Where to stay in Sant Mori – castle Castell de Rocaberti
When I heard that during our Costa Brava trip we were also going to stay in a castle, I honestly thought it was a joke. A CASTLE?? Really? For years I tried to show people I was far away from being a silly little princess and that I never wanted to be one. Could a real girl with realistic needs sleep in a castle in the 21st century? I doubted my life fitted that background!
But you know what they say … No gain, no pain.
So I gave it a chance (I mean who would be so stupid to refuse sleeping in a castle, right?!)
After staying in Sa Costa villa in Cadaques, a charming villa in the picturesque coastal town, we moved to Castell de Rocaberti, sometimes also called Castel de Sant Mori, but always a pre-romantic haven.
The castle, located on a small medieval very quiet side street, was smaller from the outside than I imagined it to be. But opening the 2 massive gates tall as if for horses and walking in, we had to struggle with the rotating staircase like in a real castle tower.
The problem of the day was to find a room each one of us wanted because they all looked awesome! We had a bunch of rooms (I think 15 altogether!) on 3 floors and the first 30 minutes wondering around felt like in a maze, trust me. It was even funny to find the same room once we chose one and bring the luggage back there :)
Castell de Rocaberti from outside
Very close to Costa Brava, this castle from the 15th century lies in the Empodra region with the view of the Pyrenees. It’s not only the ivy covered walls or its large rooms that will make you feel like at home here. The castle owners, Mariano, his wife and his sister, are the nicest owners you could ever imagine; down to earth and not castle-posh (is that even a word?!) We even had dinner with Mariano, I was happy to chat with him in Spanish.
Joan Marce preparing vegetarian paella for us
the paella we had for dinner
having dinner with fellow travel bloggers and Mariano
my vegetarian paella
The biggest vegetarian paella I ever saw was also the tastiest one too. Not many times it happens that someone can cook a great paella without sea food or chicken (and I have ordered a few in my life time), but Joan Marce knew exactly what he was doing (Joan is a friend of Richard’s, the owner of Charming Villas).
Serving a paella from on top of a wooden elephant statue felt like somewhere in Asia but the castle walls brought us back to reality … well, back to the European medieval reality centuries before the dinner moment which was emphasized by the medieval images around the castle.
portraits around the castle
A number of other things remained on my mind from our castle days…. the patio in the middle of the castle you could see from inside the rooms or the hallways. I looked down there each time I passed along any corridor. Then the tower bell letting us know another hour of our life just passed – I could even see the little church with its tower from my room window. A warm shower in the cold spring days and the jacuzzi I didn’t have time to try were some of my memories too.
the bell tower
view from my window
the view of the sky from the patio
It was also the sunsets we watched from the living room windows which lit up the huge room with the last energy of the day. And the night talks with my blogger friends, all covered with blankets laughing quietly on the sofas so we didn’t wake up those in bed already. All special castle memories!
the huge living room where we spent some time
the day view from the living room
after the sunset
chatting under the blanket in the living room
I did find myself playing with the idea of spending more days, or even weeks, in the Castell de Rocaberti. With a swimming pool, large terrace, pool table, TV in all rooms, wifi connection, both large and small rooms – 10 double rooms with bathrooms, 3 dining rooms etc, I could easily find something to do for longer period of time there and even gain lost energy relaxing.
(not) ready to leave Castell de Sant Mori
My stay at Castell de Rocaberti was part of the press trip organized by Charming Villas. If you would like to find out more about Castell de Rocaberti, feel free to check it out.
*** It took me 4 hours to write this post.
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ Hotels On The Way:
I hope so too, highly recommend this place :)
Hotels On The Way
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The Castle from 15 century amazing, i love old historical places but its totally renovated from inside and means also can stay. I hope sometime I can spend a night at castle Castell de Rocaberti. Thanks for sharing.