Hotel El Convent

Ctra. de la Platja del Racó, 2 | 17255 Begur, Girona
Coordinates: 41.9653620000, 3.2062960000 (map)

It is quite common, in Spain especially, to see former monasteries converted into hotels. These are usually the structures occupying elevated spots with beautiful views over lakes or the sea — not only was it easier to defend those places but also serving God seemed to come more naturally there as well.

But aesthetics and military tactics alone do not explain all such scenic location choices. Take Sa Riera, for example, a lush and green urbanization in the Costa Brava whose residents may check out the water conditions on the Mediterranean by simply walking out onto their terraces — and, after a ten-minute walk, verify its temperature too.

Sa Riera is one of the most desirable locations on the Catalan coast. Back in the 18th century, a group of Minims, hermits of the religious order of friars of Saint Francis of Paola, made camp here. As the legend goes, the monks' arrival in Sa Riera was from an accident.

Once, when a group of Italian sailors was transporting the holy relics of Saint Reparata (where from and where to is unknown), their ship got into a strong storm that threatened to sink it. Praying to be saved, the travellers swore that if they survived the storm they would build an altar on the first piece of dry land they find. The storm calmed down and the ship anchored in the cove of Sa Riera. The spared sailors promptly forgot their oath and resumed their mission after a short rest, only to encounter the same wild storm again. Taking the hint, the group returned to Sa Riera.

They attempted to carry the relics into the parish church of Begur, the holy place closest to Sa Riera, but halfway there the relics became so heavy and weighed down on the men so much they could not carry them any longer. That exact spot is where the Minims had made camp to build the monastery of Saint Reparata (Convent Santa Reparada).

In 1836, the lands belonging to the Catholic Church and the monastic orders were confiscated by the state, and the abandoned premises had gotten occupied by the bottle cork makers' workshop. During the Franco years, the former monastery served as a summer camp for the "ideologically correct" youth overseen by the Nazis. However, years of activity within the monastery's walls gave place to decades of total quiet.

With the development of the tourism and travel sector in Sa Riera, summer residences belonging to wealthy Spaniards and Frenchmen started springing up like mushrooms in the area — the predecessors to luxury villas meant for summer holiday rentals. Once the region becomes focused on tourism, vacant buildings do not stay vacant for long, especially those on sizeable land, with gorgeous views of the cove and the sea. Today, the former monastery is a very nice hotel called El Convent ("the monastery" in Catalan), that attracts guests with all the aforementioned qualities, in addition to a garden with a swimming pool, a great restaurant, not to mention an old chapel that has survived from the times of the Minims.

Address: Carretera de la Platja del Racó, 2, 17255 Begur