Boutique Sleeps, Part II

... including a cantina turned design hotel in a Segovian village of just 350 people

Isabella's Llafranc, Costa Brava

Image courtesy of Isabella’s Llafranc

The Costa Brava is home to sooo many stylish design hotels, like La Bionda and Casa Nereta. The newest addition to the scene is this 26-room knockout from Barcelona-based restaurant group Isabella’s (which recently opened the cool-kid Allegra restaurant in Madrid). Spread across four floors, the property is designed to feel like a private seaside home; rooms have breezy terraces with views of the Costa Brava’s best beach. But the center of the action is the sceney Italian restaurant, which may have the best-looking dining room I’ve ever seen. From €120 per night

La Fonda Heritage, Marbella

Images courtesy of La Fonda Heritage

Marbella is having a moment, with a clutch of new and reborn hotels, including the iconic El Fuerte and the Princess Diana-fave La Zambra (formerly the Byblos). But I’m most excited to check out the newly revamped La Fonda Heritage Hotel, which has just 20 rooms and a prime location on Plaza de Santo Cristo Square. The property has lived many lives — as a private residence, a church, and a school before being converted into a hotel in the 1960s by legendary Spanish designers Jaime Parlade and Duarte Pinto Coelho. The recent €7.5 million refresh has further excavated the building’s rich history by stripping back the walls to reveal ancient murals and frescoes. I’m dreaming of staying in the Heritage suite, which features an 18th-century mural and the original dome of the church’s chapel. From €261 per night

Santa María Briones, La Rioja

Images courtesy of Santa Maria Briones

Spanish-born entrepreneur Javier Ruiz and his Puerto Rican wife, María González, uprooted their life in Miami to open this 400-year-old manor house in Briones, La Rioja. They called on a local architecture firm to breathe new life into the crumbling property: an old cistern has been reimagined as a cozy reading room, while a grape press room has been reconfigured as the hotel’s zero-kilometer restaurant, which serves Riojan dishes like marinated partridge salad and crispy careta de cerdo. The coziest of the 16 rooms are located on the attic level, with views of the Sierra de Cantabria Mountain Range and the Ebro River. From €205 per night

La Novieta, Valencia

Images courtesy of La Novieta

Shout-out to my friend Jacob for putting this charming four-room Valencian guesthouse on my radar. Located a 15-minute walk from the city center near the neighborhood of Rufaza—one of Valencia’s most desirable areas, which is crowded with vintage shops, art galleries, and trendy cafés like Fran—the 1924 modernist mansion has been restored to its former glory after a top-to-bottom renovation that saw the uncovering of colorful antique tiles and original brick vault ceilings, among other historical details.  From €140 per night