Nothing predestined María Vives, architect and interior designer, to become a hotelier.
Nothing except a crush on an old farmhouse once run by the monks of the Carthusian monastery of Escaladei, in the Priorat wine region. So, in 2016, with the support of her brothers, she decided to convert the place, without betraying its aesthetic, into a 5-star.
Adults-only, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of The World, it now features 26 rooms, a brand new outdoor oak spa, and a gourmet table, Alma Mater, in the barns.
Chef Mattia Turchet, formerly of Tickets, Ferran Adria’s tapas bar in Barcelona, works with virtuosity with local products, from fish from Tarragona to Iberian ham, and revisits Catalan specialties: croquetas, canelons and coca, a popular Catalan pastry. The wine cellar houses nearly 300 references from Priorat and Montsant, including the estate’s own vintages.
Spain
Céline Baussay
