Five brand-new stars have restored brightness and new views to the historic heart of Logroño and Plaza San Agustín, where the old Communications building languished for more than 15 years. Now, this representative building of the local neo-baroque, located right next to the mythical Laurel street, emerges again majestically converted into the Áurea Palacio de Correos, the first five-star hotel in the city. To its elegant luxury it adds a terrace with spectacular views.
The Post Office building, next to the palace that belonged to General Espartero -now converted into the Museum of La Rioja-, stands on the site that was previously occupied by the convent of the Augustinian nuns. Its construction began on May 17, 1927, under the direction of Agapito del Valle, coinciding with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of Alfonso XIII. Five years later, on May 23, 1932, it was inaugurated and since then it has been an emblematic place in the city, both for its public function and its location.
Exterior of the hotel Áurea Palacio de Correos de Logroño, neo-baroque style.
In 2008, an unfortunate renovation caused the building to lose its self-supporting capacity and was at risk of collapsing. The great post office closed, the facade was shored up and the people of Logroño never saw their lion-head mailboxes again. The building languished, envying the busy Portales street and the comings and goings towards Laurel street, the nerve center of Logroño tapas.
Two years ago, Grupo Hotusa set out to recover the building to add it to its most exclusive collection, Signature Places, which currently has nine establishments in four countries, characterized by occupying buildings with a significant historical legacy.
The architect specializing in hotel projects, Daniel Isern, was commissioned to give new life to the Palacio de Correos, recovering all the essence of the 1920s and 1930s. “The building has a lot of character, it is part of the family history of a lot of people from the city, so we couldn’t do whatever we wanted. We try to bring everything that the 21st century can offer us to an environment that is from the 20th century, almost the 19th”, reflects Isern.
Inside the building there was nothing to save, “everything was from the last patch. Even the original windows of the façade had been lost.” It was necessary to start almost from scratch, with the idea “of not pretending to be from a time when we are no longer, but treating the place where we are with justice and respect”, explains the architect. In some corners, such as the terrace, it is not hides that it is a new hotel, there is no flourish exercise “We try to make it clear what is original and what we have added,” insists Isern.
The lobby of the hotel.
The Áurea Palacio de Correos has recovered the original openings, including its main wooden door, which preserves the semicircular arch, and the façade also has two of the original mailboxes. Locating these lion heads was almost an Indiana Jones mission.
The establishment has 41 rooms -six of them are suites-, in addition to different common areas, such as the Matasellos restaurant, gym, spa, meeting rooms or the beautiful roof terrace with views of the Riojan capital, something truly unique in this part of the city and that the general public can enjoy.
Art deco reinterpreted in a contemporary key inspires interior design
Art deco reinterpreted in a contemporary key inspires the interior design of the four floors. The bathrooms are satin glass boxes framed in a subtle gold that light up like a gigantic lantern, the ceilings are decorated with geometric motifs made from patterns from the twenties… but without giving up the technology of USB sockets in plugs or customizable sound system via Bluetooth.
Among the rooms, the Torreón junior suite stands out (around 250 euros per night in a double room) and the Duplex Portales junior suite, with two floors (around 300 euros).
One of the six suites at the Hotel Áurea Palacio de Correos in Logroño.
The spa has a swimming pool, hydromassage loungers, dry and wet sauna and a chromotherapy and aromatherapy corridor
As for the spa, building it was quite a challenge, as two basements had to be excavated. It was worth the effort. This relaxation space has a swimming pool, hydromassage loungers, a dry and wet sauna and a chromotherapy and aromatherapy corridor with water at different temperatures. The massage service costs between 50 and 80 euros, depending on the duration.
The whirlpool loungers and the dde water jet corridor of the Áurea Post Palace spa.
It offers contemporary-cut tapas that respectfully reinterpret the local recipe book
And how could it be otherwise, the hotel also pays homage to the gastronomic heart of the Riojan capital. Without wanting to compete with the offer of the famous Calle del Laurel, a lively area for tapas and wines, the Matasellos restaurant offers a contemporary culinary proposal that reinterprets without masking the local recipe book, with food from the garden and seasonal, where there is no shortage of the cod, the vegetable stew or the exquisite asparagus.
The Matasellos restaurant at the Áurea Palacio de Correos hotel in Logroño offers tapas and Rioja dishes interpreted in a contemporary key.
The menu of the Postmarks is reinforced and varies, in addition, with the dishes of the day, prepared according to local suppliers and the San Blas market, located very close to the hotel and built at the same time as the historic Palacio de Correos.
Candied artichoke with cauliflower, Tudela Caesar lettuce heart, confit and stewed octopus or some exquisite pork chops made up of trotters, cheeks and pork belly are some of the star dishes on their menu. And, of course, being the capital of La Rioja, there is no lack of a wide selection of the best representative wines of the area in a constantly changing menu.
