This Spanish Household Has Remodeled 18th-century Historic Houses Into Luxurious Resorts

For 15 years, Victor Madera, a Spanish physician who made his fortune in well being care, and his spouse, Maria Obdulia Fernández, have been buying and renovating historic properties all through Spain. Their two dozen properties embrace a Thirteenth-century fort in Extremadura and a Twentieth-century Modernist villa in Asturias. Three years in the past, the couple sat down with their 4 daughters to determine what to do with these distinctive buildings — and the best way to preserve them for future generations. 

That was when the thought for a hospitality model, Vestige Assortment, was born. Impressed by Spain’s Paradores — a gaggle of state-owned lodges based by King Alfonso XIII in 1928 — the household desires to guard the nation’s heritage whereas additionally offering an opulent visitor expertise. “For my dad and mom, saving and restoring these buildings is a deep ardour,” says Claudia, the second-oldest daughter. 

The primary lodge, Son Vell, opened final June on a 450-acre property in northwestern Menorca. The lengthy driveway offers it a gradual, dramatic reveal: from behind olive groves and orchards of leafy citrus timber, a stone gate emerges, adopted by a chic 18th-century three-story villa constructed of golden marés limestone.

Extra Journey Concepts: Go to Menorca, Spain

Many of the 34 spacious suites are in stone bungalows that had been as soon as farm buildings. Every is outfitted with a king mattress and handmade furnishings and textiles, and lots of have personal walled-in terraces and gardens. The lodge can prepare horseback rides alongside the close by Camí de Cavalls, a 115-mile path that loops round Menorca, and the gorgeous seashore Cala Son Vell can be a mere 10-minute stroll away.

Vestige has opened a second property, the 11-bedroom Palacio de Figueras, in Asturias, which is offered for unique use. A chef and a housekeeper are offered, and a concierge can arrange excursions into the Picos de Europa, Spain’s tallest mountains, in addition to close by seashores. 

Obdulia Fernández, who oversees the design of every Vestige property, researches the buildings’ authentic supplies to revive them as precisely as attainable. For Palacio de Figueras, she hunted for doorways that date from the identical interval and located artisans who might match tiny frames to the small window openings. She was impressed by the Belgian artist and designer Axel Vervoordt: “I have a tendency to construct the room round one particular, minimalist piece.” She positioned a bonsai tree within the lounge and a portray of the manor’s authentic proprietor in one of many bedrooms. 

This 12 months the household plans to open two lodges, Son Ermitá and Son Binideufá, on adjoining estates in north-central Menorca, in addition to a six-bedroom exclusive-use villa within the foothills of Mallorca’s Tramuntana Mountains. Down the road are properties in Almería and Extremadura. “We’re excited to encourage vacationers to go to the wilder, extra distant corners of Spain,” Claudia says. 

A model of this story first appeared within the June 2024 challenge of Journey + Leisure underneath the headline “Dwell Like Royalty in Menorca.”