Ferrero hotel and restaurant, Valencia

Rupert Eden

Ranked No. 1 in professional tennis in 2003, Juan Carlos Ferrero earned the nickname 'Mosquito' due to his speed and strong, wiry physique. Now he has turned his Midas touch to a periwinkle-coloured luxury hotel near Valencia having bought a 19th-century Churrigueresque house with 120 acres of land.

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The hotel has a strikingly minimalist 21st-century interior with 12 handsome suites, a swimming pool, a spa, two restaurants and plenty of tennis and padel courts. A gastronomic orgy to satiate any appetite is laid on by Francisco Morales and his sommelier wife Rut Cotroneo in a cosy yet elegant dining room with 6 tables immaculately laid out with Mongatina dishware and Riedel glassware.

Innovative and traditional menus consist of 5 tapas, a starter, fish, meat, pre- dessert and dessert dishes allowing guests to sample some of Morales famously minimalist aphrodisiacal food enticing diners with the textures of honey, ginger, figs, chocolate and vanilla.

Here fresh white truffles are shaved onto pasta or risotto, fennel and coriander shots are served with poached bream and a beetroot brulé is made with fresh creamy goats’ cheese is sublime.

A wine menu consist of 400 carefully chosen rare and quality Spanish wines mainly from surrounding Valencia, Alicante and Murcia – a “Casual Food” menu which includes 40 different types of tea is available as 24hr room service.

1 June 2009 | Travel