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Say "hola" to Gastrohotels

Posted Mar 18, 2010

Typically, the quality of lodging would be a lodger's main preoccupation rather than what's on the dinner plates. Gastrohotels are the newest craze in Spain that have hotel owners getting their hands a little dirty. 

ABaC Hotel

Virginia Irurita, whose bespoke travel agency Made for Spain plans excursions for visiting gastronomes, shares that "newspaper El País recently reported that “gastronomic tourism” attracts six million people a year to Spain. The numbers are astonishing and makes it now easy to understand why hotels are so involved in what their serving. Many hotel owners are actually getting their hands dirty in the kitchen, literally.

Owner/Chef of ABaC Hotel, Xavier Pellicer

Mr. Arpa, both owner and chef of Spanish hotel Ca l'arpa stresses the importance of interacting with his guests/diners.Arpa shares,"our goal is to give five-star service, but with the personal ambience of a rural hotel". Piugdevall of Les Cols hotel agrees by stating, “as chefs, we try to create this complete and well-rounded experience for the diners at our tables. Why not try to extend that magic for a whole day or two?”.

The underlying reason why visitors are flocking to these gastrohotels is because of the fact that these owners have a "highly attuned sense of measure", they know how to balance incredible lodging with dining without letting one fall short of the other.
 

If you feel like visiting any of the mentioned gastrohotels, check out the links below:

ABaC Barcelona, CalarpaLes Cols

 

Sources: NY Times

Photo credit: World Gourmet Summit

 

TAGS: les cols abac barcelona ca l'arpa gastrohotels dining restaurants hotels lodging entertainment leisure gastronomy style magazine