Can Mascort Eco Hotel
Wholesome hideaway
A foot in Palafrugell’s past
Wellness-focused bed and breakfast Can Mascort Eco Hotel will lift your spirits before you’ve set foot inside, with its cheery goldenrod façade standing out like a beacon in Catalan Palafrugell’s historic centre, just inland of the Costa Brava. Go toward the light and bright rooms (some with original terracotta tiles, stone arches and staircases), the sun-flooded roof terrace, and cosy library with its honesty bar and piano to play on and you’ll find heaven. This 17th-century former apothecary and pharmacy (the latter now an organic boutique) has, in its Earth-kind renovation, found new healing properties, with a caldarium, nourishing breakfasts and even a layout that keeps the good energy flowing.
Facilities
Rooms
15, including two suites.
Checkout
12 noon, but flexible, subject to availability (let the hotel know your ETA). Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More Details
Rates don’t include breakfast (from €20 a person).
Also
The hotel has one room suitable for guests with mobility issues, and uniquely for a historic building there’s an elevator to the first and second floors.
Free Internet Access
Pet Friendly
Spa
At the Hotel
Apothecary, solarium terrace, herb garden, caldarium, honesty bar, library, bike storage and rental, free WiFi. In rooms: Organic cotton towels and bedding, natural and ecological bath products. There are no TVs to keep things purposefully peaceful.
Our Favourite Rooms
Rooms have a coolly spartan feel, with their white walls, rouged concrete tiles and wood and wicker furnishings, with no TVs (you’re here to relax) and little embellishment. The effect is indeed calming, but it’s not to say they’re devoid of character – each has a little something unique, such as Ermedàs, which has a section of original staircase under which there’s a cosy nook; or the Junior Suites most of which have original stone arches or sloping beamed ceilings. And, to keep things light and help you up those vitamin-D levels, skylights have been added where possible.
Spa
You might be on the Costa Brava, but you can relax Roman-style in the caldarium, a bath-tub warm, chlorine-free soaking pool under stone vaulted ceilings (available for an additional cost). Afterwards, take yourself to the solarium terrace for supine sunbathing.
Packing Tips
Don’t bring a bulky guidebook, the hotel has lots of literature on the surroundings and plenty of ideas for things to do. Do strap on a bike rack though, because the hotel has storage onsite and there are some breathtaking routes to follow, and leave some room for the eco-friendly bath products, olive oil, herbs, toys, handicrafts, natural wines and organic chocolate sold in the apothecary-turned-boutique.
Also
Get cosy in the hotel’s library, which has books on bio-habitability, sustainability, personal development and healthy eating; board games; and a piano to tinkle with.
Children
You’ll need to bring distractions – Can Mascort’s soothing hideaways don’t have TVs – but there are lots of room configurations for families of various sizes.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
The solarium terrace has wicker loungers, chairs and pouffes to perch on, a fragrant herb and flower garden, and views over the historic centre’s shingled rooftops and cobbled alleys.
Dress Code
You’ll only be eating breakfast or schlubbing about in the library, so even a chic pair of pyjamas would be acceptable.
Hotel Restaurant
The hotel only serves breakfast, but it’s a strong serve. For one, the dining room has charming historic touches: terracotta floor tiles, a florally frescoed ceiling. And, the breakfast itself (all local, seasonal, tick, tick, tick…) might be granola and yoghurt topped with fresh fruit and garden herbs one morning, energy bowls and pastries the next, or avo toast topped with a runny egg, plus something tastily health-giving after that. Let staff know what you’re doing that day and they’ll recommend what’s good to keep you going. If you feel peckish throughout the rest of the day, nose around the apothecary, where there’s usually a homemade cake resting under a cloche, ice-creams and sorbets, or savoury nibbles (cheeses, Empordà-style sandwiches, pâté). For adventure, the hotel will wrap salads, fruits, cereals, sweets, drinks and more in eco-friendly packaging for a picnic.
Hotel Bar
The honesty bar is open 24 hours a day and has a healthy selection of water, teas, infusions, juices, kombuchas, coffee and snacks – and a few naughtier alcoholic options. Just jot down what you knock back.
Last Orders
Breakfast runs from 8.30am to 10.30am, and snacks are offered from 5pm to 9pm.
Planes
The closest airport is Girona – Costa Brava, about a 50-minute drive away; however, it only handles a small number of direct routes throughout Europe. For a wider selection of connections and international arrivals, land in Barcelona, a two-hour drive from the hotel.
Trains
If you’re interrailing through Europe, Girona train station (a 50-minute drive from the hotel) can be reached direct from Montpellier, offering a smooth transition from the Eurostar to Paris to the South of France.
Automobiles
Palafrugell is very walkable – in fact, most of its streets are too narrow for a car to fit down – albeit on the small side. You’ll definitely want to break its bounds and hop along the coast, which can be done biking and hiking, but a car will open up more adventures (and remote Michelin-starred restaurants) for you. You can’t drive down the road the hotel’s on, but nearby public parking less than five minutes walk away is €15 a night – and it’s possible to book a room and parking space in one on request.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Equidistant between Barcelona and Montpellier, centrally located along the Costa Brava in the Empordà region of Catalonia, ancient Palafrugell acts as a gateway to the blustery beauty and hidden coves of the coast and the woods and colour-bursts of wildflowers in the hinterland. In the town itself, there’s the 11th-century church of Sant Martí, a lively plaza, and Museo del Suro – which looks at Catalan’s cork industry and is surprisingly pop-ular (sorry). The Can Mario Museum is the Fundació Vila Casas museum of contemporary sculpture, with hundreds of modern pieces, and for something at the opposite end of the timeline, the Monumental Complex of Sant Sebastià de la Guarda has an Iberian archaeological site dating back to the 6th-century BC. And, that about covers Palafrugell’s 4km-squared. But, like the weights on a trawl net, steeped-in-time fishing villages are strung along the shore, each with golden beaches lapped with water that looks like God cleaned his brushes in it during his ‘blue’ period. Calella is the closest, also famed for the Cap de Roig gardens and its annual jazz festival. Llafranc is low-key and laidback, and Tamariu is an off-track spot known for excellent diving opportunities. A footpath runs along the coast if you want to hike or bike to all three (the hotel has bikes to borrow, or storage if you’ve brought your own), and for photo ops, hike up to Sant Sebastià lighthouse. You could also follow the Camino de Ronda, but you need a boat to go the whole hog. Head inland to the olive groves, pine clusters, meadows, marshes and patchworks of wildflowers for country walks and forest bathing; follow the circular Pirinexus cycling route around the Catalan Pyrenees (at its loveliest in autumn or winter); or go on foot along the Josep Plà hike. Make the 30-minute drive to Castell de Púbol, which surrealist Dalí bought for his wife and muse Gala – naturally he added a few of his own touches. And, if you’ve arrived from January to March, you can partake in La Garoinada, a gastronomic festival famed for its sea urchins and their eggs. And, Can Mascort hotel itself has an array of feel-good workshops, through yoga, meditation, tai chi, feng shui, talks on bio-construction, nutrient-focused cooking workshops, painting and music classes, and organic brunches.
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. .
