Five-star luxury hotels in Spain

Spain has no single star system. Each region classifies its own hotels and keeps its own register, in its own words: Andalusia’s highest category is five stars “with the distinction Gran Lujo”, Catalonia’s is Gran luxe, a step above five stars, and Madrid’s register writes “5 estrellas L”, for Lujo. Every hotel on this page is in its region’s top categories, and each hotel’s own page gives its category and room count as the register records them.

Beyond the category, the choice is the kind of stay. A grand hotel between the museums suits a week of art in Madrid; a resort on the sand, long days by the sea in Marbella; a castle above Palma, golf and quiet. For more on each city, our Spain guides cover where to stay, what to do and when to go.