Slow days in the hills
Thirty-six rooms in a stone farmhouse above Valdebrisa, with a terrace over the valley, a walled kitchen garden and a small casino in the vaulted old wine cellar.
Three kinds of room
Thick walls, chestnut beams and terracotta floors throughout. Every room has a deep window seat, and none of them face a road.
Valley Room
A window seat deep enough to sit in sideways, looking down the valley to the far ridge.
Garden Room
Its own door onto the walled kitchen garden, where the thyme gets stepped on and smells of it all morning.
Tower Suite
Two rooms at the top of the old tower, with a slate roof terrace that belongs to them alone.
Terrace and kitchen garden
The terrace runs the whole south side of the farmhouse, one long row of tables under the eaves. Breakfast comes mostly from the walled garden behind the kitchen: eggs, tomatoes in season, bread baked that morning, honey from the hives at the top of the orchard.
Inside, the library corner keeps the fireplace company from October onwards. It holds about four hundred books, a few of them in English, and two armchairs that people tend to fall asleep in after lunch.
- Breakfast on the terrace from seven, or in the garden if the morning is warm.
- Tea, vermouth and something small to eat from the kitchen until late.
- Walking maps for the ridge paths and the river loop are kept at the front desk.
- Gardeners are out most mornings and will happily tell you what is growing.
The casino in the old cellar
18+
The casino is inside the hotel, down a few worn steps from the inner courtyard and through a glass door into the vaulted cellar where the farmhouse once kept its wine. The stone arches are low and the air stays cool all summer. A few tables stand under the arches, far enough apart to talk across, and a small bar at the far end pours vermouth and sends out tapas-style bites through the evening.
Evenings only. Dress is smart-casual, so a collared shirt or a light jacket is plenty. Entry is 18+, the legal minimum age in Spain, and photo ID is checked at the entrance every night, for everyone. The casino is part of the hotel rather than a separate club, and it is open to guests and to people from the town who ask for a table at the front desk.
Limits are set on the gaming floor by our staff, who will tell you where those limits stand before you sit down. House rules are posted at the entrance, and the front desk keeps a copy so you can read them upstairs in daylight if you would rather. Nothing in the casino is tied to your room account.
If you would like to be kept out of the casino for your whole stay, or for longer, ask at the front desk and we will arrange self-exclusion quietly. Guests with no interest in it need never walk through the casino, since the cellar has its own door off the courtyard and nothing routes you past it.
Finding your way to Valdebrisa
Most people come on the regional train to the valley station, then take our shuttle for the last climb up the hill. Tell us your train and we will meet it; the drive takes about twenty minutes on a narrow road with two good places to stop and look back down the valley.
- The shuttle runs between the valley station and the hotel on request.
- The front desk is staffed through the night, so a late arrival is no trouble.
- We keep luggage for early arrivals and late departures at no charge.
- Parking is in the old stable yard, inside the gate, with room for twelve cars.
Driving up in winter is fine in ordinary conditions, though after heavy snow we will ask you to leave the car in the valley and ride up with us.
Write to us about a stay
There is no booking form on this site, and nothing here takes a payment. Write to the front desk instead and a person will answer you, usually the same day.
- Where we are
- Valdebrisa, Spain
- Front desk
- [email protected]
In your email, please give us your dates, the number of guests, and whether you would prefer a valley or a garden view. Please do not send card details, passport numbers or anything else of that kind by email; we never need them to hold a room.
Casino opening hours and house rules are available at the front desk.