Hotel Vistabella: Coming Up Pretty in Roses, Spain

Come, dream a little daydream with us…

It’s late September in Spain, the skies are cloudless and the Mediterranean sea is still warm for swimming.

We pull into Hotel Vistabella, where a valet quickly drives our rental car away, dispensing with the nuisance of having to deal with it.

There’s an old-fashioned gracious feel as we check in (big brass room keys rest in wooden cubicles behind the reception desk).

It contrasts nicely with our room, which is all white and bright and modern.

But it’s not the room our eyes focus on, it’s the view beyond our balcony.

We see the sun glinting off the different shades of turquoise of the sea outside. Small yachts bob up and down. A water skier takes off from the wooden jetty in front.

And there’s a bottle of chilled Cava on the desk just begging to be drunk outside, before the sun casts a pumpkin glow on the whole scene below.

Hotel Vistabella: Fab location on Spain’s Costa Brava

When it comes to beautiful boutique hotels in Costa Brava (indeed, all of the Mediterranean) – ones with lots of blue and white that get their inspiration from the sea – Hotel Vistabella is hard to beat.

It kills the competition with its location.

It’s close enough to Roses to choose from a plethora of restaurants, but far enough away to feel deliciously secluded (under two miles away).

If you have a rental car (we did), you’ll be in Roses within three minutes.

The other point to note about the hotel’s great location is the Costa Brava coastal path that runs right by the Vistabella hotel.

This path goes by many names – Camino de Ronda, the Costa Brava Way, the Costa Brava path – and hugs the rugged Costa Brava coastline for over 125 miles.

If you turn right from the hotel, as you’re facing the sea, you can walk into Roses.

Turn left, and you pass beautiful beach coves then enter a huge wilderness nature reserve. We didn’t go as far as the picturesque town of Cadaques.

But continue in this direction and you’ll reach Cadaques after about five hours of walking (the trail between Roses and Cadaques is a popular one for hikers).

Sweet beach

There’s a mid-sized indoor pool with Moorish tiles in the basement and a hot tub on a small terrace overlooking the sea, but we couldn’t find an outdoor pool. 

When we asked about an outdoor pool, we were told, “You have the sea!”

And indeed, you have the sea. Right in front of the hotel.

Stone steps lead down to Bonifaci Beach, an almost-private golden pebble beach with clear turquoise water that screams “Come on in!” We did exactly that.

It was particularly inviting after our sweaty trek on the coastal path!

Back up at the top of the steps is the hotel shower for rinsing off. (Yes, lots of going up-and-down! But good exercise, right?)

As bloomin’ pretty as a rose

Family-owned, the cliff-top Vistabella hotel was built by the current owners’ grandfather.

In 2000, it became the first five-star hotel in the northern Costa Brava area.

Rumor has it that past guests include Salvador Dali, Penelope Cruz and Argentine football player Lionel Messi.

Hotel Vistabella doesn’t rest on its laurels, though.

All rooms and suites were recently renovated.

If you’re a fan of the super-minimal, you’ll love the clean all-white décor.

Our seaview room had white stone floors, white walls, white blinds and a white cotton coverlet on the very comfortable king-size bed. And there was lots of counterspace to stow cameras, laptops, books and other paraphernalia.

And the bathroom?

It was sleek and sexy too.

The bathtub had a glass window that looked into the bedroom and, while showering, we could peer right out through to the view outside.

Our shower had a mind of its own, however, deciding that the floor and sink beyond the tub needed spraying too. No matter. Without complaint, the maids kindly replaced our soggy towels with piles of clean dry ones, twice a day.

Perhaps because we gravitate toward the traditional, it was the public areas that appealed to us the most.

Multi-tiered terraces jut out offering OMG sea views.

The main terrace, with garden areas blooming with flowers, has double day beds with white sail-shaped shades draped overhead.

As we lounged there one afternoon, servers offered guests complimentary designer mini-cocktails – a rum-based berry drink topped with mango foam.

Smaller terraces have private corners with just enough room for two lounge chairs tucked under an umbrella.

High honors for the restaurants

Hotel Vistabella has five restaurants and bars – impressive for a 34-room hotel.

El Brancs has one Michelin star. We didn’t dine there, but we can tell you it boasts a long degustation menu of some 22 dishes (with seafood), a shorter gastronomic tasting menu of 15 dishes and a la carte choices.

Hotel Vistabella has thoughtfully set out a detailed list of other Michelin star restaurants within a 70-mile radius of the hotel.

El Piratu – steps from the sea – looks like it would be fun in the summertime.

It had closed for the season when we were there, but we heard about its famous Sunday afternoon champagne parties. “People come by boat, there’s music and lots of Moet & Chandon!”

Sunsets to remember

Now we have to pack our bags and move on…

But wasn’t that a pleasant daydream?

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Here’s a good pin :-).

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Photo credits: 4, 6, 7, 10 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining images Hotel Vistabella

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We stayed at this Costa Brava hotel as media guests for the purpose of this Hotel Vistabella review. As ever, however, we kept the right to write what we like.

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