The Best Hotels Near El Xato, by the Record
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Glass-walled boxes stacked on the slopes of Guadalest Valley, about an hour from Alicante, make for a hotel that looks like a provocation against the landscape and somehow wins. Adults only, which is either a selling point or redundant given the remoteness. The architect and the hotelier are the same person, so the rooms feel designed to be lived in rather than photographed. The spa and a slow-food restaurant round things out. Michelin has given it a Key.
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A rooftop pool overlooking Castillo de Santa Bárbara is a reasonable argument for booking a room anywhere. This five-star boutique hotel is a former Dominican convent, and the stone walls and arched windows make the Hospes group's signature white-on-dark-wood calm feel genuinely monastic. There's a fitness center, sauna, library, and a restaurant. Madrid weekenders fill most of the rooms, which tells you something about the vibe.