Castellar Castle

Castellar de la Frontera is a unique case in Spain: the entire village lives within the walls of a medieval castle. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, Muslims built the fortress as a defense against the Christians and founded the village inside it. In 1434, Juan Arias de Saavedra conquered the village for the Crown of Castile. The historic core — known as Castellar Viejo — preserves its original medieval essence, with narrow streets and whitewashed houses inside the walled enclosure; in the 1970s, Castellar Nuevo was built to improve residents' living conditions, leaving the old town essentially intact.

Declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1963, Castellar de la Frontera has been part of the "Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España" (The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain) association since 2019.

Today the hotel occupies the most representative building within the walled enclosure, with nine additional rural houses distributed throughout the fortress-village.

The fact that an entire functioning village, not just a single building, sits within Castellar's medieval walls distinguishes it sharply from the more typical pattern of a castle hotel occupying one wing of a fortress.

The 1970s relocation of most residents to Castellar Nuevo, deliberately undertaken to preserve the old town's medieval fabric intact, reflects a specific and successful heritage-preservation strategy.

The village's recognition among "The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain" since 2019 gives Castellar formal standing within a national network dedicated to preserving Spain's most distinctive small towns.