Santa Maria Hotel

Location. Hotel Santa Maria is situated in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a small harbour town and resort 15 kilometres north east of Cadiz, Spain. The building stands in a maze of old streets within the historic ’wine-cellar’ quarter 800 metres from the beach and the Bay of Cadiz. The nearest railway station is 1.5 kilometres from the hotel.
Hotel Features. The four-storey Hotel Santa Maria is a conversion of an old mansion building, painted white in local Andalusian style. It has a light, airy lobby with leather seating, herringbone parquet flooring and dark timberwork. The hotel is fully air-conditioned and has a lift and private garage parking.

The Santa Maria’s main restaurant is the Bajamar, which overlooks the river. It offers daily set menus, especially local fish dishes. The Moorish-style Adriano restaurant serves a buffet breakfast (surcharge), including home-made pastries. The Varadero snack bar is open throughout the day, with a choice of typical Spanish tapas.

Besides the hotel’s rooftop swimming pool and solarium with extensive town views, local leisure activities include tennis, horse-riding, bicycle hire and a variety of river- and beach-based water sports. Catamaran tour boats sail from just outside the hotel along the River Guadalete and across the bay to the ancient city of Cadiz.

Guestrooms. The Santa Maria’s 100 guestrooms have plain white or natural wood walls and matching fabrics, mostly in blue and white. All have air conditioning, satellite television, and safes. Bathrooms have bidets and bathrobes.

Expert Tip. El Puerto de Santa Maria was formerly Spain’s main sherry port, shipping the wines of Jerez from the low-slung, whitewashed warehouses that line the streets and waterfront wharves of the old quarter. Several large sherry firms, such as Osborne & Duff Gordon, offer free tours and tastings at some of the old ’bodegas’ around the Hotel Santa Maria.