Priorat, Spain

Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno

Price per night from$331.94

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR306.82), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Rich reds and elegant whites

Setting

Like-a-fine-wine Priorat

As enticing as the pop of a cork, as tasteful as a full-bodied merlot and as merry as you’ll be after a few days cellar-hopping in the Priorat wine-making region: boutique stay Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno (named after the 18th-century estate owner) is a thrilling addition to Catalonia’s mountainous countryside, new for 2023. Yes, the waiting has been hard, but as all oenophiles know, you can’t hurry a fine vintage. And, while the hotel has five centuries of history behind it, in its new guise it’s sleek and seductive, with rich woods, flashes of red marble and glazed fireplaces. Those age-old wines can be tried in a very stylish new tasting room and a well-kitted-out spa will make you feel brand new – we’ll drink to that.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

Free daily access to the spa for each guest (usually €50 for entry)

Facilities

Photos Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno facilities

Need to know

Rooms

24 suites.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability (may be subject to a fee). Earliest check-in, 3pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £289.20 (€338), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €3.30 per person per night on check-out.

More details

Continental breakfast is included for all rates. In high season for guests staying in Bruno’s Villa – and at all times for those in Bruno’s Suite – the American breakfast is included too.

Also

There’s one specially adapted room for guests with mobility issues and the rest of the hotel is easily navigated.

Hotel closed

The hotel opens from 1 April to 31 December.

At the hotel

Spa with a sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi; vineyards; Mediterranean gardens; wine cellar and tasting room; library; boutique (opening late summer); e-bikes to borrow for a charge; concierge; charged laundry and dry-cleaning services; free WiFi. In rooms: Smart TV, Bluetooth speaker, coffee-maker, gourmet maxibar, climate control, bathrobes and toiletries.

Our favourite rooms

Rooms are either set in a historic masía (farm building) or the main atelier. All overlook rows of vines and out to the mountains beyond; but, while there’s the odd beamed ceiling and plenty of wood in the rooms, this is rusticity refined. Furnishings are shapely and sleek, interesting textures and russet marble come into play, and most have a glass fireplace too. Book a suite with a terrace to idle on with wine, or for the Gran-cru experience, check into Bruno’s Suite, which is more of an apartment with living, dining and dressing rooms, a private garden and a large terrace with a TV.

Poolside

Between the terracotta-hued masía and atelier buildings and pockets of green is the dark-blue strip of the hotel’s 25-metre infinity pool. With cushioned loungers on one side and covered cabanas (€150 a day to hire) on the other, it’s very inviting on the – quite a few – warm days here. Just steps away, a Bistro terrace supplies chilled goblets of wine and snacks poolside.

Spa

Ensconced away in the Mas’s ancient winery is the warm and welcoming spa, with terracotta walls, scarlet tiling and copper accents (usually €50 to enter, but free for lucky Smith guests). It’s very well-equipped with hot and cold pools, a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, and two treatment rooms (one big enough for couples) where nurturing therapists put Natura Bissé products to good use. For an especially romantic time, or if you simply don’t wish to share, it can be booked out privately for an hour for €400. And, in the future the hotel will have more focused wellness experiences, such as yoga retreats.

Packing tips

It’s more about what you take home here – not only a few bottles, but also artisanal goods and branded swag from the hotel’s boutique.

Also

Leather wood, a roaring fireplace and plenty of books for flipping away the afternoon – the hotel’s library is a peaceful readers’ haven.

Pet‐friendly

Furry friends will be allowed in the Terrace Suite, Garden Suite and Bruno's Villa for €50 a pet per night, for a maximum of €200 per stay. They will be given bowls, toys and some treats but must stay out of indoor public spaces. See more pet-friendly hotels in Priorat.

Children

You don’t have to be of drinking age to stay here but it does help.

Sustainability efforts

The hotel is very conscious of its natural surroundings and its proximity to the Serra de Montsant Natural Park, and aims to be a responsible neighbour. This means sourcing local ingredients, eliminating plastics where possible, conserving energy and being mindful of water waste. Plus, there are charging points for electric cars on-site and e-bikes to borrow.

Food and Drink

Photos Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno food and drink

Top Table

There’s something rather special about looking at the very vines the wine you’re drinking comes from. For dinner, sit yourself near Vinum’s fireplace, where sparks will fly – but only metaphorically.

Dress Code

Red, white and rosé.

Hotel restaurant

There’s a duality to the hotel’s restaurant – all streamlined woods, soft leather and creamy marble, with a coffered ceiling and glass fireplace. By day (for breakfast and lunch) it’s Tarraco, a nod to Tarraconense, the historic Roman name of the region, the influence of which is reflected in its Italian dishes. By night, it’s Vinum, where lights are lowered for a sultrier feel and chefs get a little more adventurous in their tasting menus (paired with a range of wines from near and far). Set to open before summer's end, the Bistro, set on an elevated terrace by the pool and privy to sweeping vineyard views, is where you'll be able to order tapas plates, sandwiches, salads and tasty Mediterranean fare.

Hotel bar

Let’s face it, you’ve come for the wine; well, Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno delivers. Down a tightly coiled stone staircase is the hotel’s tasting room, where experts from Priorat and Monsant will pick bottles from their wall cubbies, or pour straight from the barrel and talk you through their regional quirks and flavour notes. And, there’s also a bijou wine bar, with an arched ceiling and hidden vault full of drinkable treasure. Bruno’s Bar mixes things up a bit – specifically, tempting cocktails – in a space that blends ancient stone with modern polish. 

Last orders

Tarraco opens from 7.30am to 10.30am and 1pm to 3.30pm. Dinner is served at Vinum from 8pm to 10.30pm.

Room service

Dine in-room around the clock (hot dishes are only available in the day).

Location

Photos Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno location
Address
Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno
Torroja del Priorat
Tarragona
43737
Spain

All around Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno are the green undulations of Priorat, a DOQ (Denominació d'Origen Qualificada) for Catalan wines in the Tarragona province, just south of the Serra de Montsant Natural Park.

Planes

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat is just under a two-hour drive away. Or Reus Airport in Tarragona – which has a more limited number of European routes – is around an hour’s drive away. The hotel can arrange luxurious transfers from Barcelona in a Mercedes E-Class (€360 one-way) or Mercedes Maybach (€590 one-way).

Automobiles

You’ll definitely need a car, as this part of Spain is all meandering mountain roads and vast vineyards. There’s free parking at the hotel and electric cars you can borrow for a fee, plus charging points if you’ve brought your own.

Other

On the other hand, maybe you’d like to swap wheels for the whirring blades of a helicopter – and the hotel can make that happen for €2,400 each way.

Worth getting out of bed for

There are two types of travellers who find themselves in Catalunyan Priorat: those raring to strap on some boots and conquer the mountains and biking trails of the Serra de Montsant Natural Park and its surrounding trails (the hotel has a fleet of e-bikes to borrow), and those who want to – quite literally – drink in the scenery, working their way through Priorat’s rich red wines. Vintners here have been at it since the Middle Ages, so they’ve gotten very good; and, not only is the hotel sat on acres of vines itself, but it’s within cork-popping distance of many other cellars. Get stuck in at Hidalgo Albert, set in an antique building on the slopes, or Clos Salanca, whose small-batch wines are very sippable. Pace yourself though, there are quite a few more… There are a few nods to the region’s history too, with the ruined monastery Cartoixa d'Escaladei 10 minutes away by car; it’s here that the wine-making tradition began. And the pretty and well-preserved on-high mediaeval villages of Siurana and La Vilella Baixa are worth driving out to. Otherwise, be soothed in the hotel’s spa, swim lazy laps in the pool, or go in for another round of wines in the tasting room

Local restaurants

Priorat may be rural and largely populated by vines, but where there’s good drinking, top-drawer food must follow. There are several Michelin-starred eateries within easy driving reach of the hotel, such as Quatre Molins, whose dishes read like freeform poetry: brioche topped with spider crab, avocado and coffee cream, cucumber gelè and lemongrass; or smoked eel with marrow, hazelnut and blackberry. And, its seasonal truffle menu is sinfully decadent, pairing the fungi with lobster ravioli and suckling pig. Brots only has 12 covers, so book in advance for lots of wow moments, such as olives with vermouth-filled pipettes stuck into them served on a plate cast in the shape of the chef’s hand; or salmon with roasted red pepper and anise sorbets; chicken butifarra with corn pudding and queso cream; a ‘tree’ of cookies… And, slightly further afield in Reus, is Can Bosch where tuna belly comes lacquered with an aged muscat and teriyaki sauce, pork belly in a pine-nut velouté, and mandarin ice-cream with carrot chutney and spiced cream.

Local bars

You know you’re in for a good wine – we mean time, or, actually, we were right the first time – when little wine-glass symbols pop up around the hotel on Google Maps. Priorat is a DOQ (Denominació d'Origen Qualificada) for Catalan wines, so there’s some excellent sipping to be had here. Around Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno is a vineyard circuit of Celler Burgos Porta, L’Infernal and Bodega Bravo Escos. Plus there are further concentric drinking circles beyond.

Reviews

Photos Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this centuries-old estate made new in wine region Priorat and unpacked their heavy, clinking suitcases, a full account of their not-so-sober break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno in Catalonia…

Gran Hotel Mas d'en Bruno, in the wine-making Priorat region of Catalonia, has five centuries of history behind it, which it’s spent well, growing vines in all directions, making very drinkable wine and ageing gracefully. Enough that it could kick back in its twilight years, but this spring it’s opening anew – there are still flashes of antique stone and several beams, but now it’s a 21st-century vision in polished woods, coloured marbles, leather and strong modern shapes, with a tricked-out spa (that can be booked for private sessions), array of eateries and dedicated tasting room. Updated it may be, but Priorat’s timeless beauty and heirloom cellars are still present and correct. Cheers to that. 

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Price per night from $331.94