Hotel Marqués De Riscal - Elciego, Spain [Master Thread]
Feb 23, 2015, 8:14 am
#121
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thanks
Feb 23, 2015, 11:46 am
#122
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San Sebastian has the better food as it is a whole city of options, and one of the best cities for food in the world -- a few 2- and 3-star Michelin restaurants and loads of other good spots.
In the Marques des Riscal area, you should go 5 miles away to the town of Logrono and do tapas on the Calle Laurel. Each bar/restaurant is known for one specialty (by and large) and you can just get pintxos/tapas at a bunch of places. Fantastic.
In the Marques des Riscal area, you should go 5 miles away to the town of Logrono and do tapas on the Calle Laurel. Each bar/restaurant is known for one specialty (by and large) and you can just get pintxos/tapas at a bunch of places. Fantastic.
Feb 23, 2015, 11:49 am
#123
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Logrono is fantastic, as spainlover points out. Also to note, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the hotel itself is terrific. Do have the tea after dinner (you'll see why when you have it!) Besides that, I'd agree the food is better in San Sebastian, but it's certainly not bad around Elciego, but the wine is much better. 
Enjoy - have a fantastic trip!
Enjoy - have a fantastic trip!
Feb 23, 2015, 12:13 pm
#124
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Thank you all for your responses. I am going to amend the Itinerary. Time to put SPG points to good use.
Do you think its better to fly to Madrid, connect to Bilboa and rent a car there, or rent a car at Madrid airport. According to google maps, Madrid is about 3 hours away and Bilboa about an hour. How is the drive from Madrid? Is it doable after an overnight transatlantic flight from New York?
Do you think its better to fly to Madrid, connect to Bilboa and rent a car there, or rent a car at Madrid airport. According to google maps, Madrid is about 3 hours away and Bilboa about an hour. How is the drive from Madrid? Is it doable after an overnight transatlantic flight from New York?
Jul 14, 2015, 11:36 am
#125
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My wife and I are just back from a trip to Spain that included three nights at the M de R. Wish we stayed longer! One of if not our absolute favorite non-seaside hotels we've ever been to.
Great service in a uniquely designed, stunning hotel in a beautiful area. We were fortunate to get a room in the Gehry (main) wing, with a wonderful view of the nearby town of Elciego and its church. As my wife said, it was like waking up in a fairy tale!
Our room (#2) was not very far from the outdoor patio/dining area of the wine bar to the right and below, but we heard very little noise from there.
A small but decent gym (with several aerobic machines, though with weights limited to two machines and some barbells) which was never crowded given that the hotel has only 43 rooms.
Staying in both the room and the hotel itself was like being housed in a sculpture - and a very solidly build and comfortable one at that. I see from previous posts that the annex rooms are larger, but we found our room plenty large and unique in terms of its slanted windows, wavy wall and overall look. I'd suggest asking in advance for a Gehry wing room facing the town, though there is no guarantee of this unless perhaps you pay extra.
In addition to the aforementioned wonderful features of the hotel, we also liked:
1. The charming nearby town of Elciego is an easy ten-minute walk. We chanced upon a concert in the small village plaza by a very professional pop group the Saturday night of our arrival, and very much enjoyed being part of the relaxed family scene and the music (even though pop is not my favorite). Elciego is a prosperous little place (think middle class rather than simple peasants) with some places to get a glass of wine and a few decent restaurants - not gourmet fare, but certainly offering good enough meals. We had a pretty good steak and pork shoulder dish at one called Real Fortuna.
2. The larger and even more charming walled town of Laguardia is an easy ten-minute drive away. We had a very tasty lobster risotto dish at Los Parajes there.
3. A wonderful, complimentary tour of the winery at the hotel, capped by a wine tasting next door to the pleasant gift shop.
4. Right at the hotel there are a few easy and pretty walks through the vineyards and gently rolling hills of the area.
Again, this is one of our favorite hotels and I'd highly recommend it.
Great service in a uniquely designed, stunning hotel in a beautiful area. We were fortunate to get a room in the Gehry (main) wing, with a wonderful view of the nearby town of Elciego and its church. As my wife said, it was like waking up in a fairy tale!
Our room (#2) was not very far from the outdoor patio/dining area of the wine bar to the right and below, but we heard very little noise from there.
A small but decent gym (with several aerobic machines, though with weights limited to two machines and some barbells) which was never crowded given that the hotel has only 43 rooms.
Staying in both the room and the hotel itself was like being housed in a sculpture - and a very solidly build and comfortable one at that. I see from previous posts that the annex rooms are larger, but we found our room plenty large and unique in terms of its slanted windows, wavy wall and overall look. I'd suggest asking in advance for a Gehry wing room facing the town, though there is no guarantee of this unless perhaps you pay extra.
In addition to the aforementioned wonderful features of the hotel, we also liked:
1. The charming nearby town of Elciego is an easy ten-minute walk. We chanced upon a concert in the small village plaza by a very professional pop group the Saturday night of our arrival, and very much enjoyed being part of the relaxed family scene and the music (even though pop is not my favorite). Elciego is a prosperous little place (think middle class rather than simple peasants) with some places to get a glass of wine and a few decent restaurants - not gourmet fare, but certainly offering good enough meals. We had a pretty good steak and pork shoulder dish at one called Real Fortuna.
2. The larger and even more charming walled town of Laguardia is an easy ten-minute drive away. We had a very tasty lobster risotto dish at Los Parajes there.
3. A wonderful, complimentary tour of the winery at the hotel, capped by a wine tasting next door to the pleasant gift shop.
4. Right at the hotel there are a few easy and pretty walks through the vineyards and gently rolling hills of the area.
Again, this is one of our favorite hotels and I'd highly recommend it.
May 7, 2016, 5:19 pm
#126
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Just got back from a two night stay after a one night in the AC Logrono. Works out perfectly as you don't have to worry about transportation after the DIY very cool tapas and crianza crawl in Logrono.
Was offered and took the 50 euro upgrade after points to the main building and glad we did. Spent a day in Haro and didn't have great expectations for the property winery so maybe that is why I was pleasantly surprised. Possibly too that the years poured were good though too.
This is the tenth anniversary of hotel opening and they have something special planned but what and when was being kept very secret.
Regarding Lopex de Heridia in Haro, they do not pour the whites anymore due to demand. Also, you must purchase six bottles of the red just to purchase one of the white although we had a bottle with dinner in the hotel and also picked up a couple in a local wine store. Very unique and I understand why it caught the attention of others.
Was offered and took the 50 euro upgrade after points to the main building and glad we did. Spent a day in Haro and didn't have great expectations for the property winery so maybe that is why I was pleasantly surprised. Possibly too that the years poured were good though too.
This is the tenth anniversary of hotel opening and they have something special planned but what and when was being kept very secret.
Regarding Lopex de Heridia in Haro, they do not pour the whites anymore due to demand. Also, you must purchase six bottles of the red just to purchase one of the white although we had a bottle with dinner in the hotel and also picked up a couple in a local wine store. Very unique and I understand why it caught the attention of others.
May 7, 2016, 7:38 pm
#127
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I love Lopez de Heredia, especially some of the older ones!
Nice post, thanks! Sounds like a lot of fun!
Nice post, thanks! Sounds like a lot of fun!
May 9, 2016, 1:27 am
#128
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Regarding Lopex de Heridia in Haro, they do not pour the whites anymore due to demand. Also, you must purchase six bottles of the red just to purchase one of the white although we had a bottle with dinner in the hotel and also picked up a couple in a local wine store. Very unique and I understand why it caught the attention of others.
/JK
Jul 9, 2016, 1:22 pm
#129
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 109
STILL Exceeds expectations!!!
I am here now with my wife and all the wonderful posts above are still true. Fabulous facility with excellent staff beginning with gracious front desk staff, bellman, room service, winery tour, hotel facilities. We are Platinum and received executive suite upgrade. This is a beautiful hotel and luxury experience.
We arrived via auto rental after landing in the morning at Madrid Barajas International. The drive up A-1 was easy and the mountain scenery was very pretty along the way. We stopped in Bargos for a light lunch. The town was charming and I enjoyed seeing the cathedral and castle. From Bargos not much more than an hour plus drive through the countryside of northern Spain.
We arrived via auto rental after landing in the morning at Madrid Barajas International. The drive up A-1 was easy and the mountain scenery was very pretty along the way. We stopped in Bargos for a light lunch. The town was charming and I enjoyed seeing the cathedral and castle. From Bargos not much more than an hour plus drive through the countryside of northern Spain.
Oct 17, 2016, 5:06 am
#130
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Got a long weekend free in December.....is it worth taking the wife for a 3 night trip at this time of the year?
Oct 17, 2016, 5:26 am
#131
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And if the vineyards are open, at least for tastings, well...
/JK
Oct 17, 2016, 5:44 am
#132
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Oct 17, 2016, 11:53 am
#133
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Oct 18, 2016, 4:08 pm
#135
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