WINE COUNTRY

Palacio de Samaniego

Samaniego - Spain

A nine-room palace in a small Rioja Alavesa village, with Basque cooking, vineyards at the edge of town and art in almost every corner.

Village Life

Pool

Restaurant

Massage

Wine Tasting

e-Bikes

THE SETTING

Palacio de Samaniego sits in the village of Samaniego, in Rioja Alavesa, probably Spain’s greatest wine region. The village is small, built of stone, and almost immediately surrounded by vineyards. Laguardia, Elciego and some of the area’s best-known wineries are only a short drive away.

The building is an old palace in the centre of the village, listed as a historic monument and restored by Edmond de Rothschild Heritage. Ariane de Rothschild discovered the property in 2016 and opened it as the group’s first hotel outside France. From the street, the palace keeps a quiet face: stone walls, old proportions, nothing too loud. Inside, the mood changes. There are small sitting areas instead of a formal reception, contemporary pieces next to old stone, Corten steel, leather, wood, ochre tones, and art everywhere.

Ariane’s collections are part of the house: vases, works from Indonesia and the Amazon, headdresses, jewellery, books, objects from travel. It could have felt like a display, but the hotel’s scale keeps it intimate. Nine rooms, a garden, a pool, a restaurant and enough corners to disappear for a while.

This is a very polished address, but the best thing about it is the village setting. You step outside, and you are not in a resort. You are in Samaniego, with the vineyards starting around you.

THE ROOMS

There are nine rooms and suites, spread across two floors around the original stone staircase. Each one is named after a grape variety: Merlot, Viura, Tempranillo, Syrah, Verdejo, Malvasía, Bobal, Garnacha and Chardonnay.

The rooms range from around 22 to 56 m². Merlot is the double room; Viura is the deluxe double room; the other six are junior suites; and Chardonnay is the deluxe suite. Some can work well for longer stays, with more living space and a stronger sense of being in a private house. The wine names are not just decorative. Each room has its own colour palette, linked to the seasons and the landscape outside. Expect good fabrics, large beds, handmade Iberian tiles, generous bathrooms, artworks, books, and blankets made locally in Ezcaray, a town known for its mohair and cashmere textiles.

THE FOOD

Breakfast is served in the dining room, on the terrace or in the room. On warm mornings, the terrace is the place to be: coffee, bread, fruit, pastries, regional products, and the village still quiet before the first winery visit of the day.

The main restaurant is Tierra y Vino, led by Portuguese-born chef Bruno Coelho. The cooking blends Basque, Spanish and French influences, with seasonal ingredients, à la carte dishes and a tasting menu. There is also Le Jardin d’Ariane, set under the pergola in the garden. It is the more relaxed option: local produce, regional specialities, lunch, dinner or just a drink outside.

Wine is everywhere, as it should be here. The cellar and service are led by Miren Ormazabal and her team, with a strong focus on Rioja Alavesa and the wider Edmond de Rothschild world. This is a place where dinner and wine are not secondary to the stay. They are part of the reason to come.

THE STAY

The hotel is small, but there is quite a lot within its walls: several sitting areas, a dining room, a garden, a terrace for evening drinks, a swimming corridor/pool, and a fitness room.

The garden is especially useful after a day of tastings. You can sit under the pergola, have a glass outside, read, or move between the pool and the terrace without leaving the house. It gives the palace a calmer rhythm than the village-centre location might suggest.

There are free electric bikes for guests, which makes sense in Rioja Alavesa. The roads between villages and vineyards are short, scenic and easy to enjoy without rushing. The hotel can also help organise wine visits, special tastings, vineyard walks, kayaking on the Ebro, horse riding and hot-air balloon flights.

AROUND PALACIO DE SAMANIEGO

You are in the Rioja Alavesa, with vineyards, medieval villages and major wineries all close by. Laguardia, one of Spain’s prettiest small villages, is only a few kilometres away: walls, narrow streets, underground cellars and views over the vines. Elciego is also close, with Marqués de Riscal and the Frank Gehry building. Bodegas Ysios, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is another easy visit nearby.

For wine lovers, the hotel can help connect the stay to the wider region. Macán, the project created by Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild with Vega Sicilia, is part of that story. The Vivanco wine museum is also within reach for a deeper look at Rioja wine culture.

Bilbao is around an hour and a half away, making the hotel easy to combine with the Guggenheim, Basque coast or a longer northern Spain road trip.

THE OWNERS

Palacio de Samaniego belongs to Edmond de Rothschild Heritage and clearly reflects Ariane de Rothschild’s vision. She wanted the palace to feel like a family home, not a standard hotel, and that explains much of what guests see inside. The vases, books, artworks, textiles and travel pieces come from her own eye and from the wider Rothschild world. They give the house a personal layer, even though the service is clearly high-end.

Day-to-day, the experience depends on the local team: restaurant, wine service, guest advice, tastings, reservations, bikes, and activities. In a hotel with only nine rooms, that presence matters. The palace may carry a famous family name, but the stay works because the team keeps it human.

GOOD TO KNOW

There are nine rooms and suites. Tierra y Vino restaurant serves à la carte dishes and tasting menus. Le Jardin d’Ariane offers a more relaxed garden setting under the pergola. Restaurant opening days and menus can vary, so booking ahead is recommended.

Activities can include winery visits, special tastings, vineyard walks, e-bike rides, kayaking, horse riding and hot-air balloon flights.

Prices generally start at €320 per night, depending on the season and room type.