Review of Villa Oniria, by Ben Cooper

A good hotel first thing in the morning is a magical place. There’s a sort of grey, daybreak stillness that hangs in the air... It was a recent early morning coffee - undoubtedly the best of my life - at Villa Oniria in Granada that really brought this home.

I was sitting on a plump sofa with a dark, steaming cup in front of me. Nobody else was around, save for the occasional staff member gliding noiselessly by as they went about their chores. Only the delicate tinkling of a fountain broke the silence, like ripples on an otherwise perfectly still lake. Everything almost seemed suspended for that moment.

Morning coffee aside, though, stillness and an almost unnatural sense of calm pervade every corner of the hotel. And it’s obviously by no means accidental: Villa Oniria is one of the few bona fide design hotels in Granada, and the understated style and general sureness of touch of Pascua Ortega (designer of choice for everyone from multinational corporations to the Spanish Royal Family) is visible everywhere.

A few individual details stand out, not least a gorgeous main staircase that snakes upwards towards an elaborately decorated ceiling. From it, light-filled corridors suffused with fragrance from glittering candles fan out and envelop the central patio. A trail of 19th-century azulejos hidraulicos (colourful and highly ornate tiles) lead to the rooms

The rooms - numbering 31 in total - are all beautifully assembled. Nothing is superfluous; nothing is out of place. Simple, uncluttered features clothed in a palette of creams and tans surround half-canopy beds that are as striking as they are comfortable. At night, despite having two balconies giving out on to the usual noisy, moped-choked Andalucian street, silence reigns.

In the bathrooms, Penhaligon’s toiletries and perfume from Victorio y Lucchino adorn the double sinks. Bath, shower and toilet are all contained within their own separate chrome-edged spaces.

The main suite is especially impressive: enormous, it boasts an extensive private terrace, which, with rattan table and chairs and views of the palms in the garden, has just a little of the feel of an African hunting lodge about it.

Away from the rooms, down in the bowels of the place, there’s a handsome spa area offering a variety of treatments. Next door, a small but well-equipped gym benefits from the humid, jungle-like conditions created by the spa to offer fitness junkies what you’d imagine would be a genuinely testing workout.

The restaurant - La Fábula - is well-regarded, while the bar is a stylish haunt for in-the-know Granadinos (especially so, on cold nights with a fire roaring in the grate). An intimate rooftop terrace was being unveiled during my stay, to be made available for summer evening soirees, small private parties and other generally relaxed occasions.

Only in the location stakes does Villa Oniria miss even the slightest of beats: set in a humdrum modern quarter of pharmacies, stationers and neighbourhood bars it’s not unpleasant by any means; but it doesn’t have a stunning view of the Alhambra or a narrow white-washed alleyway to fall back on. So it’s just as well it excels in every other area.