de La Gavina—Costa Brava

In 1932, a Catalan businessman built a hotel around a simple idea: that a place should grow from its land, its community, and its history. Hostal de La Gavina has been right ever since.

The Work

Now run by the founder’s grandchildren, La Gavina sits at the center of S’Agaró—a garden village the family also built, designed around the philosophy of noucentisme: restraint, rootedness, and the belief that place should lead. The general manager recently acquired the hotel’s original architect’s desk at auction. Ceramics come from a neighboring pottery workshop. The word “hostal” has been stubbornly retained for nearly a century.

Why It Matters

“The trend of design hotels seems to have run its course,” says the hotel’s sales director. “People are looking to go back to their roots.” The most specific places were never chasing the trend. They were just waiting for everyone else to catch up.

→ Read Liam Aldous’ piece in Monocle Travel across L’Empordà, Spain – a coastline of storied hotels, seafront tables and surrealist heritage

→ Visit Hostal de La Gavina