Top 15 Hotels in Spain and Portugal: Readers’ Choice Awards 2022
View all of the 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards winners here.
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Rosewood Villa MagnahotelRosewood Villa Magna
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Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023The Rosewood Villa Magna Madrid's formally dressed bellmen and luxury cars out front give off a little whiff of what’s to come: white walls with gold accents, silk lamp covers, and fabric wall coverings. Extra touches include a pillow menu, bedside reading lights, Nespresso machines, and complimentary shoeshine. The two suites on the top floor draw celebs and diplomats aplenty. Set on Madrid’s famous Paseo de la Castellana, this hotel has immediate cachet, and its spa draws plenty of attention. If you are in search for an address to impress, this is it.
Francisco Nogueira/Four SeasonshotelFour Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023Those looking for a splashy way to do Lisbon will find it at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon. Located across from the Parque Eduardo VII, this mid-century gem boasts lavish interiors and impeccable service, making guests feel like they’re living in Portugal's Golden Age. Guest rooms are regal and distinguished with elegant handwoven tapestries by Portuguese artist José Sobral de Almada Negreiros. Eighteenth-century furniture and high-end white linens give it a feel of past-meets-present. It’s easy to indulge here, but don’t miss the health and wellness offerings, including an indoor lap pool and a rooftop running track.
Courtesy Finca CortesinhotelFinca Cortesin
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Gold List 2020, 2022, 2024 Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023The international luxury names may be piling into Spain at breakneck speed, but none has yet achieved the status of the great Finca Cortesin. With 67 suites, Bali-esque pools, a Mediterranean-facing beach club, a vast spa, and a top-brass golf course, it’s a paradigm of perfection on the cusp of Casares, a typical whitewashed town near Marbella. Finca Cortesin is more than the sum of its parts, but each part has been created by someone of significant talent. Javier López Granados is the big-vision CEO-owner who pulls it all together; Rene Zimmer the consummate managing director, who also helms new sister property Grand Hotel Son Net in Mallorca. Architects Roger Torras and Ignacio Sierra conceived this take on a classic Andalusian finca, which gleams sparkling white against the deep-blue Med and vivid flashes of potted geraniums. The sleek public spaces, filled to the rafters with antiques, were originally curated by the late, distinguished Portuguese decorator Duarte Pinto Coelho (after his death, the baton passed to exuberant Madrid-based antiquarian Lorenzo Castillo). Landscaper Gerald Huggan planted the perfumed and palm-studded gardens, replete with jasmine and wisteria. The inviting suites are the work of interior designer sisters Ana and Cristina Calderón, who dressed high-ceilinged rooms with bright pieces, color feature walls, vibrant bouquets, and paintings. To dine with Lutz Bösing, chef at El Jardín de Lutz, is to take a masterclass in classic Spanish cuisine, especially seafood such as a rich mantis shrimp cream soup with lobster and basil. From $700. —David Moralejo
Courtesy Hotel Arts BarcelonahotelHotel Arts Barcelona
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023The culinary scene at Hotel Arts is top-notch: Two-Michelin-starred Enoteca restaurant, helmed by local celebrity chef Paco Pérez, is a culinary destination in its own right. People come here from all over to try Chef Pérez’s elegant tasting menus that showcase his love of the most Catalan of umami flavors, “mar i muntanya,” which translates as sea and mountain (or surf ‘n’ turf). But we are talking about far more epicurean combinations, like scallops cooked in chicken stock or cuttlefish served with truffle. Plus, if you're looking for a blissfully relaxing stay right next to the Mediterranean—with views to die for and plenty of outdoor space—combined with discreet, thoughtful service that is second to none, this is the place to get it.
Courtesy Gran Hotel IngléshotelGran Hotel Inglés
$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2022Madrid counts many boutique hotels across its map, but this one—with its main event lobby bar, considered service, and ideal location—hits the mark with perfection. Off a tight street in the city's Literary Quarter, near palaces and caña bars frequented by Hemingway, Gran Hotel Inglés impresses with spot-on service (umbrellas, Ubers, and cocktails are always at the ready), and a nice balance of historical and modern detail courtesy of the Rockwell Group Madrid; just enough for your convenience, but not too much to distract from the 19th-century beauty of it all. Do yourself a favor and hang out at the lobby bar—it's become a main draw, not just for guests, but for neighborhood locals, and they get the drinks just right.
Marriott InternationalhotelThe Ivens, Lisbon, Autograph Collection
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Hot List 2022 Readers' Choice Awards 2022Like an oasis hidden in the city (but not hidden from it), The Ivens, Lisbon, Autograph Collection, is inspired by the journey of 19th-century Portuguese explorers Ivens and Capelo. As soon as you walk through the door, you’re greeted by tropical plants, parrots, macaws, beetles, velvet armchairs, and golden details. The 87 rooms allude to flora and fauna through notes of color in the wallpaper and carpets. The in-house restaurant, Rocco, is already one of the places to be right now in Lisbon, fully booked day after day by creatives, artists, and bohemians. Rooms from $425. —David Moralejo
Georg RoskehotelOKU Ibiza
$ | Hot List 2022 Readers' Choice Awards 2022If there is a place where you can find inner peace and connect with yourself, that place is OKU Ibiza. This laid-back luxury retreat is a small paradise within a paradise, and the best place to discover (or rediscover) the so-called White Island: Think wabi sabi–inspired design, two serene swimming pools, regular yoga sessions, and fusion cuisine. The hotel also has a privileged location that gives you access to the most beautiful beach spots of the island, from large and sandy shores to hidden small coves, as well as popular beach clubs and restaurants with sea views. Rooms from $245. —María Casbas
El Palace BarcelonahotelEl Palace Barcelona
$$ | Gold List 2023 Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2022El Palace is all Baroque opulence. Like a small-scale version of Versailles in the center of Barcelona, this property used to be the Ritz, and it shows in everything from the fancy doormen in top hats to the old-school room keys to the lavish fabrics and furnishings. It is a stately grande dame hotel that has been one of Barcelona's leaders in luxury ever since it first opened in 1919.
Photo by Nicole FranzenhotelCasa Bonay
$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2022Snag, if you can, one of the five Courtyard Large Terrace rooms at this renovated modernist mansion downtown—you can treat yourself to a private terrace, outdoor shower, hammock, and lots of direct sunlight for an affordable rate. Though the service at Casa Bonay can be spotty at times, the excellent bars are still worth a visit for stiff drinks and friendly locals.
Sivan AskayohotelAlmanac Barcelona
$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2020, 2022Almanac remains one Barcelona’s hottest hotels, and, even though it’s been open five years already (where does the time go?), it still looks brand spanking new: Everything is shiny and modern, from the tech-forward rooms to the sauna and rooftop dipping pool. Book a Terrace Suite with a separate living room and a sun-drenched wraparound terrace overlooking Gran Via, one of Barcelona’s main thoroughfares—don’t worry, the soundproofing here is solid.
Courtesy Four Seasons MadridhotelFour Seasons Hotel Madrid
$$$ | Hot List 2021 Readers' Choice Awards 2022, 2023For years madrileños avoided the streets around Puerta del Sol, complaining about the decay of a once-grand downtown barrio that had also become a monstrous building site. But since the Four Seasons opened its doors in September 2020, the complaints have turned to compliments. Standing proudly on the corner of calles Sevilla and Alcalá, the Canadian group’s first Spanish property has sailed onto the Madrid hotel scene with all guns blazing, promising to grant the neighborhood a new lease on life. The city’s two traditional contenders in the top-end stakes, the Palace and Ritz, must be quaking in their Penelope Chilvers. Part of a large project including private residences, a retail ‘gallery’ and gastro-market, the hotel has preserved the building’s ornate 19th-century stone façade (check out the elephant heads) and grand interiors such as the double-height lobby with its ivy-green marble columns, Alpujarra carpets and stained-glass roof. You won’t find cutting-edge here, but there are no rough edges either: this is grown-up stuff. Everything breathes quality, from the solid walnut floors and gray-flecked Volakas marble of the rooms to their faultless sound-proofing and refreshingly user-friendly lighting systems. But there’s also a delicate touch in the design that seems just right for an age that has tired of glitz. Service manages the deft trick of being both briskly efficient and charmingly Spanish. In the top-floor restaurant, genial chef Dani Garcia does his New Andalucian thing to fabulous backdrop views of monumental Madrid. The Four Seasons sets the bar high, but clears it without breaking a sweat. From $720 per night. —Paul Richardson
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Art Sanchez/Can Bordoy Grand House & GardenhotelCan Bordoy Grand House & Garden
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2021, 2022Like many special hotels, this one is tricky to find. There are no sign posts. No terrace on the street flowing with hotel guests and a stream of waiters with spritzes. Only the discreet stone archway that leads off the square to what was once a private family home—then a school run by nuns—indicates you have arrived. Can Bordoy today has been entirely renovated by much-in-demand husband-and-wife architects Jaime Oliver and Paloma Hernaiz of OHLAB. Their aim was to respect the building’s rich heritage but to bring it up to date with contemporary notes. There’s a shady courtyard and a long, stone bar with a low-key reception area, a living room with beautiful creeping vines across the ceiling connects to a dining room, and a library with views out to the back. The designers have excelled in filling this space with natural light and drama with a mix of both vintage and new furniture. Their vast, custom-made walnut beds and in-room cocktail bars with integrated stereos are real highlights. The basement spa and rooftop sundeck with 360-degree views and a glass-bottom plunge pool are delightful, as is the Botànic restaurant run by chef Andrés Benitez, focusing on locally sourced organic ingredients. Among the crush of boutique offerings in medieval Palma, Can Bordoy captures the true heart of the place in a way worthy of the moment. FLASH POINT The hotel’s ace in the hole (and a rarity in the city) is a large, secluded garden with café chairs and a swimming pool. +34 871 -871-202; canbordoy.com. Doubles from about $425.
Courtesy Marbella Club Hotel, Golf Resort & SpahotelMarbella Club
$$ | Gold List 2023 Readers' Choice Awards 2022This heritage property on the Andalusian coast has been synonymous with unassuming luxury since it began life as a hangout for Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe’s friends in the 1950s. Over time it has evolved from a string of Californian-motel-inspired lodges into a rarefied village anchored by the beach. Yet despite its growth, it has maintained the intimacy of a members’ club. Post-pandemic additions such as El Patio restaurant draw upmarket locals to sip pressed juices after yoga classes or crisp rosés later on. The recent reincarnation of the iconic Beach Club, once erring on the side of silver service, has an artisanal, eclectic feel, with vibrant corals, Art Deco–style umbrellas, and hand-painted tiles. It’s this rare combination of bohemian charm and specificity of service that is MC’s interstellar dust. It’s what brings smart young couples to lounge together under the citrus trees. It’s why families gather poolside for languorous lunches. But the kids’ club is the greatest triumph. There are exhaustive activities, gorgeous free-flow creative spaces, and engaging, energetic staff who work subtle magic. I’ve “encouraged” my own children into countless kids’ clubs over the years, but this is the only one that I have had to bribe them back out of. And happy children mean harmonious holidays: time to slink into the sea-gazing Thalasso spa, try some Kundalini yoga or a little paddle surfing; perhaps even a zingy Zoco cocktail by the pool. Life is all about balance, after all.
Courtesy El Llorenç Parc de la MarhotelEl Llorenç Parc de la Mar
Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2022With a sky-skimming infinity pool, the longest in Palma, that brings the Balearic sea right up to the feet of the Balinese sunbeds, El Llorenç’s rooftop is glorious. Beneath the feathered aquamarine parasols is furniture in a zingy watercolour spectrum of blues, greens and indigos. Around the corner from Palma’s historic hammams in Parc de la Mar, this hotel refracts the medieval heritage of its La Calatrava location through an ultra-contemporary lens. Swedish designer Magnus Ehrland used 27 different geometric tiles in the space, all versions of the Arabic star. During construction, architect Pedro Rabassa found an 11th-century Moorish oven in the foundations. Ehrland has designed without dogma, freely adding botanical splashes: local Santanyi stone pillars and Versailles-style parquet floors are playfully mixed with quirky, palm-print carpets, peacock chairs and feather headdresses. Sense of place is established with photographs of Palma, an exotic green-tile basement pool and hammam, and Tannur restaurant, which serves up hearty Mallorcan food. Meanwhile, DINS is a fine-dining experience by island chef Santi Taura, who deconstructs historic local dishes. Service is informal and standard rooms are snug. But on the rooftop, spire-height with La Seu Cathedral, it's all cocktails, sea and sky.
