Santa Cruz
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Landmark grandeur: Seville's famous 1929 grand hotel, with a colonnaded courtyard restaurant and an outdoor pool.
Spain guide
Luxury hotels in Spain
Forty-three hotels we would choose for a client, from city palaces to houses on the sea.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
The luxury hotels we recommend in Spain are below, region by region: Hotel Alfonso XIII and Palacio Villapanés in Seville, the Mandarin Oriental Ritz in Madrid, Hotel Arts and W on the beach in Barcelona, Cap Rocat and Belmond La Residencia on Mallorca, and The Ritz-Carlton Abama on Tenerife among them; each card opens the hotel’s own page. They are a selection across Spain, not the limit of what we arrange: we match the stay to the trip.
At a glance
- The hotels
- Forty-three, from Seville and Madrid to Mallorca and the Canaries
- Top grades
- Gran Lujo in Andalusia and the Canaries; Gran luxe in Catalonia
- Smallest
- Mercer Sevilla: 12 rooms, by the Andalusian register
- Largest
- Lopesan Villa del Conde: 561 rooms, by the Canary register
- Oldest house
- Abadía Retuerta, a 12th-century abbey beside the Duero
Andalusia
Seville, Granada, Córdoba and the Costa del Sol
Palaces and old houses in the three great cities, and resorts on the beach and the golf course on the coast.
Seville. Four stand in the historic centre, within a walk of the Cathedral and the Alcázar: the city’s grand hotel, a palace of forty-eight rooms, a house of twelve, and twenty-seven old houses joined around their patios in the Jewish quarter. The fifth is across the river in La Cartuja, at the top of Andalusia’s tallest building. More, compared side by side, on our page of Seville hotels.
Santa Catalina
Palacio Villapanés
A smaller 18th-century palace of 48 rooms around an arcaded courtyard, with a rooftop terrace and small pool.
El Arenal
Mercer Sevilla
An intimate five-star boutique hotel in a late 19th-century mansion in El Arenal, with a rooftop terrace and pool for guests.
San Bartolomé
Las Casas de la Judería
A four-star heritage hotel spread across 27 connected houses and more than 40 patios in the old Jewish quarter.
La Cartuja
Eurostars Torre Sevilla
The top nineteen floors of Torre Sevilla, Andalusia's tallest building: 244 exterior rooms, with a restaurant, a spa and a rooftop terrace stacked above them.
Granada. Three houses in the centre below the Alhambra, all in Andalusia’s top grade, five-star Gran Lujo, from twenty rooms to forty. See our Granada hotels.
Centro histórico
Palacio de los Patos
A 19th-century palace in the city centre, with a contemporary second building, a garden restaurant and a spa.
Centro histórico
Seda Club
A twenty-room five-star Gran Lujo house on the Plaza de la Trinidad, with a rooftop bar and a heated pool.
Centro histórico
Palacio Gran Vía
A five-star Gran Lujo house of 38 rooms in the old Rodríguez-Acosta bank, facing the Cathedral, with a rooftop bar and a spa under a brick vault.
Córdoba. A palace in the north of the old town and five old houses joined around their patios in the Jewish quarter. See our Córdoba hotels.
San Miguel-Capuchinos
Palacio del Bailío
A five-star Gran Lujo house of 48 rooms in the Casa del Bailío, with a Roman house beneath its courtyard, a spa and an outdoor pool.
Judería
Las Casas de la Judería
Five old houses joined around Mudéjar and Renaissance patios in the Judería, opposite the Alcázar, with two penthouse terraces and a pool open all year.
Marbella. Three on the Golden Mile, two of them on the beach and the third, Nobu, inside Puente Romano; and some 30 km west along the coast, at Casares in the province of Málaga, a cortijo on its own golf course. See our Marbella hotels.
Milla de Oro
Marbella Club
A five-star resort on the Golden Mile's beach, with rooms, suites and villas in subtropical gardens, a Beach Club, a Thalasso Spa and a Kids Club.
Milla de Oro
Puente Romano
A whitewashed village of suites on the Milla de Oro's beach, with a Six Senses Spa, a tennis club and more than twenty restaurants and bars.
Milla de Oro
Nobu Hotel Marbella
A Nobu hotel within Puente Romano on the Golden Mile, with Nobu's restaurant and bar, an adults-only pool for its guests, and the resort's beach and spa.
Casares
Finca Cortesín
A five-star Gran Lujo cortijo in Casares, on the Costa del Sol, with suites around courtyards, its own 18-hole course, a spa and a Beach Club.
Madrid and Catalonia
Madrid, Barcelona and the Costa Brava
The capital’s grand hotels between the museums and the Salamanca district, Barcelona’s houses in the Eixample and towers on the sea, and a grand house on the Costa Brava.
Madrid. One on the Paseo de la Castellana by the Salamanca district’s shops, one between the Prado and the Retiro, a palace a few minutes from the Royal Palace and the opera, and a house with a spa of its own in Justicia, near Chueca and Las Salesas. See our Madrid hotels.
Castellana
Rosewood Villa Magna
A five-star hotel on the Paseo de la Castellana, by the Salamanca district's shops, with four restaurants and bars, a spa, and rooftop suites it calls Houses.
Los Jerónimos
Mandarin Oriental Ritz
A five-star Belle Époque palace between the Prado and the Retiro, with afternoon tea in the Palm Court and a garden open all year, weather permitting.
Palacio
Palacio de los Duques
A five-star 19th-century palace between the Plaza de Oriente and the Gran Vía, with a historic garden and a pool on the roof.
Justicia
Urso
A five-star boutique hotel in Justicia, near Chueca and Las Salesas, in a towered corner building, with a spa and a water area.
Barcelona. Two towers on the beachfront at either end of Barceloneta, and two houses in the Eixample: a quiet one by the Passeig de Gràcia and the cotton guild’s old headquarters. Three of the four are in Catalonia’s top category, Gran luxe. See our Barcelona hotels.
Barceloneta
W Barcelona
The glass sail at the end of Barceloneta, with its own way onto Sant Sebastià beach, pool decks over the sea and a spa.
Barceloneta
Hotel Arts
A Gran luxe tower on the beachfront by the Port Olímpic, with rooms over the sea or the city and two outdoor pools in its gardens.
Eixample
Hotel Alma
Behind an Eixample façade by the Passeig de Gràcia, a quiet garden restaurant and a spa with an indoor pool.
Eixample
Cotton House
A five-star house in the Eixample, the cotton guild's former headquarters, with a library, a rooftop pool and a tailor's workshop.
The Costa Brava. A grand house of seventy-four rooms on the headland at S’Agaró, above the bay of Sant Pol, also Gran luxe.
S'Agaró
Hostal de La Gavina
A Gran luxe house on the headland at S'Agaró, above the bay of Sant Pol, with a 25-metre pool over the sea, a spa and four restaurants.
The north and the wine country
San Sebastián, La Rioja and the Duero
A house on the river and one above the sea in San Sebastián, and three stays among the vines.
San Sebastián. A grand house on the river at the edge of the old town, a short walk from La Concha, and a house of twenty-two rooms on Monte Igeldo with Pedro Subijana’s restaurant. See our San Sebastián hotels.
Centro
Hotel María Cristina
A five-star house on the Urumea at the edge of the Parte Vieja, a short walk from La Concha, with two restaurants, a cocktail bar and river-view suites.
Igeldo
Hotel Akelarre
A five-star house of 22 rooms on Monte Igeldo, every one looking out to sea, with Pedro Subijana's restaurant and an adults-only spa.
La Rioja and the Duero. Two houses in the wine villages of the Rioja Alavesa, one of them in a working winery, and an abbey on its own estate in the province of Valladolid. See our Rioja hotels and wine travel in Spain.
Elciego
Hotel Marqués de Riscal
Sixty rooms in and beside Frank Gehry's ribboned building, in the grounds of the Marqués de Riscal winery at Elciego.
Villabuena de Álava
Hotel Viura
A four-star house of 33 rooms in stacked concrete cubes on the church square of Villabuena de Álava, with its cellar in an old underground passage.
Sardón de Duero
Abadía Retuerta
A five-star house of 30 rooms in the restored 12th-century abbey of Santa María de Retuerta, on its own wine estate beside the Duero.
The islands
Mallorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands
Manor houses and a fortress on Mallorca, a house on Ibiza’s northern cliffs, and the Canaries’ sea and volcanoes.
Mallorca. Two manor houses in the Tramuntana, one in a village above the sea and one inland on its own estate; a fortress on the Bay of Palma; a castle for adults on a wooded hill above the city; and a resort built like a village above the Canyamel valley on the east coast. La Residencia and Cap Rocat close for the winter. See our Mallorca hotels.
Deià
Belmond La Residencia
Twin 16th- and 17th-century manor houses on a Deià hillside, with 67 rooms, a spa, indoor and outdoor pools and an art gallery.
Puigpunyent
Grand Hotel Son Net
A 17th-century manor on a country estate in the Tramuntana foothills, with its own vineyard, an outdoor pool and a spa of over 1,000 m².
Cala Blava
Cap Rocat
A 19th-century fortress in a coastal nature reserve on the Bay of Palma, with a spa 12 metres below ground and two restaurants.
Son Vida, Palma
Castillo Hotel Son Vida
An adults-only castle hotel of 165 rooms in the hills of Son Vida above Palma, looking over the bay, among three golf courses.
Canyamel
Cap Vermell Grand Hotel
A five-star resort of 142 rooms built like a Mallorcan village in the Canyamel valley, home to the two-Michelin-star VORO.
Ibiza. The quiet north of the island, on the cliffs above the sea.
Sant Miquel de Balansat
Hacienda Na Xamena
A five-star house on the cliffs at Na Xamena, on Ibiza's north coast, with 59 rooms and suites, La Posidonia Spa and the eight-pool Cascadas Suspendidas.
Lanzarote. Three in Puerto del Carmen: twenty-five suites on the seafront for adults, a house of suites on the hill above, and the island’s first hotel on its beaches. Beyond it, a resort of suites at Playa Blanca in the south, and an all-inclusive resort for adults above the marina at Puerto Calero. See our Lanzarote hotels.
Puerto del Carmen
Lani's Suites De Luxe
Twenty-five suites on the seafront at Puerto del Carmen, all facing the sea, most with a private terrace and a jacuzzi, and a gourmet restaurant at the water's edge.
Puerto del Carmen
La Isla y el Mar
A five-star boutique hotel of 81 suites on the hillside above Puerto del Carmen, built to a bioclimatic design with geothermal heating and cooling.
Puerto del Carmen
Hotel Fariones
Lanzarote's first hotel, reopened in 2020 after a rebuild: 213 sea-view rooms in a mature tropical garden, with direct access to three beaches.
Playa Blanca
Princesa Yaiza
A five-star Lujo suite resort of 330 suites on the seafront at Playa Blanca, with nine restaurants, a thalassotherapy centre and a large open-air children's park.
Puerto Calero
Secrets Lanzarote
An adults-only five-star resort of 335 rooms and suites on the coast above Puerto Calero marina, run on an all-inclusive basis with a spa and four heated pools.
Tenerife. A resort above its own beach on the south-west coast, and a house of junior suites for adults above the beach at La Caleta.
Guía de Isora
The Ritz-Carlton Abama
A terracotta citadel above its own beach at Guía de Isora, with 462 rooms and villas in a 400-acre estate, ten places to eat and Dave Thomas's course in the grounds.
La Caleta
Corales Beach
An adults-only hotel of 121 Junior Suites above La Enramada beach at La Caleta, with El Rincón de Juan Carlos, San Hô and a pool on the roof.
Gran Canaria. Two on the south coast: villas around a palm garden at Maspalomas, a few minutes’ walk from the dunes, and a resort laid out as a Canarian village at Meloneras.
Maspalomas
Grand Hotel Residencia
A Gran Lujo hotel of colonial villas around a palm garden at Maspalomas, five minutes' walk from the edge of the dunes, with two heated saltwater pools and a spa.
Meloneras
Villa del Conde
A five-star resort of 561 rooms built as a Canarian village in Meloneras, with six pools, a Mini Club and the Om Thalasso — the Gran Canaria base for families.
Choosing
Choosing a hotel for the trip you want
Every traveller is different, and so is every hotel. Here is where we would start for each kind of stay.
For two. Hotel Alfonso XIII’s courtyard in Seville, Cap Rocat’s fortress on the Bay of Palma, Belmond La Residencia in the village of Deià, and Akelarre’s sea views above San Sebastián. More in our honeymoon trips to Spain.
For a city. In Madrid and Barcelona, a grand hotel within a walk of the museums, or a house among Gaudí’s on the Passeig de Gràcia; our guide to the best luxury hotels in Barcelona, below, sets the city’s out by neighbourhood.
For the monuments. A house in the old centre of Seville, Granada or Córdoba, so the mornings start on foot; with a guide, as in our private architecture and cultural tours.
For a family. Marbella Club’s Kids Club for ages four to fourteen, La Casita at Puente Romano, Arts Kids at Hotel Arts and the kids’ club at Belmond La Residencia in summer, and family suites in many of the city houses. More in our luxury family trips to Spain.
For the wine. Marqués de Riscal in its winery, Viura in a village of wineries, Abadía Retuerta on its own estate; with tastings, as in our wine tasting in Rioja.
Just the hotel. We plan whole trips, and we also arrange a stay on its own: a hotel matched to you, with transfers, a guide or a few reservations added if you wish.
Our Spain itineraries
The Grand Spanish Tour
from $27,200 per person
The Charm of Andalusia
from $9,800 per person
Spain's Culinary Heritage
from $15,300 per person
Spanish Family Adventure
from $9,400 per person
Questions
Questions we are asked
How does Avelia Travel select its luxury hotels?
We feature hotels we would choose for a client, for where they stand, the house itself and the way they look after their guests. Each has a page of its own, with its facts checked against its region’s official register. They are a selection: where a trip calls for a house, a finca or a hotel not shown here, we arrange that too.
What is the difference between a "boutique" and a "5-star" luxury hotel?
Five-star is an official category: each region classifies its hotels, and several add a grade above it — Gran Lujo in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, Gran luxe in Catalonia and Mallorca. Boutique is not a category but a description: a house of a few dozen rooms rather than a few hundred, with a character of its own. The two often meet: Mercer Sevilla is a five-star Gran Lujo house of twelve rooms.
What is the typical price range for a luxury hotel in Spain?
A room’s rate depends on the hotel, the room and the season, and changes through the year, so we do not publish one. Every trip is priced individually. After discussing your plans, we prepare a tailored proposal with a quoted trip price and a clear outline of what is included.
More Spain guides
- The best luxury hotels in Barcelona
By kind and by neighbourhood, boutique to grand.
- Spain's luxury destinations
The cities, coasts and islands we plan, region by region.
- Planning a trip to Spain
How we design a trip, the hotels and experiences, and when to go.
City guides: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Mallorca and San Sebastián, or all our Spain guides. In the journal: boutique hotels in Spain and five-star hotels in Spain.
Plan your Spain trip
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. Everything else we can work out together.
Plan your Spain trip Our Spain page
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