Spain
Luxury hotels, insider access, and bespoke itineraries
The Destination
Spain has quietly become one of Europe's most exciting luxury-hotel countries, and Madrid is the reason. Within a few years the capital has gained a cluster few cities can match: the 1910 Hotel Ritz reborn as the Mandarin Oriental Ritz after a three-year restoration, facing the Prado; the storied Villa Magna reborn as Rosewood's Spanish debut on the Paseo de la Castellana; and Philippe Starck's Brach Madrid bringing Evok's maximalist design to the Gran Vía. Add Four Seasons on Calle de Sevilla and the city now rivals Paris for palace-grade choice.
Beyond the capital, each region offers something completely different. Barcelona has Patricia Urquiola's Mandarin Oriental on Passeig de Gràcia; San Sebastián pairs the world's densest Michelin scene with the 1898 villa charm of Hotel Villa Soro; Six Senses Ibiza holds the island's tranquil north coast; Mallorca hides Belmond La Residencia in the artists' village of Deià; and the Costa del Sol runs from Finca Cortesín's Andalusian estate to the 1954 glamour of the Marbella Club.
This is a country we cover first-hand — we have stayed at and reviewed six of Spain's finest hotels, from the Madrid palaces to the Basque coast. We sequence the route (the AVE high-speed rail makes Madrid–Barcelona effortless), secure the tables that matter in San Sebastián, arrange private Prado and Alhambra guides, and add preferred-partner benefits to every stay — at the same rate you would pay booking direct.
Our Recommended Properties
Six Senses Ibiza
Ibiza · $$$$$
Xarraca Bay hideaway on Ibiza's unspoiled north coast — the antidote to party Ibiza
Hotel Villa Soro
San Sebastián · $$$
A British-style 1898 villa turned 25-room boutique hotel, set among heritage gardens minutes from La Concha and San Sebastián's old town
Brach Madrid
Madrid · $$$$
Philippe Starck's maximalist design hotel on Gran Vía — the Evok Collection's Spain debut, part 1920s café, part collector's apartment, with a downstairs pool and spa
Four Seasons Hotel Madrid
Madrid · $$$$$
Seven restored historic buildings between Puerta del Sol and Barrio de las Letras, with a Martin Brudnizki rooftop and a four-level spa
Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor
Mallorca · $$$$$
A 100-acre private estate inside a 1,200-acre nature reserve at Mallorca's northern tip, with a kilometre of beach and a private boat dock
The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama
Tenerife · $$$$
Clifftop above a private beach in Guia de Isora with two Michelin-starred restaurants
Rosewood Villa Magna
Madrid · $$$$$
Rosewood's debut in Spain — the storied 1972 Villa Magna on the Paseo de la Castellana, reborn as a residential-style Salamanca retreat with a glazed garden courtyard and Michelin-pedigree dining
Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid
Madrid · $$$$$
The 1910 Ritz reborn under Mandarin Oriental — a Belle Époque palace on the Plaza de la Lealtad with a gilded rotunda, the glass-roofed Palm Court and five Quique Dacosta dining concepts
Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona
Barcelona · $$$$$
Patricia Urquiola's design landmark on Passeig de Gràcia — a calm, contemporary sanctuary with a moody spa pool, top-floor terrace suites and Michelin dining
La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, Mallorca
Deià · $$$$$
Twin 17th-century manor houses above Deià in the Tramuntana, once home to Cistercian monks and now Mallorca's most artistic hotel
Best Time to Visit
May to June and September to October are the sweet spots almost everywhere — warm, sociable, and free of the July–August peak, when the coast is hottest and busiest and many Spaniards take their own holiday. Ibiza's shoulder seasons (late May, June, September) are exceptional. The interior cities — Madrid, Seville — are best enjoyed in spring and autumn, as high summer can be intense.
Insider Tips
The pairing our clients love most: three nights in a Madrid palace — the Mandarin Oriental Ritz for grandeur, Rosewood Villa Magna for residential calm — then the Basque coast for the food. In San Sebastián we book Hotel Villa Soro, an 1898 villa minutes from La Concha, and arrange the pintxos crawls and Michelin tables that define the city. Come in September for the film festival, and book the restaurants the moment your dates firm up — we handle both.
Frequently Asked
What is the best luxury hotel in Madrid?
Madrid now has three world-class answers, and we have stayed at all of them. The Mandarin Oriental Ritz — the 1910 Ritz restored over three years and reopened in 2021 — is the grande dame, facing the Prado. Rosewood Villa Magna offers calm, residential luxury in Salamanca. Brach Madrid, Philippe Starck's design hotel on the Gran Vía, is the characterful newcomer. Our first-hand reviews of each are on this site.
Is Madrid or Barcelona better for a luxury trip?
For hotels and art, Madrid now has the edge — its palace cluster and the Prado–Thyssen–Reina Sofía triangle are unmatched in Spain. Barcelona counters with Gaudí, the sea, and the design-led Mandarin Oriental on Passeig de Gràcia. The honest answer is both: the AVE high-speed train connects them in about 2.5 hours, so a week covers the two comfortably.
When is the best time to visit Spain?
April–June and September–October for the cities, when Madrid and Barcelona are warm and sociable without the August heat. The islands and the Costa del Sol run May–October. San Sebastián is loveliest in early autumn and peaks around its September film festival — book restaurants and rooms well ahead for that window.
Is San Sebastián worth adding for the food?
If food is a reason you travel, it is the reason to come to Spain. San Sebastián and the surrounding Basque country hold one of the densest concentrations of Michelin stars anywhere in the world, and the pintxos bars in the old town are as good an evening as the tasting menus. It is a small, walkable, elegant seaside city, and three nights is plenty. We book the tables that need booking months ahead and pair it with Madrid or Bilbao.
Ibiza, Mallorca or the Canaries?
Ibiza for summer and a design-led crowd — the north of the island around Xarraca Bay is a world away from the clubs, which surprises people. The Canaries for winter sun, because they are the only part of Spain reliably warm from November to March; Tenerife is where the best of the resorts sit. Mallorca sits between the two, greener than Ibiza and with more coastline to explore. Tell us the month first — with Spain's islands, the season decides the island rather than the other way round.
How do you get around Spain?
By train, more than people expect. The AVE high-speed network links Madrid to Barcelona, Seville, Málaga and Valencia in roughly two to three hours, city centre to city centre, which beats flying once you count the airports. We book first class and the transfers at either end, and keep flights for the islands. A car only makes sense for Andalusia's white villages or the Basque coast.
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