Casa Anamaria Hotel & Restaurant, Pla de l’Estany: A Palladian Retreat in the Catalonian Countryside
Casa Anamaria began as a personal dream — a French entrepreneur’s love letter to the Costa Brava, built around a restored 14th-century Catalan farmhouse on the Can Motas estate in Pla de l’Estany. In 2014, inspired by classical architecture, he added an elegant mansion modeled on 16th-century Palladian villas and opened the result as a boutique hotel. The property now combines the original masía with two additional villas set within 22,000 square meters of manicured gardens, meadows, and pine forest, between the Empordà plains and the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Location
The hotel sits in a genuinely secluded rural setting near Banyoles in the province of Girona — quiet, green, and deliberately removed from the bustle of the coast. A car is essential; the approach road is narrow and the property is not served by public transport.
Girona city, with its medieval old town and famous cathedral, is around 20 minutes away by car. The beaches of the Costa Brava are reachable in around half an hour. The nearby town of Banyoles, set around one of Catalonia’s most beautiful lakes, makes for an easy afternoon excursion.
Rooms
The hotel’s 28 rooms are distributed across three independent buildings: the main Hotel, Villa Ana, and Villa María. Interiors are elegant and understated — comfortable beds, quality bathroom products, and views over the surrounding countryside. Upper-floor rooms in the main house tend to be the most appealing, with double windows and generous natural light. The private villas offer family-sized living space and a greater degree of independence.
One practical note: air conditioning in some rooms is centrally controlled by the hotel rather than individually adjustable, which can be a limitation on warmer nights. If this matters to you, it’s worth confirming room-specific arrangements when booking.
The hotel is pet-friendly, with ample outdoor space for animals to roam.
Restaurant
The restaurant is the heart of Casa Anamaria and its most distinctive feature. The kitchen draws on produce from the hotel’s own eco-friendly garden — seasonal vegetables, grown on site and used wherever possible — alongside ingredients sourced from local small-scale producers. The result is creative Catalan cuisine rooted in the land immediately around it.
Breakfast is a genuine pleasure: homemade potato omelette, quality local sausages, freshly baked croissants, and house-made jams. Dinner is served from 8pm in the Spanish tradition. Restaurant reservations should be made in advance, and meal times are fixed rather than flexible.
Facilities & Service
The outdoor saltwater pool — 24 x 8 meters, set among pine and holm oak — is a highlight in summer, with generous poolside lounging space and umbrellas. The private spa offers exclusive, timed sessions designed for couples or individuals seeking genuine peace rather than a shared wellness space. A regulation tennis court is available on site, with rackets provided.
Additional facilities include a bar, library, sitting room, meeting room, satellite TV, sauna, massage, concierge, parking, and airport transfer on request. Free Wi-Fi throughout.
Staff are warm and attentive, and the setting inspires the kind of unhurried hospitality that larger hotels rarely manage. Walking routes through the surrounding countryside can be suggested by the team on request.
Pros & Cons
✔ Exceptional natural setting — meadows, forests, and 22,000 sq m of gardens
✔ Beautifully restored estate combining a 14th-century masía with a Palladian mansion
✔ Outstanding restaurant using produce from the hotel’s own garden
✔ Private spa with exclusive timed sessions
✔ Large outdoor saltwater pool
✔ Pet-friendly with generous outdoor space
✔ Tennis court, walking routes, and easy access to Girona and the Costa Brava
✔ Genuinely quiet — a proper rural retreat
✘ A car is essential — the location is remote and not easily accessible otherwise
✘ Air conditioning in some rooms is centrally controlled and may not be sufficient on hot nights
✘ Dinner reservations are required and meal times are fixed
✘ Room quality varies across the three buildings — worth specifying a preference at booking
Overall
Casa Anamaria delivers on its central promise: a chic, peaceful country retreat within reach of two of Catalonia’s great draws — medieval Girona and the Costa Brava coastline. The food is the standout, the gardens are immaculate, and the spa is genuinely restorative.
It rewards guests who come to slow down rather than to be serviced. Go knowing the location is remote, book a room in the main house if you can, and make your dinner reservation in advance.