Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel & Spa

“Wonderful stay in a lovingly restored 14th c monastery”

We grabbed four nights here on something of a whim and built an enjoyable and informative northern Spain trip around our stay at the Hacienda. The bones of this splendid property are a 14th century monastery where Columbus – along with academics from the nearby Salamanca University and representati… more

We grabbed four nights here on something of a whim and built an enjoyable and informative northern Spain trip around our stay at the Hacienda. The bones of this splendid property are a 14th century monastery where Columbus – along with academics from the nearby Salamanca University and representatives of the royalty -- met to finalize his trip to the New World and hand over the check to make it possible. (I do not hold this against the present owners.) The exquisite renovation is even more astonishing after viewing photos of the sad state of the buildings in the early 20th century. Architectural brilliance and craftsmanship are evident throughout, from the spacious bedrooms with hand-hewn ceiling timbers to the inviting variety of sitting areas, complete with fireplace, period artwork and comfortable furniture. We ate dinner at the hotel several times, and each was delicious. And of course wine (the Syrah and tempranillo are sourced from their vineyards in the nearby Douro Valley) from the hotel’s own winery is available for tasting and to enjoy at your table. Included breakfast was ordered from a menu and was consistently excellent. I enjoyed a massage in the old stone building that once (and still does!) housed the machinery that regulated water flow into the mill race, which still runs cheerfully under the main building. With a special nod to Pablo, whose knowledge of Spanish history and wines was exceeded only his charm and hospitality, the staff was uniformly helpful and welcoming. This is a place to relax and enjoy the gardens and an exquisite property that has incorporated modern comforts in a beautifully restored 800-year-old piece of history.

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“Just Beautiful”

We stayed here for 3 nights last week. What a beautiful place! Near the lovely old town of Salamanca about 3 hours from Madrid. The buildings date back to the 14th Century when it used to be a monastery. Much of the old character still remains and is tastefully decorated throughout. Our room was v… more

We stayed here for 3 nights last week. What a beautiful place! Near the lovely old town of Salamanca about 3 hours from Madrid. The buildings date back to the 14th Century when it used to be a monastery. Much of the old character still remains and is tastefully decorated throughout. Our room was very comfortable with a lovely view over the canal that runs through the property. The food was excellent, great breakfast with lots of choice. The staff were great. Jorjes was superb, offering us a private wine tasting and looking after us very well throughout our stay. He is studying hard whilst working and am sure he will go far! Lovely, serene surroundings with a fabulous wine cellar that can be used for weddings etc. I can recommend this hotel and would certainly return there if in the area.

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“Beauty on the outskirts of Salamanca”

Hacienda Zorita is truly a magical location. Walking around the grounds is like taking a step back in time to the beautiful monastery where Christopher Columbus once stayed. We stayed in a villa room which was quite large and very private, and the room has an old world charm and even a private outd… more

Hacienda Zorita is truly a magical location. Walking around the grounds is like taking a step back in time to the beautiful monastery where Christopher Columbus once stayed. We stayed in a villa room which was quite large and very private, and the room has an old world charm and even a private outdoor lounge area. We came here toward the end of the season for this hotel, and we enjoyed our stay. The food is the restaurant is quite good though albeit a bit less memorable than some of our other meals on our trip. Overall, I think this hotel is exactly as advertised, but I would make a few recommendations. First, if you are staying here for more than one night, know that the bar and restaurants menus are almost identical so would recommend you work with the hotel to arrange a taxi to Salamanca for dinner on another night. The hotel was wonderful and arranged this for us! Second, the wine tasting is free and you should definitely take advantage of this. It was hosted in an event space which is beautiful, but was a bit lackluster due to the numerous flies. I would have loved to learn more about how the wine was made in that region, but the tasting is truly more about the taste of the wine and the tasting notes rather than the production. Finally, while the hotel is beautiful, they seemed to be a bit short on staff. They all did a fabulous job taking on numerous roles and I am unsure if this is due to the time of year when we visited, but service was slow at times! Overall, if you are staying near Salamanca, you should absolutely stay here if you are looking for something outside of the city or just a place to relax! It truly is gorgeous!

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“Very good wine hotel”

The Hacienda Zorita is a charming hotel in an interesting facility. The main building is a former Dominican monastery, with each hotel room built from two monastic cells. We stayed in a villa, which is in the old stable. We liked this better as it afforded more privacy. No one walked past our ro… more

The Hacienda Zorita is a charming hotel in an interesting facility. The main building is a former Dominican monastery, with each hotel room built from two monastic cells. We stayed in a villa, which is in the old stable. We liked this better as it afforded more privacy. No one walked past our room, and we were in the ground floor. Our room was comfortable with a good bed, and one the better showers of our trip. There is housekeeping service twice a day, although the evening turn down service is little more than closing shutters and turning on the lights and maybe tugging on the linens. No chocolates on the pillow. It hard looks they even were there. We ate at the hotel several times, either in Zorita’s kitchen for dinner the first night, the bar the second night (limited menu, basically an abbreviated version of the main menu with no meat or fish main courses). Breakfast in Zorita’s Kitchen was complimentary. By the third night wanted a different menu and the hotel kindly arranged a taxi for us into Salamanca for dinner. We took advantage of a complimentary wine tasting but found it nothing great. We had two wines, some charcuterie and cheese. The main winery is some distance from here, but they don’t make wine any adjacent to the hotel. On our own, we tried bottle of the Reserva red, which was quite good. But you know they are serious about wine when the church is St Nicholas of the Vines (see photo). The hotel offers several services, all at additional cost. Laundry can be done, albeit at typical hotel prices. We didn’t take anything from the minibar, but they charge for everything. Overall, a very good experience.

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