Hotel Esperit Roca
Within a ruined hilltop fortress at Santa Julià de Ramis a 20-minute drive outside Girona, this extraordinary complex is daring project from the Roca brothers of culinary fame. As you wind up the lane through metal gates that slide open, it’s like entering a tech titan’s private estate. The complex includes a gastronomic restaurant, museum, and distillery, all imbued with the inimitable Roca spirit. Ask to see the 80,000-bottle wine cellar, where classical music plays 24/7 at the insistence of sommelier Josep Roca. You can buy branded glasses made from recycled bottles in the adjoining shop. The 15 suites are generously sized, with free-standing baths and unusual compacted earth ceilings that make it look like they’re cut into the hillside. Curtains swish open at the touch of a button to reveal spectacular views of the surrounding mountains shrouded in mist. Most guests come to dine at the exquisite Esperit Roca restaurant (originally conceived to address long waiting lists at Celler de Can Roca in the city), but you can eat very well with the set menu at the lounge bar, where buffet breakfast is also served.
Within a ruined hilltop fortress at Santa Julià de Ramis a 20-minute drive outside Girona, this extraordinary complex is daring project from the Roca brothers of culinary fame. As you wind up the lane through metal gates that slide open, it’s like entering a tech titan’s private estate. The complex includes a gastronomic restaurant, museum, and distillery, all imbued with the inimitable Roca spirit. Ask to see the 80,000-bottle wine cellar, where classical music plays 24/7 at the insistence of sommelier Josep Roca. You can buy branded glasses made from recycled bottles in the adjoining shop. The 15 suites are generously sized, with free-standing baths and unusual compacted earth ceilings that make it look like they’re cut into the hillside. Curtains swish open at the touch of a button to reveal spectacular views of the surrounding mountains shrouded in mist. Most guests come to dine at the exquisite Esperit Roca restaurant (originally conceived to address long waiting lists at Celler de Can Roca in the city), but you can eat very well with the set menu at the lounge bar, where buffet breakfast is also served.
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