A visit to Terra Dominicata, one of only five 3-Key hotels in Spain, does not begin like that of any other 3-Key hotel I’ve visited as an Inspector. This is not La Reserve in Paris, or Casa Cipriani in New York. I’m not ushered into a Hausmannian palace or greeted by a liveried doorman. After arriving here — in the midst of the mountainous Catalonian countryside a twisting two hour drive from Barcelona — I’m sat down, softened up with a cocktail, and told everything I cannot do.
To say it’s a unique introduction to a hotel of this caliber is an understatement. In one of two main hotel buildings, both restored, centuries-old farmhouses that were once ancillary to the 12th-century monastery up the road, I’m told…