Hotel Cortijo Del Marques

Hotel Cortijo Del Marques

Hotel Cortijo del Marqués occupies a restored farmhouse in Albolote, about 20 kilometres north of Granada, set between the Sierra del Pozuelo and the Sierra Arana. It keeps to 15 rooms across two floors and only welcomes children over the age of twelve, a policy that shapes everything from the quiet garden terraces to a restaurant that changes its four-course dinner menu nightly, built from whatever the chef buys at market that day. Rooms carry names instead of numbers, among them El Silo, La Higuera and La Carpintería, and come with bathrobes, air conditioning and, in several categories, a private terrace or garden view. What the hotel has that its neighbours do not is a chapel consecrated in 1878 and carefully restored, still standing on the grounds. Guests can work through a wine list built around Granada's own vineyards, swim in the outdoor or indoor pool, play a round of ping-pong, or sit with a book in the library. Staff speak English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese, pets are welcome for a small extra fee, and airport transfer can be arranged. This is not the address for families with young children, since the hotel caps groups at eight people and keeps a quiet, adult-leaning house, and it is not for anyone who wants to step straight out of the lobby into Granada's old town, which sits a short drive away. It suits couples and solo travellers who don't mind that drive and want to come back to a working fireplace in the cooler months and a dinner menu decided that same morning at the market. A restored farmhouse hotel north of Granada, between the Sierra del Pozuelo and the Sierra Arana, with 15 rooms, a chapel dating to 1878 and a dinner menu that changes nightly with the market. Children under twelve aren't admitted, so the quiet stays quiet.