In spite of the name, a reference to its owners’ German heritage, Casa Munich is as Ibizan as they come — a perfectly idyllic Mediterranean farmhouse hotel, on a hill surrounded on three sides by a nature reserve, a few crucial minutes to the south of Ibiza town. From here the island’s legendary nightlife is accessible, but not inescapable; resort-style relaxation is the order of the day, and on this score Casa Munich proves itself quite capable indeed.

Travelers who like the idea of visiting Majorca but find themselves put off by talk of foam parties, streets packed with nightclubs and hordes of package-holiday makers, should do an about-face at the Son Sant Joan airport and head north to the Casal Santa Eulalia, a converted traditional farmhouse that embodies the opposite of all those off-putting stories.

Southern Spain is blessed with an array of natural gifts: not just sun, sand and surf, but a climate and a landscape that are ideal for the game of golf. And while golf resorts the world over are a conservative lot, Spanish hotels have been quicker than most to modernize — beneath its traditional red tile roofs, the brand-new Finca Cortesín is a contemporary-style luxury resort of the new breed.

In the sleepy, charming historic center of Córdoba, you’re probably expecting more or less anything but the sleek, modern, minimalist design paradise that is the seven-room Hotel Viento 10. But behind the doors of this 16th-century building, that’s exactly what you’ll find — contemporary interior architecture, retro-modern furniture, plentiful splashes of bold color, and lots of concrete and glass, to contrast with the brick archways and thick stone walls of the original structure.

Mallorca is known for its picturesque old town, its idyllic seaside, and a warm, organic sort of luxury — but it’s the rare hotel that manages to combine all three. Perched high over the old city walls of Palma de Mallorca, Es Príncep is the exception, a stylish high-end boutique hotel named after the prince who oversaw the construction of the fortifications.

The old town center of Palma de Mallorca is beautiful, rich with history and impossibly atmospheric. Even so, it’s not quite adequate preparation for what you’ll find within the 12th-century stone walls of Can Bordoy Grand House and Garden. It’s made from a couple of heritage buildings, and the ancient architecture lends its spaces plenty of historical character. But what it all adds up to is a high-end luxury boutique hotel that’s as contemporary as can be.

When it comes to Mediterranean escapes the Balearic island of Mallorca isn’t exactly obscure. But there are places on this island where you can still get away from it all. The town of Campos, in the island’s southeast, is one of these places. It’s less than a half-hour’s drive from the spectacular Es Trenc beach; and, more to the point, it’s the home of Sa Creu Nova Art Hotel & Spa.

The historic city of Mahón may be Menorca’s capital, but even at its busiest it’s hardly a bustling metropolis. Even a hotel in the old city center offers more rest and relaxation than stimulating urbanity — a situation that suits Can Alberti 1740 just fine. It’s named for the family that established it as its home and for the year of its foundation, and in its present incarnation as a luxury boutique hotel it trades heavily on its residential atmosphere and its quasi-aristocratic elegance.

Picture a dream getaway to the Spanish countryside. Your vision probably includes a few key elements: freshly baked bread and wine on the table, views of the mountains in the distance, peace and quiet. You might take the reverie a step further to include a private balcony overlooking the gardens or a deep soaking tub. But you probably wouldn’t think to include an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, or artisanal olive oil-based bath products, or an entirely organic Slow Food dinner menu, in your fantasy scene. Luckily the owners of El Gran Sueño, a quiet B&B in rural Asturias, did think of it. They also thought of instating a no-kids-allowed policy. Fitting that the name means “the great dream” in Spanish.

Now this is a castle. Not just an aristocratic residence, but a proper fortification, whose heavy stone walls contain a remarkably elegant and comfortable luxury boutique hotel. The castle itself dates back to the eleventh century — that’s a thousand years — and it’s necessarily seen a multitude of different uses during that time. And while it’s been owned by a single family since the Fifties, they’re enthusiastic to share it; the restoration was done largely in the public interest, and there’s no better way to allow modern people to experience it than to let them sleep in it for a night or three.

Safe to say you’re not likely simply to be passing through Vejer de la Frontera, looking for any old place to stay. This picturesque little Andalucian village is the perfect location for a chic little destination hotel, something like the Hotel V…, a twelve-room converted townhouse that’s a bastion of the cosmopolitan dolce vita, surrounded by the traditional life of this country town and some far-ranging views of the countryside beyond — all the way to Tangier, in fact.

Only in architecturally adventurous Barcelona would one find a downtown grand hotel in a style like this; Claris Hotel & Spa GL is a postmodern mélange of the modern and the classic, visible from a glance at the exterior—the 18th-century shell of the Verdruna Palace remains, but it’s as though the palace’s roof has been removed, and the taller, narrower, modern metal-and-glass Hotel Claris dropped in from above.

Some hotels make statements, some push the boundaries of architecture or engineering or aesthetics, some invite you to live for a few days like a Ferragamo or a maharaja — and some, like Barcelona’s H10 Catalunya Plaza, are just good hotels. It starts with a polestar-central location right on Catalunya Plaza, at the axis of the Barri Gòtic, El Raval and L’Eixample, where La Rambla and Passeig de Gràcia intersect. (Did you hear the sonic boom as this page just shot up the search-engine rankings?) Arrive by train and the distance to the check-in desk may not be any longer than the line for a taxi; Catalunya station is twenty meters away.

If you can get to Barcelona’s central Catalunya rail and metro stations, you can get to the H10 Metropolitan Barcelona. Just be sure you’re not dragging your luggage into one of the other H10 hotels near the train station. There are three, after all, on two blocks, and nearly a dozen in the city at large. What makes the H10 Metropolitan a standout, apart from its location, is the fact that it’s housed in a beautiful historic building that’s been thoughtfully revamped by one of the city’s better-known interior designers, the self-described “urban archaeologist and style hunter” Lázaro Rosa-Violán.

The most recognizable aspect of the Sir Victor Hotel is its façade, by architect Juli Capella, where limestone panels curve open like turning pages, letting just enough sunlight — best used sparingly at these latitudes — into the guest rooms. But once you’ve stayed there, either in its current incarnation, or in its former life as Hotel Omm, you’ll remember it differently: as quite possibly Barcelona’s most calming, most meditative boutique hotel.

Score one for historic preservation, as well as one for modern architecture. This Twenties palace sat disused on a Montjuïc hillside for decades, which was a waste, considering its view of the port, and its semi-idyllic city-park location. Now, though, it’s rather exceeded its original potential — after a thorough renovation, including an audacious modern expansion by the architect Oscar Tusquets, the Miramar is now a luxurious and strikingly stylish 75-room hotel.

Straddling the border between the old city and the Eixample, Hotel Pulitzer Barcelona is as modern as they come, fitting effortlessly into Barcelona’s already expansive cohort of high-design hipster hotels. It’s a 2004 renovation of a Twenties building, and its carefully preserved facade offers little hint of the striking Art Deco-influenced spaces within — again, in true Barcelona style.

There are a lot of great hotels in Barcelona — after all, this is a city that handles a staggering amount of tourism. So why is this the One? Well, for our money, there’s no better location in Barcelona, situated at the point where two of the city’s best neighborhoods meet. There’s Eixample, a leafy residential district south of the Avenguda Diagonal off the beaten tourist path (don’t mistake the Rambla de Catalunya, one of the neighborhood’s charming pedestrian thoroughfares, with its more well-known and highly trafficked counterpart La Rambla). And there’s Gràcia to the north, lively, trendy, and where young Barcelona lives and plays. You’re within walking distance of all the major sights — Gaudí’s Parc Güell, the Sagrada Família cathedral, the Gothic Quarter — but you’re firmly on the locals’ turf. And that makes all the difference.

Madrid’s Hotel Villa Real may be a bit more traditional in style than its sister, Barcelona’s Claris — but that’s to be expected, given the stylistic differences between the two cities. The Villa Real may not be an ultra-modern design showcase, but for conservative Madrid, it’s downright striking, Roman mosaics from the collection of owner Jordi Clos mixing with modern furnishings and classical 19th-century Spanish architecture.

It would be difficult to overstate just how famous the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is in Madrid, where he spent nine seasons at the peak of his career. Here, on the Spanish capital’s Gran Vía, is the first Pestana CR7 hotel outside of Portugal, and it’s a perfect synthesis of the brand and the place: like its cousins in Lisbon and Funchal it’s a modern design hotel whose graphics and artwork are full of tributes to the sporting life, and as you’d expect from a luxury hotel in Madrid it’s set in a century-old building whose architecture is an ever-present reminder of this city’s regal character.

Spain’s got plenty of homegrown hotel talent, but right here in Madrid the Hong Kong–based Pavilions group makes a strong impression. The Pavilions Madrid manages to be both central and a little bit reserved, thanks to a location on a side street just off the Plaza de Colón. And while there are bigger and more opulent luxury hotels in the Spanish capital — the Pavilions tops out at 28 rooms and suites — there’s little to find fault with in the experience here.

Madrid’s got luxe old grand hotels, and it’s got striking modern boutique hotels. And in Urso Hotel & Spa, it’s got a bit of both. Set in a stately early 20th-century palace, Urso’s neo-classical architecture complements the modernist oak and marble interiors by Antonio Obrador, the celebrated Spanish designer who was also behind its sister hotel Cap Rocat, a majestic, renovated 19th-century military fortress in Majorca. At the center of the city, sandwiched between the residential neighborhood Chamberi and the trendy Chueca district, URSO is surrounded by embassy buildings, local cafés, upscale boutiques, and the new Barceló food market, which delivers the hotel’s fresh Iberico ham daily.

Between Barcelona and Valencia, set back on the inland side of a small mountain range, is Matarraña, home to the beautifully restored 18th-century tower that is the Torre del Marques. Today it’s an 18-room luxury boutique hotel that offers a farmhouse-style escape, with views of olive groves and vineyards, as well as an environmentally friendly approach and a zero-kilometer cooking philosophy.

Americans know Bonhomme Hospitality as the company behind a pair of highly regarded Chicago restaurants, Beatnik West Town and Beatnik On the River. Their third, Beatnik Country House, is a bit of a surprise, thanks to a location a fair distance outside of town: inside Casa Beatnik, a luxury boutique hotel in Spain’s Rías Baixas wine region, not far from Santiago de Compostela.

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