Hotel Marques de Riscal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Elciego

Most likely the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at! ( and I have been to many 5* hotels around the globe). It’s truly a unique property Frank Ghery is the architect and the whole building is incredible. The restaurants have great views of the church and the mountains and the whole hotel is surrounded by wineyards. I loved the reading room with the fireplace in the 3rd floor and the sauna was one of the best I’ve ever been to. The gym was very good too and so was the spa overall. Breakfast was amazing but they served too much food. They should ask guests whether they want everything in the menu. Arantza and Luz Marina from the restaurant were always super attentive and very sweet! The service in the hotel was amazing overall. The stay included a guided tour to the winery, wine tasting and also a couple of bottles in our room! Marqués de Riscal Reserva is one of my favourite wines ! Last but not least, the room (Riscal Suite) was huge and amazing. The bed was super comfortable and I loved the design of the 2 sofas. I wanted to bring them home with me !! Design is incredible. Things to improve: - no USB C connectors next to the bed. Come on, we are in 2025 and all iPhones/Android phones use this type of cable - no shower next to the sauna. You make the whole aisle wet and need to walk like 50 meters until you reach the shower - missing welcome gift. When I got to the hotel they asked me whether I wanted 1,000 Bonvoy points or a gift (bottle of olive oil). I chose the olive oil but they never gave it to me. I did not receive the 1,000 points either. Disappointing

Upon entering we were met with the most unfriendly front of the house greeting (or lack there of). No smiles, no welcome, it was very odd. Our room was large, but needs major refreshing - in fact, the entire hotel needs updating. The bathroom smelled of sewage or perhaps something had died in the wall. You could smell upon entering the room, but the bathroom odor was unbearable and in much need of updating. Be careful entering the shower, the floor is very slippery. Food and Beverage was sub-par. Dinner at the Michelin Star restaurant was terrible - the food and ambiance need a lot of work. Felt like I was in a cafeteria with banquet food. The bar area for tapas service was odd and unfriendly - food was just okay. We went to the lounge before dinner and found it rather dark - not in a warm, welcoming way and there was no service, no bar…nothing. We left and went to tapas bar for a glass of wine before dinner instead. We used the spa amenities - which, in my opinion, was the nicest part of the hotel. The friendliest people on the entire property were the valets - give them a raise! Over priced and under delivered. For what they charge, I expect much more…worse than a motel. I recommend visiting the winery, but stay elsewhere.

Stayed at the Hotel Marques de Riscal for our honeymoon and was blown away be the beauty of the hotel designed by Frank Gehry, the service of the staff, the brunch offered to us as Titanium members, the delicious wines during the wine tasing included with our stay, and the surrounding scenery. Very memorable experience so thank you!

The hotel was on our bucket list to stay at and whilst the architecture is worth seeing, sadly the hospitality experience was pretty average and is distinctly overpriced. We ate in both restaurants and whilst the food was good, we wouldn’t class it as exceptional, and the service was towards mediocre at best, verging on dreadful. There was quite a lot of eye rolling from fellow diners at dinner and breakfast. Box ticked but won’t be repeating at the prices charged. Recommend viewing from outside and picking somewhere else in Rioja to stay and dine at.

So after three unexpected meanderings accasioned by the difficulty of finding its front gate, you finally cautiously drive up a short shrubbed driveway that opens up to an eye-opening view of the Frank Gehry architectural gem that is Marriott Bonvoy’s Luxury Collection finest hospitality property in Spain’s famous winemaking La Rioja region. Built in Gehry’s signature asymmetrical style of his favored steel-and-titanium panels and tiles, this 61-room establishment is settled within the premiere Marques de Riscal winery’s City of Wine bodega showcase. Its splendid modernist styling and luxurious furbishings made it a perfect 5-day base camp for our full bore explorations of the Rioja and Spanish Basque regions. The vastly spacious Riscal Suites, especially the bedroom loft with vineyard view, provide ultra-comfortable quarters to retire to after exhausting wine-tasting, tapas-devouring, site-trekkings days of touring. The front desk staff is remote and not exactly customer-friendly, but the restaurant and other service staff make up for it in their friendly attentiveness. Plus, the onsite bodegas wine tour and the Michelin star formal restaurant make it a good complement to your experience of these great regions of northern Spain.