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Hotel Torre del Visco, Fuentespalda, Teruel, Aragon
Silence, peace and the ultimate in sybaritic country life
Just 80 kilometres from the hectic Mediterranean, hidden behind the mountains, there is another World, Teruel: medieval villages, vineyards, eagles, genets and otters in the rivers. The Torre del Visco, dated 1449 is in a stunning situation overlooking the Tastavins river and surrounded by beautiful gardens. This place is excellent for those who long for silence and peace and it offers the ultimate in sybaritic country life, elegant yet relaxed, friendly, discreet and amusing. It took Jemma Markham and Piers Dutton, your charming hosts, two years to restore the 15th-century estate house, but it was certainly worth the effort.
The setting of this sumptuous hotel is superb, in the wild Tastavins Valley, several miles from the nearest road. Hotel Torre del Visco is located in the Teruel region, a few hours inland from Barcelona and the contrast with the busy costas could not be greater.
Attention to detail and comfort is fantastic, and the standards set by the owners a credit to the hotel business. Torre del Visco manages to combine the very best of Spanish luxury and fine dining with the relaxed atmosphere of a really good English country house hotel. Torre del Visco offers seventeen charming rooms, four suites, two junior suites, six superior double rooms and five standard double rooms with beautiful views, comfortable beds and pure Egyptian cotton sheets. The profound silence is inductive to an excellent night's sleep. A world of space and comfort, rooms full of light and harmony, furniture from many periods, original paintings and drawings. Hotel Torre del Visco is a place to enjoy absolute peace and there are no telephones or televisions in the rooms.
With exposed stonework, tiled floors, beautiful furniture, beamed ceilings, large open fireplaces and masses of fresh flowers everywhere, the effect is stylish yet homely. Its conversion into a hotel in the early 90's included the repair and restoration of all the original stonework, arabic-tiled roofs and dry-stone terraces. Hotel Torre del Visco is full of shady gardens, terraces, patios with fountains, hundreds of varieties of roses and aromatic plants.
The extensive library is an oasis of calm with thousands of books in English and Spanish, including an extensive collection of maps and guidebooks on the area, classical music and opera on CDs, chess dominoes, backgammon ... Enjoy the indulgent comforts of the Torre del Visco - browse through some of the books in the library, play the piano in the inviting lounge, or sit out in the gardens with a drink.
Food & Drink: Torre del Visco own organic farm provides the restaurant with olive oil, fruit and vegetables, truffles and game. Using this produce from its own vegetable gardens the chef prepares the freshest of ingredients for use in his inventive menus, with special emphasis on promoting local dishes and wines.
Torre del Visco provides an ample breakfast. The hotel's kitchen is open to guests and has a huge, oval table literally groaning with home-made, local goodies to eat, and a lovely chef offering eggs and bacon to order. Dinners, served in the high-ceilinged old stable, are excellent. Torre del Visco offers group cooking classes for 6 to 12 people and wine tasting. Hotel Torre del Visco is the very best in its class for those wanting peace, quiet and a few moments to reflect on what is really important in life. If you want to understand the remote and beautiful area of Aragon whilst indulging in understated luxury, then you must stay at this hotel.
Surroundings: The nearest village is 12 km away and just accessing the house is by way of a 5 km driveway. The surrounding countryside is jaw-droppingly beautiful, unspoilt and surprisingly little visited. We suggest a circular walk along ancient trails through pine woods and groves of almond and olive trees to the handsome town of Valderrobles, which is crowned by the old Bishop's Palace. The monuments Mudejares of Teruel were worth the declaration to him by Unesco of city Patrimony of the Humanity. In this type of architecture the knowledge to make of the moriscos and its abilities with the ceramics with the gothic architecture are conjugated. Their main monuments are the Cathedral and the towers of San Martin, the Salvador and San Pedro.
