Hotel Termal Abadia de Los Templarios ★★★★

The areas around Salamanca and the nearest town of La Alberca are not hot-spot tourist regions of Spain, quite unspoiled and undeveloped in fact, and that was part of the attraction for us. It’s such fun to discover new places rather than follow the latest trend in exotic destinations. We loved driving down through the open countryside from Salamanca during what must have been siesta time, because all around was quiet and peaceful.

We arrived at a  sprawling ancient hacienda, gracefully laid out with arches and colonnades, well-kept lawns, meandering paths and a natural-looking pool in the front. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful old castle could contain all the mod cons you’d expect from a top quality hotel! It’s such a lovely location for a spa resort – we could easily understand why it had been chosen. We couldn’t wait to take a walk around the 10 hectares of grounds to enjoy the ancient chestnuts and views of the surrounding countryside. Inside, we found an impressive hall with frescoed wooden ceilings and great cool expanses of terracotta tiled floors. We were happy to arrive, and the staff at reception were happy to welcome us and show us to our suite.

The suite turned out to be very spacious with a generous lounge area with armchairs, a TV and plenty of desk space. The bedroom was very elegant with a modernist sweeping headboard on the bed, like a work of contemporary art in itself. There were patterned parquet floors throughout and a door to the terrace so that we could stroll out with our morning coffee, or even have breakfast delivered to our room to enjoy out in the sunshine in privacy.

It’s the spa areas where the hotel is most unusual and most impressive. This is no ordinary spa; the indoor pool is huge, in a beautifully decorated cavern-like hall. The Jacuzzi and Hammam were lovely too. A massage before dinner was superbly relaxing. I hadn’t quite expected a spa holiday – I had pictured more being out in the countryside walking in the park, or borrowing a bike to further explore the surroundings. But neither of us were complaining, as we were more than happy to go with the flow. The restaurant is wonderful too – it’s a large hall bright with yellow tablecloths and the most marvellous vaulted ceilings, making us feel like we were in the cellar of an ancient castle rather than a modern resort. The food was typical of northern Spain, with plenty of tapas options and Spanish classics like the excellent seafood soup.

We did manage to explore the woodlands over the next few days, and further afield too with tours in our hired car. There are some lovely little towns in the area, all quiet, warm and welcoming. On our last evening in the restaurant back at the Hotel Abadia de los Templarios, we raised a glass of Rioja (not too far away) to our good fortune in being free to respond to an irresistible offer. Who wouldn’t?