La Almunia del Valle

Set on a hillside above Monachil, Hotel La Almunia del Valle looks out over the Sierra Nevada range, its snowed peaks visible from the terraces built into the old stone roofs of the main building. Granada sits roughly seven kilometres away, close enough for a morning at the Alhambra and back for dinner. The hotel is small. Fourteen rooms and suites are split between the original building and a newer wing, the latter more modern in tone, each with a private terrace or balcony facing the mountains. Bathrooms in the superior rooms sit within the room itself, an open, water-focused layout that nods to the hammams of old al-Ándalus. Common areas run to a lounge with a fireplace, a small library of travel and photography books, and a bar staffed in the afternoons. The outdoor pool is filled with water drawn from the Sierra Nevada mountains, and guests can swim while looking straight at the range. Two dining areas serve guests only, one indoors and one on a terrace open in spring and summer. Staff arrange guided walks into the Sierra Nevada Natural Park, including the Cahorros gorge route along the Monachil river, and can brief guests on trail difficulty before they set out. Parking and Wi-Fi are free. The pace here is set by the mountains, not the clock.