It’s been 70 years since Spain’s first tourism boom, when bikinis were first legalised in Benidorm and buildings began sprouting up along the coastline to cater to package holidaymakers.
The tourism industry has come a long way since, but one thing remains constant – with new ultra-luxury openings, the latest in sustainable design and elegant resorts that redefine the all-inclusive holiday, Spain’s hotels remain pioneers.
From luxury travel to family holidays with style and eco travel credentials, these are the hotels helping push the envelope and lead the way when it comes to rethinking tourism and the way we travel.
Ultra-luxury interiors
Madrid has been having a moment, with a slew of glamorous new hotel openings redefining the idea of grandeur.
The Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid, made headlines for its luxurious interior design after being bought out by Mandarin Oriental for €140 million and undergoing a €105 million renovation to restore it to its former glory from a century ago.
Competing with this grand dame, with its gleaming marble, gold finishes and ornate rooftop bar, is Madrid’s oldest hotel, the Grand Hotel Ingles. Set in the city’s Literary Quarter, it has 48 sumptuous guest rooms, Art Deco design and original features complemented with burnt orange, caramel, and gold.
These aren’t the only luxury hotels in Spain redefining five-star stays. The contemporary Madrid Edition joins them with a different vibe, focused on an all-white canvas and layered textures to create a soothing ambience, crowned by a piercing blue rooftop pool.
Ultra-luxe style goes beyond Madrid, too. The new Hotel Font de la Canya, in Catalonia’s Penedès region, is all natural materials and whitewashed green-shuttered country style, with just eight rooms unfurling onto the rolling countryside.
Sustainable design
From the Balearic and the Canaries to the mainland, eco-travel is flourishing across Spain, encouraging visitors to travel differently, explore deeper and do their bit to protect fragile landscapes. This approach goes far beyond sustainable hotel design, looking to find new ways for us to have the minimal environmental impact on the places we visit.
In the Majorcan village of Soller, family-run hotel Ecocirer has upcycled 100 per cent of the furniture used in its six distinctive rooms and serves a plant-based breakfast and dinner, made using locally sourced seasonal produce.
Hotel Aire de Bardenas, located in the Bardenas Reales National Park in Navarra, was inspired by the region's semi-desert landscapes and built using sustainable materials such as local stone and reclaimed wood.
Wind breakers that protect this low-lying hotel from the area’s famous winds are created from the wooden cases used for storing Navarras’s famous vegetables, while floor-to-ceiling windows invite the outdoors inside.
To the south, the District Hive hotel, set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada in Granada, has been recognised as the most sustainable hotel in Spain. Calling itself a ‘colony podtel’, its prototype autonomous pod is completely off-grid, managing its own water, electricity and waste, while offering a wall of windows looking out over sweeping landscapes.
Eco travel isn’t just restricted to Spain’s rural landscapes. On the edge of San Sebastian, overlooking the Miramon forest, Arima Hotel combines Scandi style with impressive eco credentials and is one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Its stacked blocks are covered in aluminium, which can slide into place to block the sun and regulate temperature, while interiors of natural wood create a neutral colour palette and picture windows make the views the star of the show.
This is a Passivhaus, a German construction quality standard that consumes 70 per cent less energy than traditional hotels, even with its spa and rooftop pool.
Redefined all-inclusive
All-inclusive travel is making a comeback, but it’s no longer about all-you-can-eat buffets and basic rooms. Ikos Resorts has introduced à la carte menus designed by Michelin-star chefs and complimentary Tesla car rental to its repertoire at its Costa del Sol resort, Ikos Andalusia.
Exquisite interiors of soothing neutral tones, lush open spaces and gardens leading down to the beach upgrade the family resort experience, while the chance to dine at local restaurants included in the price of your stay and complimentary museum passes help families to fully explore their surroundings.
The concept has been so popular since Ikos Andalusia’s opening in 2021 that Ikos opened a second luxury resort in Spain – Ikos Porto Petro welcomes guests to immerse themselves in the natural beauty of Majorca’s enchanting coast.
If you’re looking to enhance your hotel brand and build connections with your audience, reach out to travel marketing expert Peregryn agency. As experienced luxury travel content creators, we turn fast-growing businesses into leading hotel brands.
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