|
|
 |
 |
| M&N
|
|
|
Magazine Mesa y Negocios
April 2010
|
 |
|
| VINOBLE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wine can only be enjoyed in moderation. |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
RESTAURANTS & HOTELS |
|
|
 |
|
MARQUÉS DE RISCAL
Marqués de Riscal is one of the oldest and legendary wineries of Rioja as well as a classic. The mixture of tradition combined with the spectacular design of its new hotel, designed by Frank Gehry, results in a very interesting contrast.
I aplaud investing in a luxury hotel since this should result in higher earnings for the winery, an important marketing exercise and creates more wine lovers, something much needed in the industry. I say this because sometimes I cannot understand investing in the façade of a winery and not in its interior, in order to generate more visits, sales or income.
The Marqués de Riscal Hotel is impressive from the moment a person arrives in the town Elciego in Rioja Alavesa. Ghery´s ultramodern arquitecture combined with the traditional Riojan winery attracts the visitors´ attention. The Starwood Caín Ander its brand, The Luxury Collection, operates this hotel. The reception is spacious, modern and sober, with amicable staff who did my check in quickly and comfortably. My room was situated in the second building of the complex, which was accessed by crossing a bridge in the shape of a tunnel. The building, however, is not entirely closed in, and on a cold December night this could result very uncomfortable.
My room was absolutely spectacular, consisting of great big windows through which the winery and the vines could be seen. One of the characteristics I look for in luxury places is spaciousness and comfort. The rooms in this hotel are very spacious, with wide and comfortable beds as well as spectacular bathrooms.; huge bathrooms, in fact, with a big bath surrounded by mirrors and a separate shower. The room was modern; even the lamps were designed in a “Gehry” style. A desk, a couple of sofas, wi-fi and a bottle of wine courtesy of the house.....with great glasses.
The restaurant is run by Francis Paniego from the well known Michelin star restaurant Echaurren. It´s modern with white table cloths an minimalist decoration; a simple but interesting menu. The service is impeccable, friendly and they made us feel very comfortable. Due to my serious cholesterol problems I am on a very strict diet, a fact which I mentioned in the restaurant. They offered me a salad as a starter and as my main dish a grilled sea bass with oriental herbs over a bed of spinach which was cooked to perfection. The wine list only offers the entire range of Marqués de Riscal. I enjoyed tremendously a 2001 Barón de Chirel which was particularly interesting and had great complexity; it was elegant and intense. Nevertheless I believe that there should have been a more ample wine selection. After the dinner we were invited to taste a glass of Pedro Ximenez in the drawing room, an pleasant area situated in a floor above where you can enjoy a drink and good conversation with friends after dinner.
One of the most interesting aspects of this hotel is the wine therapy spa. It is operated by Caudalie, a management firm which has similar centres in France, Italy, Taiwan and the US. Caudalie is the first company to have offered treatments based on the properties of wine. In 1999 they inaugurated their first centre in the well known Chateau Smith Haut Lafite in Burdeos.
On of the negative parts of my stay in this hotel was a careless mistake on the part of the reception which caused me to arrive 45 minutes late to a meeting and miss a train to Madrid, when they forgot to order a taxi which I had requested. It is unacceptable for a hotel of this standard to engage in mistakes such as these as well as not having a courtesy car in order to rectify errors such as this one.
Apart from the mentioned incident and for lacking a more interesting wine list, Marqués de Riscal almost reaches perfection. It offers an unsurpassable holiday since the offer of activities is ample. Luxury accommodation in a spectacular setting overlooking the vineyards and the winery, as well as the town of Elciego; visits to the legendary winery and magnificent treatments in the spa, excursions in the Rioja area and fantastic gastronomy make this a place that must be visited by every wine lover.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
English
Español
