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The grandeur of the Santa Catalina Hotel, located in the town of Ciudad Jardín Sur, is largely due to the history that surrounds it. This architectural work has more than a century of history that has been revisited over the years by a whole host of architects, artists and countless guests who have lived there.
The colonial-inspired hotel, inaugurated by the English in 1889, has become a tourist landmark in Gran Canaria thanks to its privileged location, very close to the historic centre of Vegueta and the iconic Las Canteras Beach.
This luxury institution, surrounded by cascading fountains and extensive vegetation, was acquired by the City Council in 1923, and in 1951 was intervened by Miguel Martín-Fernández de la Torre, who gave rise to this latest version of the hotel, which seems to evoke the beauty and aesthetic imaginary of Wes Anderson.
An artistic ode
Art, culture and history are diluted in this resort through which the most important personalities of the creative, cinematographic and political scene of the 20th and 21st centuries have passed, such as Ava Gadner, Maria Callas, Churchill, Agatha Christie and Gregory Peck.
Classical elegance runs through each of the walls and rooms of its historic oasis embellished with countless works of art, most of which belong to the legacy of the Canarian artist Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre. An installation that coexists with the contemporary art of the Canarian Fernando Álamo, who evokes in a pictorial way a tribute to the roots of the islands.
The hotel’s hedonistic experience can be experienced in other formats beyond the artistic or gastronomic in its wellness temple. From relaxing under the rays of the sun in its rooftop pool, in its infinity outdoor and indoor pool, to enjoying a massage or immersing yourself in its water circuit open to the sky of Gran Canaria.
Gastronomic luxury
This five-star resort, part of the Barceló group’s hotel constellation, is home to 3 restaurants, Poemas by the Michelin-starred Padrón brothers, 1890 La Bodeguita, specialising in tapas, and Borja Marrero‘s Muxgo restaurant, awarded Spain’s first Michelin Green Star.
A gastronomic ode that continues with its classic ‘Royal Breakfast‘ breakfasts in its Doramas Restaurant, which offers gourmet pastries, meats, fish, seafood, homemade desserts, cold meats, eggs benedict, natural juices and an infinity of cakes that can also be found in its ‘Jazz Brunch’, which is presented on Sundays accompanied by the live music of a jazz band, which can also be enjoyed by people from outside the hotel.
Poems By Hermanos Padrón
The art of gastronomy is channelled in this renowned restaurant known for being the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Run by brothers Juan Carlos and Jonathan Padrón, and Herreña chef Icíar Pérez as head chef, Poemas has revolutionised the island’s culinary scene with its avant-garde cuisine with Canarian roots based on the KM 0 philosophy.
Nature, land and sea merge in its cuisine and in its dishes influenced by international flavours and textures, presented in an artistic way on its classically inspired tables.
In this gastronomic destination where Canarian culture and history converge with the best quality products, we were able to taste the traditional Canarian recipes in an avant-garde version through dishes such as its tartlet of choco with fried garlic and crackling emulsion, its tomatoes pickled in rice vinegar, its Canarian black pudding and almond praline nougat, its delicious celery conch or its classic Benedictine eel with hollandaise sauce.
Dessert came in the form of parchita and saffron ice cream, smoked chocolate with mandarin and Jack Daniel’s foam, and a delicious Petit Fours to round off the evening.
Muxgo
The renowned chef Borja Marrero, awarded the first Green Michelin Star in the Canary Islands, among other awards such as a Sol Repsol, leads this new project incorporated into the high-end gastronomic offer of Santa Catalina.
Muxgo is presented as the temple of circular cuisine of Gran Canarian origin that travels from the garden to the plate through the 0 km product, and a sustainable and creative proposal that presents a menu prepared with typical products from the Tejeda area -taken from the chef’s own farm- such as millet, cactus, shrimp from Mogán, Tejeda olive charcoal or cheeses produced by the chef.
The dishes at Restaurante Muxgo don’t start in the kitchen, but on our own organic and sustainable Borja Marrero farm’, say the notes of this cult restaurant.
Each of the dishes thus establishes a direct link with the island’s land through four experimental tasting menus. We decided to delve into ‘Lo más profundo de Tejeda‘, presented on handmade crockery made by Mira Cerámica under the guidance of Borja Marrero, from the ashes of the great fire on the summits of Gran Canaria in 2019, the sand from the waterfalls of Tejeda and the wool of the chef’s sheep.
His ode to the land and the Canarian culture was reflected in dishes such as a cream of burnt onion and trebolina, a Mogán shrimp and potato confit in sheep’s milk breaded in shrimp coral, an exquisite warm cheese soup bound with bienmesabe or a catch of the day with citrus alfalfa velouté and smoked with Tejeda olive tree. An unusual and original menu, to say the least, paired with a selection of Canarian wines such as ‘Cariño’, which the chef topped off with his dessert, a sweet reinterpretation of his iconic green star.
Un tour por el casco histórico de Vegueta
The hotel’s powerful attraction is also due to its proximity to the city’s nerve centre. Exactly 3 km away is the historic quarter of Vegueta, where you can lose yourself in its colourful houses with wooden balconies.
This is a neighbourhood with cobbled enclaves from which to appreciate its most emblematic monuments, such as the Casa de Colón, which is now a museum, the 16th-century Plaza Santa Ana and its beautiful cathedral, which combines neoclassical, Gothic and Renaissance styles.
Vegueta is also home to the Vegueta Market, a 19th century listed building where we were able to make two gastronomic stops to sample authentic Canarian produce at the Aragüeme stall and a tasting of different aged shepherd’s cheeses, along with a delicious interpretation of Canarian gofio.
The winemaking mastery of Bodegas Mondalón
Passion for oenology is the basis of this family winery, known as one of the most prominent wineries in Gran Canaria since 1995, which aims to bring Canarian wine to the top of the scene through an innovative twist on tradition.
We had the opportunity to tour their vineyards located in Los Hoyos, one of the privileged foothills of the protected landscape of Bandama, and to taste wines such as their red wine made from listán negro and tintilla varieties aged for 3 months in French oak barrels, or their white wine made from Malvasía volcánica and albillo criollo varieties that balances acidity and fruity aromas with aniseed tones.
There we were able to immerse ourselves in the depth and all the notes distilled by Mondalón’s liquid elaborations as a result of traditional methods of cultivation and subsequent experimentation in the winery, as another immersive experience through the roots of Canarian culture.
