Canfranc Estación

Style

Rail of a time

Setting

Trainspotter’s Pyrenean paradise

Choo choo! Trainspotters rejoice, we’ve got just the ticket in the form of Canfranc Estación, A Royal Hideaway Hotel. Locomotives chug in regularly to this station-hotel hybrid, which had its ribbons cut by a king in 1928. It won’t take disembarking travellers long to be awed by the snow-capped Pyrennean backdrop that is the Aragón Valley, north of Zaragoza and south of the French border – and inside, things keep on getting better, with art deco details, polished parquet floors, and lots of brass and velvet for Golden Age-level grandeur.

Facilities

Rooms

104, including 10 suites.

Checkout

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability and a fee (from €50). Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates don’t usually include breakfast (€25 a person for the buffet).

Also

The hotel’s communal areas are fully accessible for guests with mobility issues and there are some specially adapted rooms.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Free WiFi throughout, gym and library. In rooms: tea- and coffee-making kit and Rituals bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

North or south, French or Spanish are the questions, but all will be greeted with cabin-style (here, this is a good thing) rooms with framed black and white portraiture of the treasured terminus, art deco accents and sage green headboards.

Poolside

Adults can swim in the pool between 11am and 2pm, and again from 4pm until 9pm. Child-friendly hours start at noon and again at 4pm.

Spa

The spa has a heated peak-facing pool, thermal suite and four treatment rooms for massages performed using volcanic stones from Tuca Blanca mountain, water from the Aragón River and diamonds.

Packing Tips

Ferroequinologists (if you know what that means, you know who you are), bring your binoculars and go crazy.

Children

All ages are welcome at Canfranc Estación and cots can be added to all rooms, but there are no extra facilities for kids.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

One of the railway cars, obviously.

Dress Code

Deco decadence (or just hungry hiker).

Hotel Restaurant

All things Aragónese are celebrated at Canfranc Estación’s restaurant, which, yes, does have more trainspotter-pleasing accoutrement, including railway cars for seating and the station logo used as branding for the bread. The smart restaurant serves tasting menus amid the crisp white tablecloths and the snowy backdrop. The hotel also has a dripping-in-deco café.

Hotel Bar

Drinks are served with just a hint of an Agatha Christie-worthy mystery in the air (without the crimes) in the lounge, which turns into La Biblioteca Cocktail Bar from 6pm to 12am.

Last Orders

Breakfast is available from 8am to 10.30am. Lunch hours are 1pm to 3pm and dinner is from 8pm to 10pm. The café is open from noon to midnight.

Planes

The airport in Zaragoza is nearest – the drive north should take an hour and 45 minutes. Ryanair has direct inbound flights to London Stansted, but you’ll have to stop over on the way out. From Biarritz over the border, the drive will take around two-and-a-half hours.

Trains

Since there’s a station right outside, it’d be rude to not arrive by rail – trains chug in to Estación de Canfranc from cities across Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona (journey time to and from both is around six hours).

Automobiles

Locomotive is the mode of transport of choice, but hire cars are allowed, too.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Canfranc Estación is surrounded by the peaks of the Pyrenees in Spain’s Aragón Valley, so if you’re here to hike, you won’t be disappointed. The valleys of Hecho, Garcipollera and Ansó are excellent starting points. Spain’s first ski resort Candanchú is open from December to early April; more pristine piste awaits on the Astún slopes. A stop on the Camino de Santiago, the city of Jaca has a pentagonal fortress that was built in the 16th century, as well as an 11th-century cathedral with some serious frescoes, and a several-centuries-old clock tower. The city of Huesca is equally historic, with a Gothic cathedral, a Romanesque monastery, a mediaeval old town and the tombs of two kings. Also within Aragón are the San Juan de la Peña monastery and, the star of Canfranc, the Estación itself, officially inaugurated in 1928 by King Alfonso XIII and providing refuge, a casino and a customs office along the ride.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .