The rustic one
MAS DE CANICATTI
A modernist wolf in rustic sheep’s clothing, the superb Mas de Canicatti is
not quite what you expect. It’s hidden away, a 20-minute cab ride out of
town, in a 130-acre estate of orange groves, and the main finca-style
farmhouse is twee enough. But check out the rooms here and you’ll find
minimalist studies in grey and red — then take the zinc-lined underpass, go
through the beaten-copper doors and you’ll come to the uncompromisingly
modern main block, where architect Angel Garcia Puertas has really let rip.
It sounds terrible — lots of concrete, gloss-painted floors, bright yellow
sinks — but wit, panache and sensitive landscaping make it work like a
dream.
There’s a great pool, and a unique spa specialising in orange treatments. The
restaurant, overseen by Michelin-starred Joachim Koerper, isn’t bad either.
Doubles from £131, B&B; 00 34 961 650534, www.masdecanicatti.com
The designer one
PETIT PALACE BRISTOL
The chicest hotel in town is the Hospes Palau de la Mar — it’s where Becks
hangs his boots when he’s here to play, and local wunderkind architect
Santiago Calatrava is a fan — but, while it’s very impressive, the location
could be better and it’s a mite pretentious. If minimalism’s your bag, opt
instead for the cheaper, more straightforward Bristol. Behind the original
19th-century facade it’s a brand-new building, with all the designer
standards you’d expect — white walls, wood floors, hydromassage showers —
but in a terrific spot, seconds from the Plaza de la Reina. There’s a cool
glass-topped bar downstairs too. Best of all, though, it has a couple of the
city’s top-value rooms: for the standard rate, 501 and 502 have great little
sit-out terraces with terrific views.
Doubles from £69, room-only; 00 34 96 394 5100, www.hthoteles.com
The budget one
HOSTAL ANTIGUA MORELLANA
Cheap is all too often nasty in Spain, so a thoroughly civilised, family-run
hostal like this is a bit of a find. The four Martinez sisters keep the
place spotless (they live on the 4th floor), while their dad sits gossiping
in the homely lobby. The pretty little rooms have all you need — ensuite,
hairdryer and so on. True, the beds could be softer, and it’s a traditional
bolster instead of a pillow, but if you can handle that, the location makes
this place a bargain. Get a room at the back. Valencians are a noisy lot,
especially at 2am.
You’re bang in the middle of the old town, a few steps from cute little Plaza
Doctor Collado. The family also owns the Horno Fundado bakery around the
corner: don’t miss their empanada pisto, with tomatoes, peppers and tuna.
Doubles from £33, room-only; 00 34 963 915773, www.hostalam.com
The trad one
AD HOC
A sensitively restored bourgeois house from 1881, Ad Hoc is all beams, brick,
damask and a few more beams. The building had fallen on hard times before it
was renovated 12 years ago, but they’ve done a fine job, from retracing the
original ceiling decorations down to copying the 19th-century floor tiles.
The rooms are charming too, and a decent size. One caveat: only two of the 28
have double beds. Of these, choose number 52, with its vaulted ceiling right
under the roof Ad Hoc isn’t as central as some — it’s in the Jewish quarter,
a few minutes from the cathedral, and the clubs and cafes of Barrio del
Carmen. It’s a pleasant walk, though, and for a place of this standard, the
low-season prices below — which last all through the spring — are a steal.
Doubles from £54, room-only; 00 34 96 391 9140, www.adhochoteles.com
The barking one
LAS ARENAS BALNEARIO RESORT
Take a chunk of Dubai and a marble slab of Sandy Lane, plonk them down on a
huge plot in the middle of Valencia’s seafront, and you’ve got Las Arenas.
It’s brand new and it’s big, big, big — a 253-room, £25m wedding cake.
Authentic it ain’t, but if you want a seaside experience in the heart of the
city, it can’t be beaten. Get a sea-view room, stand on your balcony and you
can hear the waves whispering over the rustle of palm trees in the
landscaped gardens — but you’re still only a £5 cab ride from the old town.
The rooms are high quality, with vast plasma TVs and big, bouncy beds. They’re
still finishing the pool and spa, which should be done by “spring” — check
when you book.
Doubles from £90, sea-view doubles from £103, room-only; 00 34 96 312 0600, www.hotel-lasarenas.com
I want to go
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com)
flies from Stansted; EasyJet (www.easyjet.com)
from Stansted, Gatwick and Bristol; British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com)
from Heathrow and Gatwick; and Thomsonfly (0870 190 0737, www.thomsonfly.com)
from Coventry. Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com)
from Manchester from May.
