Another Frank Gehry-designed gem awaited me in Elciego — the Hotel Marqués de Riscal. The 5-star hotel is a part of Marriott Bonvoy Hotels’ Luxury Collection. The structure felt instantly familiar after having lived across the street from Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilboa a few days before, but in a nod to the wine industry, this building had a grape-colored stripe running through its reflective outer skin. The hotel lobby was in the main building (along with the Michelin-starred restaurant) and an upper story walkway led to my guest room in another wing that overlooked the sculptural rooftops of the main building.
The rain cleared as we checked in, so I dropped my bags in the room headed out to grab a few photos.
My room, overlooking the Church of San Andrés and the old town of Elciego.
Church of San Andrés as viewed from one of the hotel’s outdoor seating areas.
The sun managed to break through one last time to paint the distant mountains as seen in the last photo in this post. It was now time for a tour of the winery, a quick wine tasting, and then dinner in the restaurant several floors above the hotel lobby. I seem to have been too engrossed in the fine food to have remembered to take any photos until dessert, which you can see here.
The next morning we were on our way back to Madrid for one more memorable night’s stay…
