LA ERMITA SUITES

Córdoba’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a few of its historic buildings now function as hotels. But there’s only one “monument hotel” officially designated by the government: La Ermita Suites. The charming boutique hotel is tucked away behind the cheerful façade of an 18th-century chapel. Today, it’s stitched together with the adjacent white stucco buildings, including the house next door, once the dwelling of the hermit who cared for the church — the hotel’s namesake — and now an airy café.

Rooms and suites, with their pale wood flooring and crisp white walls, are light-filled and rich with character. One is built around the exposed foundation of an ancient well, a duplex-style room features original stone walls from 1700, and another has a private balcony overlooking the courtyard’s massive red and white caliphate arch, a reminder of the city’s Arab, Roman, and Jewish history. A lone terrace suite has a terrace with a plunge pool and views of the Mosque-Cathedral. In an unusual twist, the breakfast buffet is laid out on the chapel’s altar.