Six Senses Quexigal Palace

Six Senses Quexigal Palace occupies El Quexigal, a 100-hectare estate in Ávila about fifty minutes from Madrid, built in 1563 by Juan de Herrera, the architect of the nearby Renaissance monastery-palace of El Escorial. Felipe II acquired it as a retreat for the Royal House, and it was later farmed by Jerome monks who produced oil, wine and honey on the land. Madrid practice Arvo Arquitectura is leading a meticulous restoration of the palace and its outbuildings, with interiors by Raphaël Navot, whose "natural future" approach leans on raw stone, timber and hand-worked texture. The 60 guest accommodations are distributed between the main palace and auxiliary buildings and include thirteen suites, a presidential suite with private gardens, and a separate five-bedroom villa. Wellness is the organising idea rather than an amenity bolted on: the estate carries the brand's signature spa programme alongside saunas, a steam room, a halotherapy cave and biohacking equipment for natural recovery. The surrounding vineyards, olive groves and quejigo oaks that give the estate its name supply a farm-to-table kitchen, and the wider property is laid out for walking and riding through the Sierra de Gredos foothills.