Mas Albereda — Hotel in Sant Julià de Vilatorta

This hotel is part of Micheline-starred chef Nando Jubany's growing empire. We went there primarily to eat at his nearby one-star Can Jubany which incidentally is not part of the hotel. It's stylish in a pleasantly unfussy sort of way. Rooms are comfy and so are the beds. We stayed in a large room with a small terrace.Note that some rooms in the main Mas have small oddly-placed windows presumably so they are in keeping with its rustic origins. But you sort of feel that Jubany's heart isn't really in this place perhaps understandably since his main focus is his restaurant where he is clearly aiming for his second Michelin star. Staff were welcoming ( Catalans are) but a little unenthusiastic. We mistakenly thought the one-star restaurant was in the hotel so we trotted along around 8:00 pm to be told that they didn't open till 8:30. It would have been nice to have been offered a drink while we waited but the bar was deserted. A small detail but telling. These are small quibbles about a place which is worth staying in. The inevitable consequence of success in the restaurant trade is that talented and sought-after chefs like Jubany spread themselves too thinly. A bit more attention to detail and a bit more interest in the guests here would give it the...

We recently visited the hotel restaurant - recommended to us by Spanish friends - so can't comment on the hotel itself but it did look nice. Being English, we were, of course, the first diners to arrive but we were warmly greeted by the Maitre'D and other diners did follow soon after. The amuse bouche of pumpkin soup with cheese and seeds was pleasant as were our starters but it is the main course that both my husband and I had issues with. I asked for the grilled giant prawns, which at 33 Euros were not a cheap option. I got 5 prawns on a plate. That was it. Nothing else. I felt very let down. They were fresh - as they should be obviously but that was it. My husband's chicken dish was not to his taste and this may have been him. However he had 2 prunes as an accompaniment and that was it. We needed a second basket of bread to feel in any way full. The desserts were good - fresh fruit salad (which is hard to get wrong) for my husband and for me fried bread and chocolate parcels which were good. The wine, recommended by the Maitre 'D was OK but not brilliant. ||The surroundings were pleasant and the atmosphere which was festive was welcoming. Yes we liked it , but came away feeling...

Work trip. Stayed 3 nights in the modern rooms & ate at the restaurant twice for dinner. The rooms were spacious and well appointed but lacked tea/coffee making ability. || The restaurant did a good breakfast even though we dined early. And the two dinners were excellent food. The seafood paella was the best i have ever tasted. A nice place to stay but I'd check out the village next time.|| The downside is they only took laundry on a Friday, for a return on Sunday or Monday. So that's worth asking about before you book, especially of you are in the middle of an extended trip. It's not a business hotel. But if you know that you can...