Hotel Mont-Sant

From Andalusi palace to a 1994 hotel

Mont-Sant occupies an estate on the slope of Xàtiva castle with a long history. In Islamic times it was a complex of buildings and gardens from which the city was governed; the Cordoban Ibn Hazm took refuge there and wrote The Ring of the Dove. After James I's conquest it was a royal residence, and the great cistern remains from that period. In the fourteenth century James II founded a Cistercian convent, which was extended in the sixteenth. After the confiscation of church property it was sold, in 1855 the church and cloister were demolished, and with the walls that remained a country house was built, from which the present gardens come. It opened as a hotel in 1994, after a restoration that preserved the old. The Generalitat's tourism register classifies it as a four-star hotel, open all year.

Six ways to sleep on the estate

The hotel does not give a number of rooms on its website, but it does list the types, all with a 180 by 200 bed:

• Monasterio: for two people.
• Monasterio with views: up to three, with a terrace with views.
• Aljibe: up to three, in the quietest part.
• Cabaña: up to three, with a terrace.
• Muralla: up to three, with a private pool.
• Junior suite: up to four, with a private pool.

For a family of four, the only published option is the junior suite. The website does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times or whether breakfast is included: ask on 962 275 081, on 658 962 659 (also by WhatsApp, according to the official listing) or at [email protected].

Garden, cistern and library

Besides the rooms, the estate has a garden pool, a viewpoint over the city with the bell tower of La Seu among the trees, the old cistern converted into a room, the nativity room, a library and meeting rooms. There is wifi and a laundry service. At reception they speak Spanish, Valencian, English and French. The estate hosts private and corporate events, so on some days there will be activity in the gardens: ask if you are looking for calm.

With a dog

The hotel advertises itself as pet friendly, without publishing conditions or a supplement: say so when booking and ask in which rooms the dog may stay. The castle ridge and the climb from the hotel provide walks at the door.

Eating and climbing to the castle

The hotel restaurant opens every day, from 13:30 to 15:00 and 20:30 to 22:00, also for non-guests, with a €45 tasting menu and à la carte. From the door, the road continues to the castle, which opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00; the hermitage of Sant Feliu is next to the estate. To the centre, the Collegiate Church and the Borgia streets, you walk down.