The Best Hotels Near El Xato, by the Record
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Seven pools and no beach access for a mile and a half: the Costa Blanca's overdevelopment problem is, in a roundabout way, the reason this Bali-style resort exists. The rooms lean into a Far East fantasy convincingly enough that the Mediterranean glimpsed in the distance feels like a mild surprise. It sits near the Terra Mitica theme park and stays deliberately removed from the coastal chaos it was built to ignore.
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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.