The Best Boutique Hotels in La Rioja, Spain

There’s a hint of theatre about Hospedería Teatrisso – and it’s not just the painted stage curtains behind the beds. No two rooms are alike at this quirky boutique hotel, but each is decorated with a cinematic flourish: exotic upholstery, sinuous metal furniture, four-poster beds and exposed 17th-century timbers. Stone-framed windows with wooden shutters hint at the building’s ancient history, but design hotel features like free-standing roll-top baths and red velvet couches add an almost Wes Anderson design sensibility.

A late 18th-century baroque mansion has been given new life at La Capellania. This handsome stone building in the hill village of San Asensio – known for its crisp rosé wines – is filled with understated rooms that mix modern style with relics from the hotel’s long history. Tall ceilings and stone-framed windows create a vaguely monastic mood – appropriate, as the house was built for the village priest. It’s a great base for exploring the La Rioja vineyards, which start right on the village outskirts.

Hand-cut stone blocks emerge from the walls on all sides in this handsome former palace, once the home of Don Pedro Ruiz del Castillo, founder of the city of Mendoza in Argentina. The conquistador’s carved coat of arms still proudly adorns the hotel frontage, and, staying in these elegant, luxe-rustic rooms, with views out onto lush hills, you may wonder why he ever left the hushed hillside village of Villalba de Rioja.

Medieval history spills out of the La Rioja hills, but Torre Fuerte takes the idea and runs with it, filling its rooms with murals, tapestry curtains, dangling flags, painted plaster, stained glass and candle-style sconces. It feels a bit like going backstage at a Medieval mystery play, but the stone building is the real deal: a 13th-century gothic tower rising above the winding streets of Baños de Rioja, in the heart of wine country.

The grand stone villa Señorio de Briñas is a gorgeous old-timer, built as a palace for a Rioja nobleman in the 18th century. Stepping through the front door, you’ll be greeted by hand-hewn timbers, exposed stonework and bathtubs set into brick plinths like Roman baths. Some rooms are executed with period flair; others blend sleek modernity with original features. With palate-tickling food and wine and a small onsite spa, it’s a bona fide La Rioja escape.

Bucking the usual design trends, Finca de los Arandinos offers sleek modernist lines and industrial materials in place of exposed stone and timbers. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame big views over the Rioja countryside, from a building that wouldn’t look out of place as an international art gallery. Open-plan bedrooms are partitioned into chic living spaces, with balconies that take full advantage of the vista. There’s a winery – of course – and you can enjoy fine Spanish gastronomy in the dining room or out on the grounds.

The modern and the Medieval fuse perfectly at Posada de Sajazarra, set in the rock-walled village of Sajazarra, with its circle of flanking vineyards. The 19th-century building has been an inn for centuries, but the design magazine-worthy interiors are a modern addition, giving Medieval themes a revamp for the modern age – think heirloom furniture, designer sconces and cherubs on the walls. Set in one of the most charming wine villages in La Rioja, it’s an impressive stay.