Trujillo Villas Hotel

Trujillo, Spain

The shadow of the conquistadors looms large in Trujillo, despite its inland location in Extremadura. The mansions that they triumphantly built with South American gold flank the town square, though the curlicues on the facades are now blurred and storks nurse their chicks in the chimney pots.

Villa Martires and its adjoining Garden Cottage have all the character of this beguiling town without compromising on luxury. In the main house, wood-panelled walls are hung with ancestral portraits and thick tapestries, while bedrooms have private sitting rooms and ornate, kidney-shaped dressing tables draped in velvet. The cottage is more low-key, with cooling terracotta tiles underfoot, roll-top baths fitted snugly into nooks and bookshelves groaning with good reads. The property meanders between formal gardens and gently crumbling terraces shaded by citrus trees. At its heart is an Italian garden designed by Chelsea gold-medallist George Carter. The main terrace cries out for sundowners, with its panorama over grasslands that roll like the Serengeti, all the way to the Gredos Mountains and Portugal beyond.

A daily maid service throughout the week is included and it is well worth pre-booking the ‘villa menu’ for an authentic taste of local life. Expect Manchego cheese with treacle-like honey, gazpacho and tortilla flecked with paprika. Once you’ve hit the Côte allure tennis court and lazed by the pool, try an expedition to the Habla vineyard, or sample strips of the acclaimed cured meat in a traditional jamón house.

A 40-minute drive away is Cáceres, Spain’s Gourmet Capital 2015. Dine at La Cacharrería – the hipsters’ choice for its interpretations of traditional tastes – or Atrio, long the jewel in Extremadura’s crown. IL. Garden Cottage from £2,145 a week (sleeps 6), trujillovillasespana.com