Best Luxury Hotels in Spain

The W Barcelona’s spinnaker-shaped tower sits where Barcelona gives way to the sea at the end of Barceloneta beach and, along with the Sagrada Familia, it’s one of the city’s most recognisable silhouettes. 473 rooms and suites all offer uninterrupted views across Barcelona’s skyline or the open sea, while the facilities are a resort in themselves: ranging from the WET Deck with multiple pools and terraces, Salt Beach Club, to its vast AWAY Spa complex. Dining runs from Noxe, the 26th-floor Japanese restaurant and sky bar, to the Peruvian COYA and the grill cooking at Fire. For beachfront presence and that unmistakable shape on the skyline, little else in the city competes.

Palladium Hotel Group has taken its most famous address on Ibiza’s longest beach and reimagined it as The Site, with the grand hotel BLESS The Site at the heart of it. With elegant Lázaro Rosa-Violán designed rooms and suites, dedicated COYA accommodation and destination dining, a stay at BLESS The Site is Playa d’en Bossa for a new era

OKU Andalusia brings barefoot luxury to a quiet stretch of beachfront at La Alcaidesa, between Gibraltar and Sotogrande on the western edge of the Southern Spain’s Costa del Sol. Expect saltwater infinity pools terraced down the hillside, a 2,000 sqm spa, Nikkei-inspired dining at Teyo and the new Alma Beach Club, with views across the Strait to Africa.

Few Barcelona hotels are works of art in themselves, but Hotel España Ocean Drive is exactly that. Opened as the Fonda España in 1859 and transformed at the turn of the century by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, a father of Catalan modernisme, it sits a minute from La Rambla in the heart of the Raval. Now, within the Ibiza-born OD Hotels portfolio, interiors have been carefully renovated by designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, and inspired by Art Nouveau, showcasing modernista details of the property. The best of the 82 rooms open onto private terraces with skyline views. The soul of the place is comfort, art, and music, with a library of the figures who shaped Barcelona and a vinyl corner of vintage records, fitting with the Liceu theatre as a neighbour. Breakfast is taken beneath Ramon Casas’ murals in the Sirens Lounge, and dinner is at Fonda España, where Martín Berasategui, the most Michelin-decorated chef in Spain, guides honest Catalan cooking. Evenings are savoured at the Dorita cocktail bar and at the rooftop OD Sky Bar, open to the whole city, not only to guests. True to what OD calls its ‘neighbourmood’, this is a hotel where locals and visitors share the best of Barcelona.

The Grand Hotel Las Dunas is a five-star hideaway on the New Golden Mile, between Marbella to the east and Estepona to the west. Evocative of a Spanish hacienda, with sub-tropical gardens stepping down past fountains to an infinity pool, and onto cinematic views of the Mediterranean sea, and the Strait of Gibraltar to the mountains of north Africa. Recently reopened as part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, this feels like the calmest sea-facing five-star on this stretch of the Costa del Sol.

AC Hotel Cartagena, located in the historic port city of Cartagena in the Murcia region, offers contemporary accommodation in a convenient city-centre setting. With 107 guest rooms and suites. The design is minimalistic, with neutral tones, clean lines, and large windows allowing natural light to flow through.

Guests can enjoy Mediterranean cuisine and light bites at the hotel’s restaurant and bar, which serves both local specialities and international dishes. A wellness area with a sauna provides a space for relaxation, while a well-equipped fitness centre is available for those who wish to maintain their exercise routine during their stay. The property also offers an outdoor pool, ideal for cooling off in the Spanish sun.

Positioned near Cartagena’s historic attractions, like the Roman Theatre and city walls, the hotel caters to both leisure and business travellers.

Standing proudly on a hilltop overlooking the city (just a ten-minute stroll to the centre), this grande dame with a terracotta facade is both aristocratic and elegant. Conceived in 1910, the building was inspired by the Nasrid Palace, paying detailed homage to local architecture and culture in its design. It received a full refurbishment in 2017 for maximum modern comfort that retains the traditional elements and regal Moorish features. The hotel’s à la carte restaurant, Principe, serves a range of Mediterranean and international food inside and on the terrace, with far-reaching views. Single rooms through to two-bedroom suites are offered at the Hotel Alhambra Palace.

Once a church, convent and private residence, this 400-year-old building (known locally as the Convento de las Oblatas) remains unchanged from the outside. When sold in 1996, it became the first five-star hotel in the city. What used to be an orchard has been re-invented as a lovely garden. The church area is now the venue’s gourmet restaurant, Villena, run by chef Rubén Arnanz and serving locally influenced dishes, created using award-winning techniques. Additionally, Áurea Convento Capuchinos offers a spa with a jetted pool, a sauna, a Turkish bath and relaxation areas added to create a wellness retreat within its grounds.

Child and pet-friendly, this cosmopolitan AC Hotel provides the option of family rooms among its selection of 106 accommodations. There’s an onsite restaurant, the AC Lounge, where you can enjoy a meal with your travel companions, and refuel each day with a hearty breakfast. On the terrace, you’ll be surrounded by the aroma of close-by olive and lemon trees, as you sip on a cocktail and unwind from the day’s sightseeing. The hotel also has a fitness centre, parking and event space, for guests travelling on business.

A 14th-century Dominican monastery, this hotel has historic river view rooms (singles through to suites) in its Casa Grande and minimalist self-catering villas overlooking the vineyards. Christopher Colombus once stayed in the Tuscan inspired property, which is located in the lush Duero Valley, just 10 minutes from the city centre. It incorporates a winemaking hacienda – frequent guided tours are offered – and from which the hotel’s wine cellar is stocked. Produce from the onsite organic farm is also served in gourmet restaurants. Hacienda Zorita exudes understated luxury, with two pools, a terrace and open-air movie nights in the summer.

New to Sitges is the Sabàtic Sitges, Autograph Collection hotel. This chic hotel features 90 stylish and comfortable suites, each with a balcony or sea view terrace and interiors of neutral interiors designed by Barcelona-based interior designer, Sandra Tarruella. The hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant, Pasatempo, led by renowned Catalonian chef Rafa Peña and features an idyllic outdoor terrace. Guests can also enjoy an adults-only outdoor pool, daily wellness activities like yoga and Pilates, and stunning views of the Balearic Sea.

Reserved for adult travellers, La Isla y El Mar was the first hotel in the world to receive the Biosphere Responsible Tourism certificate, awarded by the Unesco Institute for Responsible Tourism. Alongside its 81 modern suites, is The African Secret, the hotel’s wellness centre, a buffet dining area and an on-trend a la carte restaurant. If you’re in need of some time in a cool, calm oasis, book a stay here.