’ (characteristic of the city, these are apartments built round a courtyard) in the barrio Santa Cruz. hospes.com

Doubles from €135 per night, check availability at hospes.com, booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastián

• Doubles from £472, check availability at booking.com or marriott.com

The glamorous belle époque Hotel Maria Cristina is a fitting base for the gourmet capital of Spain. The hotel, which nudges up to the Parte Vieja and overlooks the River Urumea, was exquisitely revamped in 2012, the year that marked its centenary. Renowned filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has stayed here, along with a string of Hollywood luminaries from Bette Davis to Woody Allen. Its food credentials include its own concierge-designed DIY pintxos trail, a gourmet shop where you can stock up on gastronomic souvenirs from local wines to smoked olive oil and Basque cookbooks, while in the basement there’s the sleek, state-of-the-art cookery school.

The cookery school is run by Mimo San Sebastián, set up in 2009 by British expat Jon Warren, whose passion for the region’s gastronomy led him to leave his lucrative job in the city in London. They offer pintxos tours, cookery classes, wine and sherry tastings, vineyard tours and trips to sagardotegiak (aka cider houses). These pepper the surrounding region especially near the town of Astigarraga. The houses dish up set menus featuring salt cod omelette, chorizo cooked in cider, and idiazabal with quince and walnuts along with as much cider – lightly sparkling, cloudy and refreshingly sour – as you can drink from the huge barrels. marriott.com

Doubles from £472, check availability at booking.com or marriott.com.

Hotel Sant Francesc, Palma

• Doubles from £430, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Food-focused short breaks at design hotel Sant Francesc, in the historic heart of Palma, include a paella masterclass with the hotel's head chef, Alfonso Lillo, and a tour and tasting at a gin distillery in the Santa Catalina neighbourhood (with tips on how to distil at home).

With its historic setting – a restored 19th-century neoclassical mansion rich with original frescos and murals, cool verandas and wooden coffered ceilings – the hotel makes a perfect base for exploring Palma's gourmet markets and delis.

Return from a hard day’s food shopping and spend time relaxing by the glamorous rooftop pool or splashing out on dinner in the restaurant, Quadrat. The restaurant, a vision of crumpled linen and painted wood in the property’s former stables, is the setting for Lillo's tasting menu peppered with Mediterranean-inspired dishes such as cream of grilled sweetcorn with tomato and avocado ceviche. hotelsantfrancesc.com

Doubles from £430, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Hotel Ses Sucreres, Menorca

• Doubles from £131, check availability at booking.com

Hotel Ses Sucreres, in the village of Ferreries, is a quirky bolthole that epitomises the laid back, low-key authenticity of the island a world away in style from high profile party isles Mallorca and Ibiza.

The hotel is decked out with reclaimed furniture, geometric prints and modern photography. There are six bedrooms and relaxed breakfasts are served in a leafy courtyard garden – think homemade fig jam, soft sugary buns, local slithers of Mahon cheese and salty air-cured ham, sobrasada, the local sausage, smashed tomatoes and olive oil smeared on freshly baked bread. hotelsessucreres.com

Doubles from £131, check availability at booking.com

Finca Can Marti, Ibiza

• Check rates and availability at canmarti.com

A pine-cradled rural idyll in a leafy valley in the north of Ibiza, Finca Can Marti is a 400-year-old, whitewashed farmhouse turned rustic-chic retreat. All muted cream and beige tones, with terracotta tiled floors, ancient beams and white walls, the finca is surrounded by 42 acres of organic orchards, vegetable plots, strawberry fields, olive groves and vineyards. The fruit and vegetables are sustainably grown on the farm and sold in the estate’s small organic shop, along with homemade jams, extra virgin olive oil and free-range eggs – which you can also enjoy at breakfast, along with a feast of fruits and freshly baked bread. Once a week the finca also offers dinner.

Ten minutes’ walk away is the sleepy village of San Juan, with its smattering of local restaurants and a traditional market every Sunday. Or you can simply hole up on site lounging by the natural pool (the water is free from chemicals, circulated through a lava stone filter, oxygenated by a waterfall and cleared of impurities by aquatic plants). Then zone out, with an Ayurvedic and Thai massage under a pergola, trying not to peep at the dreamy view beyond.

Check rates and availability at canmarti.com

Can Tres, Formentera

• Check rates and availability at booking.com

Hop on the ferry from Ibiza to Formentera, the barefoot baby of the Balearics, for endless sweeps of sand backed by dunes and pine trees, crystalline waters and a hippy-chic vibe. This is where jaded clubbers come to hide out – and eat (sustainable) sushi and ceviche washed down with caipirinhas by the beach.

There's a slower pace of life on Ibiza's chilled-out little sister, with its peppering of traditional villages and a nightly market during the summer. Base yourself at Can Tres, a clutch of three architect-designed houses surrounded by citrus and olive trees, all hanging beds and heavenly hammocks, thatched terraces perfect for lazy breakfasts of fruit from the gardens, freshly baked bread and homemade jam, and vivid splashes of colour against a pure white canvas. It’s also just a pebble's throw from Migjorn beach with its smattering of funky beach bars and restaurants. cantresformentera.com

Check rates and availability at booking.com

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