Palacio Santa Clara has an elegant air, with flowing lines and floral motifs woven into its early-20th-century, art nouveau design. The original occupants were a family who sold silk, and the hotel is named after the woman who managed the business. Standout features include a sweeping marble staircase and domed roof turret (now home to an atmospheric bar).
Art nouveau was heavily influenced by nature, and the hotel’s furnishings and atmosphere lean into this “organic” feel, the intimate reception and lobby bar laid with oak flooring and set with seats upholstered in animal patterns featuring peacocks and wolves. There’s a flavour of the jazz era too, with art deco glass orb lighting and cocktail-themed posters. Rooms follow a similar style and the service throughout this Marriott Autograph Collection hotel is flawless. The modern Spanish restaurant — although a touch pricey — is excellent.
Overall score 8/10
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Rooms and suites
Score 8/10
Rooms are divided between deluxe, premium and suites, the former mostly looking over the internal courtyard and the higher categories with views out to the busy street. There are lofty ceilings, wooden floors, olive green curtains and wallpaper dancing with birds, berries and flowers. Behind the bed — king-size in the premiums — are feature panels set either with mirrors or watercolours of perfume bottles, Moulin Rouge dancers and art deco-era women with characteristic bob haircuts. The side tables and minibars are topped with marble, while most bathrooms have walk-in showers (a few have showers over bath tubs) and the same wooden flooring as the sleeping areas. Nespresso machines and complimentary water can be found in all rooms.
Food and drink
Score 8/10
There’s no dividing line between the lobby bar and El Modernista restaurant, which means the restaurant — with its deep-set, snug-like seating — has a comfortable, informal atmosphere as jazz plays on the sound system. Opt for excellent starters of egg-yolk yellow ravioli with caramelised onions, or grilled octopus, before a superb, melt-off-the-bone main course of beef ribs. Also on the menu — which isn’t the cheapest (mains averaging not far off £30) — are options such as Valencian tomatoes with cured tuna, and grilled turbot with red pepper cream and asparagus. The staff offer equally top-drawer service.
Breakfast is here too — a buffet of choices including cold meats, salmon, pastries and more, as well as hot à la carte dishes of omelettes, pancakes and churros. Later in the day, it’s worth a trip up to the characterful El Torreon bar in the rooftop turret; its dome is painted with a stylised panorama of rural life and the terrace provides views over the surrounding streets and houses (as well as a small swimming pool).
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What else is there?
Score 7/10
There’s no gym or spa, but you’ll find a small, unheated swimming pool on the roof terrace. This is also the place for yoga classes every Friday during warmer months (fee payable; book in advance), and there are regular live jazz performances in the evenings (either on the roof or in the lobby bar, depending on the season).
Where is it?
Score 8/10
The hotel is located in the central Eixample district, a short distance from the renowned shopping street of Carrer de Colon, and just a ten-minute walk to sites like the Central Market and Valencia Cathedral. It stands on the corner of Carrer de Martinez Cubells and Calle de Pascual y Genis, which are busy streets containing lots of restaurants, shops and bars. The hotel is six miles from Valencia airport, from which it’s a 15-minute ride by taxi or about 30 minutes on the metro (take Line 5).
Price B&B doubles from £275
Restaurant mains from £25
Family-friendly N
Accessible N
Adrian Phillips was a guest of Palacio Santa Clara (marriott.com)
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