ehe123

We stayed for two nights towards the end of August. We would definitely return! We received a Platinum upgrade to a very nice suite in the annex. It had a terrace directly adjoining a vineyard, which was pretty impressive. There was a bottle of wine waiting for us in the room. The free tour and tasting at the Marques de Riscal winery (normally 10 Euro/person) was very well done. Our only complaint was the 1860 restaurant (the more casual restaurant). We found the food overpriced and disappointing. In contrast, we had a lunch at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao while we were staying at the hotel that was spectacular (and it was 25 Euro/person for three impressive courses, including a bottle of very nice Rioja for the two of us).

SanDiego1K

We drove here from Le Meridien Ra, about one hour south of Barcelona. If we had driven direct, it would have taken about 4 hours. We drove via Pamplona, however, to have lunch at the one star Europa Restaurant. This added about 90 minutes to our drive. We stopped at a Carrefours and picked up water and sodas.

We had been to the hotel before, driving from Bilbao. This time, we came from a completely different direction which afforded us a very different view on the hotel. I really recommend driving as best you can on the roads around the hotel to see different aspects of Gehry's design. There were no signs coming from that direction as to where to find the front gate. Fortunately, we remembered that we needed to go thru the south of the town and then come upon the entrance.

We were given an executive "suite" that sounds much as others have reported. It is room 44, the furthest from the hotel bulding on the ground floor with two small terraces by the vineyard. This would be a great room for someone with a child. It's plenty big enough to bring in a cot. It had absolutely no internet signal. We downsized to a standard room in the main building that I actually prefer. It's interesting to be in an irregularly shaped room, looking out thru two metal ribbons at the hills and mountains beyond. The bathroom, though, is tiny, barely big enough for one.

We ate in the simpler restaurant the first night. This is a 4 day holiday weekend in Spain, and the hotel is completely booked. We had wanted to eat in the gastronomic restaurant, but it was booked out when we checked two weeks in advance. I had expected a more casual restaurant, but in the end, we were well content with the dish we each chose (lamb chops and potatoes for me, along with a wonderful "toast" with local cheese - divine). There are some bar snacks served in the bar. If you have a large mid day meal, the bar snacks might well suffice for evening. Some of the dishes are from the 1860 Restaurant. The bar is up a flight of steps from the reception area.

catharsis

Others have covered the basics -

1. we highly recommend going to the winery cafe for the same wines at 1/5th the price (which was a little annoying, to be honest)

2. No free breakfast provided to us (Plat's) - this seems to be very inconsistently given.

3. We were a little disappointed to find out that the Gastronomic restaurant was closed Sun & Mon - worth noting for others planning to visit.

Hope that info proves useful to some.

Flyinace2000

We just returned from a 5 night stay on C&P. Like Catharsis mentions above, have lunch/snacks at the winery's tasting room. All wine is under 4 or 5 euro and a plate of Queso and Chorizo will run you another 5.

Plats now get free breakfast. It is the continental buffet in the restaurant and it is amazing. LOTS of great cheeses, selections of cured hams, fresh fruit, and fresh OJ. It doesn't sound like much, but it really was awesome.

We also ate at their Michelin Star restaurante. Very very good! They offer two fixed menus priced at 70 and 85 Euros.

Enough words, here are the photos! (Lots of hotel photos and food pics!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/willsis...7630838331686/

ned

We are planning a trip to northern Spain next May. Can someone help me understand why this property is worth 25000 points per night? Thanks

Keyser

its a cat 6....25k points during high season....

Keyser

for all those who have driven here, how much is the parking fee at this property????also, are their cheaper places to park nearby????

jsocpa

I do not believe there is a charge for parking (at least there wasn't during our stay). I doubt you would prefer to park someplace else.

Sam P. Goodman

It's been several years since I was there, but parking was free at the time.

Keyser

good to know....thanks....

Land-of-Miles

You can only effectively get to this property by car and it has a small number of rooms. I haven't been there for a couple of years but there was no parking charge nor should there be.

Keyser

just checked with the property as well....no parking charge....^^

christianj

Any recent updates on the property? We are trying to evaluate if we want to spend two nights there in May as part of our Spain trip. We would be coming from Madrid after spending two nights there and then heading to Barcelona for five nights at the W after leaving.

Here are our two alternatives which are both booked and we just need to decide.
Alt 1 - 2 nights in Madrid, 2 nights at Marques de Riscal, 5 nights W Barcelona
Alt 2 - 2 nights in Madrid, 2 nights at Le Meridien Vendrell, 5 nights W Barcelona

I'm a little concerned about getting to the Marques de Riscal and the on to Barcelona. Don't really want to spend too much time in a car or on a train.

Land-of-Miles

Great though the Marques de Riscal is I would have thought getting all the way across to the Rioja between Madrid and Barcelona for just 2 nights isn't that worthwhile. You might want to consider a bit less time in Barcelona and combining the Marques de Riscal with a bit of time in Bilbao (no Starwood property there anymore however, but I would recommend the Grand Domine) or a couple of days in San Sebastian at the Maria Christina in St Sebastian.

You can fly MAD-BIO which is about 2 hours from Elciego by Hire Car.

eternalX

Good info in this thread. Just booked 3 rooms for two nights in mid september. Sounds like the plan is to arrive midday and leave the morning of the 3rd. Highlights from above seem to be

1. Book early for the win tour
2. Eat both breakfast and dinner at Bistro 1860 instead of the gastro restaurant
3. Find lunch in the nearby town
4. Spend most of your time in the hotel and on the property

We'll be driving in from Barcelona and out to San Sebastian. Any other tips about the area or hotel?