Hotel El Doncel

The house

El Doncel is a three-star hotel with a restaurant on the Paseo de la Alameda, the tree-lined avenue in the lower part of Sigüenza. It occupies an 18th-century manor house that the family bought in 1970 and in which, in 1973, it opened a two-star hostal of that name. Since 2001 it has been run by the brothers Enrique and Eduardo, the fourth generation of hoteliers; in 2020 a complete refurbishment turned the hostal into a three-star hotel and redesigned the restaurant.

The rooms

The hotel's website speaks of 14 rooms, refurbished while keeping the stone character of the building; Sigüenza tourist office gives it 43 beds. All have a full bathroom with hairdryer, air conditioning, plasma TV, wifi and a bonnell spring mattress, with anti-mite bedding and pillows. The most special is an attic suite with views of the Alameda and Calle San Roque, with large, open spaces.

Check-in is from 14:00 to 23:00 and check-out before 12:00. You pay at the hotel, with a card as guarantee, and cancellation is free up to two days before arrival; after that the first night is charged. Pets are not accepted. The website does not publish prices or give details of breakfast or parking.

The same house also has the La Alacena suites, booked separately, and the Finca del Obispo for events.

The restaurant

It is the main reason to sleep here. The El Doncel restaurant has had a Michelin star since 2017, the first in the province of Guadalajara, and two Repsol Suns since 2016. Chef Enrique Pérez makes the menus to his taste according to the market, with his own sourdough bread, and the sommelier Andrei Popa suggests the pairings.

There are two menus: Esencia y Sabor, with four starters, a fish, a meat, a pre-dessert and dessert, at €92, and the Gastronómico menu, with ten savoury courses, at €128; both with VAT and without drinks, and with an optional board of six cheeses at €15. Dining and going up to your room saves you the road.

Without a car

If you arrive by train from Madrid, the train to Sigüenza leaves you at the station, at the end of the same Alameda: you can walk with your suitcase. From the hotel you walk up in a few minutes to the cathedral and the Doncel and to the Plaza Mayor and Calle Mayor, and the Casa del Doncel can also be visited on foot. Some Saturdays in spring and autumn the medieval train arrives, with troubadours and a guided tour.