Lodging Apartments Villa el Racó

El Racó Apartment

You’re in the right place to explore Catalunya’s most captivating spots and landscapes. 

Villa El Racó is on the outskirts of Santpedor, a small agricultural town that lies on an ancient crossroads and within easy reach of the rest of Catalunya. 

Cosmopolitan Barcelona is less than an hour away. The former fishing village of Sitges, with its beautiful beaches and buzzing nightlife, is an hour to the south.  The peaks of the Pyrenees and its ski resorts lie just 75 minutes to the north, along with Andorra and France, a 90-minute journey away. The wild beaches of Costa Brava and the medieval towns and villages of Empordà are 90 minutes to the east. 

Closer to hand, the region has plenty of surprises in store, with its prehistoric caves, nature reserves, a holy mountain and a salt mountain, vineyards producing outstanding wines, leafy woodland brimming with history and legends, and a whole host of magical spots.

It doesn’t matter which direction you head off in – with El Racó as your base, you're sure to come across somewhere special.

Built in the last quarter of the 20th century, Villa El Racó offers all the home comforts you need, whatever the time of year.

THE HOUSE

• There’s space for 14 people in its seven comfortable bedrooms, and there’s room for two extra beds too.
• There are four bedrooms on the ground floor: two with a double bed each, one with two single beds, and one with a single bed.  There are also two full bathrooms complete with a bathtub, a kitchen and a lounge/dining room that looks out on to a delightful terrace, where you can take a seat and enjoy a relaxing drink or aperitif. 
• There are three double rooms on the first floor (one with a double bed and the other two with two single beds each) and two more bathrooms with bathtubs. There’s also a sun terrace for soaking up the rays and enjoying complete privacy and stunning views of the mountains of Montserrat. The sunsets here are nothing short of spectacular. 
• The house’s old wine cellar has been turned into an open-plan basement area that you can use as a games room, meeting room or even a disco.
• The house has a WiFi connection.

THE GROUNDS

• The extensive barbecue area is covered and furnished. Sheltered from the sun, it’s one of our favourite spots. 
• Decked out with sun shades and loungers and complete with a gallery with changing rooms and showers, the swimming pool is waiting for you between May and September. So take a dip, freshen up and have fun with your family and friends. 
• The estate's private sports facilities are just the ticket if you’re looking to stay fit or have some fun playing sport. There’s a clay tennis court for you to enjoy, a pelota court that doubles up as a volleyball court, and a gym. The Lodging Apartments team will be only too happy to organise what you need for a fun stay: sports equipment hire; private tennis, yoga and pilates classes; fitness coaches; etc

Few estates in Catalunya can provide the private sports facilities that El Racó has to offer: 

• Clay tennis court
• Fronton court
• Concrete tennis court
• Volleyball/pelota court 
• Swimming pool
• Changing rooms

Tell us what you need and we’ll do what it takes to make Villa El Racó the perfect venue for your sporting get-together. 

ACTIVITIES AND TRIPS

When you make your booking, we’ll tell you all about the things you can do in the local area:

• Walks from the house to Santpedor and the surrounding area.
• Visits to the monasteries of Món Sant Benet and Montserrat.
• Walks around Manresa.
• The medieval villages of Mura and Talamanca.
• Hiking in St Llorenç del Munt and l'Obac Nature Reserve.

We can also organise a host of activities: 

• Horse trekking through Pla del Bages and its vineyards.
• An adrenaline-fuelled skydiving experience over Montserrat.
• Bespoke cycling routes.
• A day’s skiing in the Pyrenees.
• Walking routes that take in the area’s dry stone vats and vineyards, declared Sites of National Cultural Interest and a unique part of local winemaking heritage. Tasting of DO Pla de Bages wines included.
• Visits to local oil presses, where you can taste and buy olive oil.

And to keep the little ones entertained: 

• A zipline over a river for young ones and not so young ones.
• A dramatised tour of Cardona’s medieval castle (weekends only).
• A visit inside the salt mountain of Cardona.
• Portaventura and Ferrariland theme parks (Costa Dorada).
• Family workshops at Món Sant Benet.

So what are you waiting for? Get in touch now and book your holiday at Villa El Racó!

EVENTS

Our main aim is to understand your needs and make sure your event goes off as planned.

CORPORATE EVENTS

Just 60km from Barcelona, Villa El Racó is the perfect venue for your incentive trip or business meeting. We go the extra mile to offer:

• Flexibility: you can hire the estate for a day only or for more than one day, with overnight stays included. 
• Areas: all the rooms in the house, including the wine cellar – a small open plan area measuring 35m2 – and the seven-hectare grounds are available and ready to be adapted to your needs. 
• Equipment: projector, sound system, furniture, WiFi connection and much more besides.
• Additional services: including team-building activities, catering, translators/interpreters, entertainment and music.

Just tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll take care of organising everything for you.

GATHERINGS, WORKSHOPS AND YOGA RETREATS

The estate's surroundings are stunningly beautiful, with the rocky peaks of the Montserrat range providing the backdrop to the south and the Pyrenees doing likewise to the north. This is a special place for getting away from it all and reconnecting with yourself. 

At El Racó we make sure that you have the setting and the services you need to offer an unrivalled experience.

CUISINE AND WINE TOURISM  

Catalan cuisine is famed the world over, so it comes as little surprise to learn that Catalunya has more Michelin stars than any other region in Spain. And what Santpedor lacks in size it makes up for with restaurants serving the very best in Catalan cuisine, among them Braseria L’Olivera, Restaurante Ramón, Restaurant Tesi, and the family-run Cal Toni.

Món Sant Benet is home to Restaurante l’Ó, with its one Michelin star. We recommend you book well in advance. Fundación Alicia also organises themed cookery workshops and courses (please visit their website for more information: https://www.alicia.cat/es/talleres/talleres).

The Pla de Bages appellation comprises 14 wineries that maintain the district's long winemaking tradition. Back in the 19th century, it had more vineyards than any other in Catalunya. This is a land of full-bodied red wines made with the indigenous Picapoll grape. And there’s also a fresh and fruity Picapoll white wine: https://www.winealchemy.co.uk/pla-de-bages-and-the-wine-vats-tour/.

Lodging Apartments can organise winery visits and tastings so you can discover all the delightful wines the area has to offer. Why not take a few bottles away with you as a souvenir of your stay at El Racó as well?

EXCURSIONS

NEARBY

For starters, how about taking a walk from El Racó and discovering the surroundings? Your first port of call is just five minutes away: the 13th-century chapel of Sant Francesc de Santpedor, one of the oldest in Catalunya. Legend has it that it was built in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, who stopped off to pray here when walking the Way of St James. It is situated on a hilltop offering gorgeous views of the area. You continue on your way for 15 minutes, through the outskirts of Santpedor and on to La Plaça de l’Església, the town’s central square. We recommend you pay a visit to the charming old town and enjoy a vermouth at the Vermutería San Petrich and a bite to eat at one of the town’s restaurants (there are some recommendations for you in our Cuisine section). Once you’ve recharged your batteries, you can get back on our way. Fifteen minutes on lie the marshes of Aiguamoll de la Bóbila. Though small in size, this is a place close to the hearts of the locals, with efforts being made to protect its ecosystems and endangered bird species. From here it’s only a 20-minute walk back to the estate.

Just 15 minutes away by car, Món Sant Benet is not to be missed. It is home to a medieval monastery founded in 960, a Michelin-star restaurant, and the Fundación Alicia. Founded by the famous Catalan chef Ferran Adrià, the foundation regularly hosts fairs, cultural and food and drink events, and cookery courses and workshops. https://monstbenet.com/.  

MANRESA

Manresa, the administrative centre of the district of Bages and once one of Catalunya’s most important textile centres, is just 5km away. Wander through its streets and you’ll journey back in time through the history of Catalunya. Highlights include the old Roman city of Minorisa, which lies beneath modern-day Manresa; the Pont Vell, the Romanesque bridge that spans the River Cardener; the Carrer del Balç, a winding enclosed alleyway that dates back to the days of guilds, oligarchs and noblemen; the Gothic Basílica de la Seu, with its crypt, cloister and Gothic altarpieces (the one depicting the Holy Spirit is particularly impressive); the Baroque Santuario de la Cueva, where St. Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Jesuit movement) began to serve Christ; a number of stores dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, such as the Roca bookshop (the oldest in Spain), Farmacia Esteve and Droguería Ferrer (now a bar); and the Casa Torrents, a fine example of Catalan modernism. Don’t leave Manresa without enjoying the lovingly prepared local dishes at El Kursaal Espai Gastronómic or savouring the tapas in Plaça Major.

EL BAGES

Half an hour from the house lies Mura, one of the ten most beautiful villages in Catalunya. Full of medieval charm, it also boasts a famous cave. Less well known and smaller in size, Talamanca, with its delightful stone alleys, is well worth a visit too.

A haven for hiking enthusiasts, Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac Nature Reserve is formed by not one but two mountain ranges. Rising between verdant woodland, they are home to the Mola and the Montcau – two peaks standing over 1,000 metres high – and a number of caves, the most famous of them being Simanya. 

And then there are the iconic mountains of Montserrat and its monastery. A visit to the “La Moreneta” (Black Madonna) is a spiritual experience not to be missed. No less intense is a trip to the market to sample the local cheeses and farmhouse flatbreads (cocas). And don’t forget to take in some of Montserrat’s countless hiking routes, which lead you through its mysterious ancient rock formations and afford majestic views of the Catalan countryside.