Hotel Marques de Riscal

Iconic vineyard hotel in the Rioja built by Frank Gehry, who gave Bilbao the Guggenheim: perfect for style-seekers and gourmands

There is a law in the Rioja that manifests itself through bricks and mortar: the more successful your vineyard, the bigger you build your headquarters. This lush landscape is littered with the results, each trying to outdo the other. But at Marques de Riscal, you can’t help thinking they’ve pressed the nuclear button and obliterated the competition in one fell swoop. Architect Frank Gehry - best known for the Guggenheim in Bilbao - came down and nailed together vast sheets of claret titanium; in an act of submission he set the hotel on a marginally lower level than the church it faces. It is an extraordinary building, a vanity project par excellence.

It sits above the Marques de Riscal winery - the oldest in the Rioja - surrounded by vineyards, and there is a lovely terrace to the well-stocked wine bar, where you can sit and watch the grapes ripen as you knock back a glass of the local nectar. There’s also a super-cool spa hidden in a building that preceded Gehry’s star attraction; you’ll find a lovely indoor pool and sun beds overlooking the vines. Some of the rooms here open onto terraces and are definitely worth going for. Those in the main house aren’t quite as big or as lavish as their price suggests, but bathrooms are divine. Finally, the terraces, which are all over the place, one in the sky outside the library, where views stretch for miles.

Highs

• An easy 2-hour drive from Bilbao; design buffs could combine 2 nights at Miro Hotel (next to the Guggenheim) with a stay here
• The gourmet restaurant, serving such delights as foie gras curd, suckling pig and Cameros cheese with honey ice cream. There's a relaxed bistro, too, and you can carve ham off the bone at breakfast
• The wine, exquisite stuff, which you drink surrounded by vines. You get a bottle to welcome you, and a tour of the vineyard, and you can borrow bikes to visit neighbouring wineries
• Bang & Olufsen TVs in your Gehry-designed room, along with Gehry cloud lampshades, Nespresso machines and Artemide lamps
• The Caudalie spa - seriously lovely, with a range of indulgent grape-based treatments

Lows

• Rooms are incredibly expensive most of the time; prices rise as the hotel fills up, so book early to get the best rate
• Sometimes interiors feel a little empty, as if something is missing amid all the showy design
• Security on the gate when you arrive seems a bit unnecessary
• The building is unquestionably impressive, but whether it belongs in this deeply rural landscape, close to the medieval village of Elciego, is debatable