Hospes Amerigo

Another outpost of the Hospes group, a series of five-star boutique hotels across Spain, the Amerigo chooses Alicante as its home. Once a Dominican convent, later an office building and an apartment block, today it’s a bit closer to its original incarnation, offering the sort of creamy-white ascetic-luxe experience that is the Hospes group’s specialty.

Modernist interior design, here, is used not so much to liven the atmosphere as to calm the mind; plenty of white space, with dark wood accents, and furniture that welcomes rather than challenges the user. The original stone walls and arched windows of the convent lend a solemn atmosphere, a touch of the spiritual perhaps.

Cementing the Amerigo’s luxury credentials are the fitness center, complete with sauna, and the comfortably inviting public spaces—the lounge, the library and the restaurant. Most unique, though, is the surprise on the roof: a swimming pool and terrace, with a view of the Santa Bárbara castle and the surrounding rooftops of the city, a detail that makes the Amerigo not just a good hotel but a remarkable one.

The city itself is a popular destination for those traveling within Spain, with most of the guests seemingly away from Madrid for the weekend. Internationally Alicante is known more as an airline hub than a final destination, which means plentiful flights and easy traveling for those content to spend a holiday there.