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I’m going to preface this post by saying that Finca La Donaira is hands-down the best place we’ve ever stayed. Ever.
And I can’t even really remember how I stumbled upon it!
Since we were going to be in the south of Spain, Reed had suggested we spend a few days at the beach, but it was proving more difficult than I thought to find somewhere that fit my criteria – somewhere small (no big hotels), luxurious but not ostentatious, and with a property and views we could enjoy at our leisure.
After finding only two spots that fit the bill – one with zero availability, and one almost four hours from Granada (too far of a drive to count as relaxing), I switched tactics and started searching for mountain retreats. And happened across La Donaira.
The Finca
A 1,700 acre organic farm and equestrian center, La Donaira is set up in the Andalusian mountains about an hour and a half southeast of Seville, at the top of the Serranía de Ronda. The nine rooms they rent out as part of their eco retreat is only a small part of their sustainable business model, which includes honey from their beehives, oil from their olive trees, a vineyard-in-the-making, yoga and mindfulness spaces, more than 200 Luisitania horses, chickens, goats, and sheep.
To get to La Donaira, we were directed to park in the tiny town of El Gastor (population ~2,000), itself quite a windy, elevated drive up the mountainside. After checking in at their office in town, we were picked up by the La Donaira team and driven about 15 minutes up dirt roads as a sweeping view of the Andalusian mountains emerged.
Uliana greeted us when we pulled up to the low, whitewashed main building and ushered us into the kitchen for craft beer (made especially for the property) and wine (fermented and aged on site) while another team member took our bags to our room.
We happened to be at the finca during an unusually slow week – there was only one other couple our first day, and then one more joined our group for day two. this made for a wonderfully intimate stay. It felt like we just about had the place to ourselves. Even at full capacity – with only nine rooms – it would be easy to find quiet and privacy across the expansive property.
The lunch table set for four.
After the opportunity to freshen up a little, we embarked on a tour of the property, which in itself must have taken over an hour. The highlights for guests include a spring-water fed all-natural outdoor pool, an indoor spa with heated pool that’s open 24/7, the opportunity for private yoga classes, massages, horse riding, stargazing, and tours of the working farm and medicinal garden.
Enjoying the natural spring-fed pool.
Everything was wrapped up in the most stunning views you can imagine, with thoughtful guest details like self-serve wine and beer, and interesting books artfully scattered through every room – like a book on fermentation that caught Reed’s eye, and one on mythology that caught mine.
After Uliana showed us the main buildings, amenities, guest rooms, and stables, her colleague Allie took us on a tour of the farm where we visited the vegetable garden, sheep and goats, and chickens.
On our second evening, Gigi took us on a fantastic adventure through his medicinal garden complete with lots and lots of tasting (I won’t spoil the pièce de résistance, but it was . . . electric).
The Rooms
To book your stay, you’ll need to email the La Donaira team directly. There are two standard rooms on the property, and seven are considered deluxe. Of the deluxe rooms, two are luxury yurts set slightly up on the hillside above the main buildings.
Uliana gave us a tour of all the rooms since we were the only guests until another couple joined us at lunch, and I can confidently say that they’re all super cool with different layouts (like the Laura room’s two-story design), amenities (like the copper tubs in the Magnolia and Priam rooms), and evocative art collected by the owners.
We stayed in the Priam room, which is – in a word – stunning. Not only is it the biggest room we’ve ever stayed in, it boasts a jaw-dropping view of the mountains through a broad window at the foot of the bed. Talk about waking up in style.
Soaking in the morning light on one of our room’s two Juliet balconies.
Other luxurious room details included a fluffy bed with huge pillows and elegant mosquito net, two back-to-back leather slipper sofas, two Juliet balconies, a set of terry robes and a pair of summer linen robes, and cozy cashmere ponchos to borrow on chilly nights.
The Food
The all-inclusive meals are one of the highlights of a stay at La Donaira. Lunch and dinner are four courses each, with wine pairings, and will leave you mesmerized by the creativity of the chefs and taste of the ingredients that are more often than not plucked from La Donaira’s own land.
Breakfast: Served between 8-11am, there’s a buffet with fruits, cheeses, meats, yogurt from the farm, muesli, and more. A set menu with additional dishes – like a chorizo omelette or soft-boiled farm eggs with crème fraîche and chives from the garden – is placed at each seat. Both mornings I enjoyed the muesli with yogurt and ripe figs, soft-boiled eggs, and a café con leche.
Lunch: Served at 2:30pm every day, this is a four course affair with wine-pairings. When we sat down for our first meal, Julia, the on-site sommelier, asked us about our wine preferences and then, with gusto, served up three marvelous organic wines that went splendidly with our lunch on the patio. With each course presented lovingly by the chef that prepared it, meals are a show in and of themselves.
For our first lunch, we enjoyed beetroot latkes with leeks and housemade ricotta, lamb marinated in four vinegars with anchovies and crispy kale, two types of cheeses, and a pear sorbet that put the finishing touch on a meal I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Dinner: Served in true Spanish style at 9pm each evening, dinner is a gastronomic love-letter. It’s officially a three-course affair, but that doesn’t include the aged jamón served alongside the fresh bread and olive oil that accompanies lunch and dinner. Our last dinner was probably the most memorable, with ricotta gnocchi topped with caviar to start, a main course of potato stuffed with tuna and fresh herbs, and a house-made chocolate ice cream topped with sheets of crispy dehydrated chocolate mousse.
Interacting with the staff is in itself a delight. The La Donaira team is an amazing group of people that lives and breathes the finca’s dedication to sustainability, and they truly relish delighting the guests. Many of them are expats – all speak English – and clearly share a love for sustaining and enjoying the uniquely beautiful landscape and energy of Andalusia.
We’re already planning on going back to La Donaira before or after our friends’ wedding in 2021. We were completely enchanted by the property and experience and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an eco-conscious escape from the world is a discreetly luxurious setting.
In La Donaira’s rustic common room.
La Donaira’s vibe and ethos also completely won us over, and we’ll be looking for similar eco retreats in the future. Have you stayed anywhere similar, whether in the U.S. or abroad? I’d love to know!
Follow me on Instagram @theprimpysheep for more travel and staycation inspiration. And if you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
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