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Spaniards leading a national surge in global business and politics, culture and the arts. As the country prepares for a pivotal election, TIME examines its striking creative burst
In 1988, Lucía Dominguín Bosé and her husband Carlos Dominguez Tristancho bought the ruin of a monastery in Extremadura that had been built by Franciscan monks 476 years before. As they rebuilt, they got carried away, and so Monasterio Rocamador is now a 30-bedroom, four-star hotel, set among cork and oak trees on a hillside between the villages of Almendral and Barcarrota,
There is no road sign to Rocamador; clients come via word of mouth or the hotel's website. Because Bosé is very tall, most of the beds measure a generous 2 m by 2.20 m. Some suites are carved out of the hillside rock; others are made by joining several of the monks' cells. The dining room is in the former chapel. The pool overlooks rolling farmland.
Rooms are from €100 to €265, plus 7% tax. If you just want to eat, the restaurant offers à la carte or a changing set menu for €45. tel: (34-924) 489000; www.rocamador.com.
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