Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel & Spa

The documented history of Zorita begins in the 14th century, when Doña Inés de Limoges donated the site to the Order of Preachers and the estate became a Dominican monastery. The friars grew wheat and vines on the Tormes floodplain and gave lodging to passing travellers. Local tradition holds that Christopher Columbus stayed here in 1487, during the years he spent in Salamanca seeking the favour of Friar Diego de Deza, confessor to Queen Isabella, to fund his voyage. The Dominicans kept the property until Mendizábal's confiscation of church lands in the 19th century. In 1881 the building was turned into a large flour mill powered by the river, until a fire destroyed it in 1950. The estate lay almost in ruins for decades, until in 2001 it was acquired by The Haciendas Company, linked to the Marqués de la Concordia wineries, which restored it and opened it as a hotel in 2003. In 2026 the property passed to the investment group Oppo Invest.

The estate is organised around the Casa Grande, the old stone monastic building, which houses 23 rooms divided into chambers, deluxe chambers with terraces over the Tormes and suites. Thick walls, austere proportions and filtered light recall its conventual origins. Around it, among gardens and vines, stand 17 independent villas, some with their own lounge and access to a small shared pool, designed for those seeking more privacy. The most evocative piece is the old mill on the riverbank, converted into a spa, where the waters of the Tormes remain present beyond the windows. The ensemble is completed by the wine cellar, the former chapel — no longer consecrated and used for private celebrations — and the outdoor pools. The restoration respected the historic volumes and opted for sober interiors in noble materials, where the original stone takes centre stage.

Hacienda Zorita is in Valverdón, on the Tormes floodplain, about fifteen minutes by car from Salamanca along the Ledesma road. The proximity makes it easy to combine the calm of the countryside with a visit to the old city of Salamanca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its Plaza Mayor, its two cathedrals and the plateresque façade of the University, one of the oldest in Europe. Downstream, the medieval town of Ledesma preserves its bridge and walled precinct above the Tormes. Further west, the Arribes del Duero offer river canyons and viewpoints over the border with Portugal. The campo charro around the estate is a land of dehesas, holm oaks and livestock, and its larder — Guijuelo Iberian ham, morucha beef, pulses — feeds much of the local cooking. On the estate itself, walks along the riverbank and through the gardens are the best way to slow down.