Castell de Sant Mori

It’s not everyday you get to stay in luxury villas in Spain, let alone a castle. Unless you’re Mariano Sanz. He owns this one — the Castell de Sant Mori in Spain.

Inhabited at one point by Juana Enríquez, Queen consort of Aragon, and much later by a Finnish reality TV show (MTV’s Linnan tähdet, or Castle Kings was filmed here), Castell de Sant Mori was also Mariano’s home. But raising two active kids in a four-story, 15-bedroom Gothic-Renaissance castle proved to be a little much. So after one too many “Honey, where are the kids?” Mariano et al. packed it up and bought a more sensible house down the street. 

Now he rents it out. The castle is one of many luxury villas in Spain for rent through CharmingVillas.net, and I was lucky enough to stay there for a couple of nights as part of a recent blogger trip to the Costa Brava region of Spain.

Located in the medieval town of L’Empordà (about halfway between Girona and Figures), the castle features a mix of antique and modern furniture (every bedroom has a TV), but it still retains that period feel. Sadly, there was no moat, but that didn’t stop me from looking for murder holes, and mumbling, “Off with their heads!” at no one in particular.

The labyrinth of rooms is connected by a couple of circular staircases, and an elevator has been added in recent years to shepherd the weary to the upper chambers.

There’s also an elevated sun-deck and pool, but since it was March when we were there, neither got much use.

Still, the view was stunning.

Mariano as a young boy (kidding) 

I’d love to come back at some point (the stunning Costa Brava beaches are only 20 minutes away, but until then, I’ll just have to be satisfied with marking “Stay in a Castle” off my bucket list.

Note: I received a complimentary stay at Castell de Sant Mori and a few other luxury villas in Spain as part of a blogger trip organized by CharmingVillas.net — the opinions (and apparent “castle fever”) are all my own.

The post Photo Friday: Castell de Sant Mori, Spain appeared first on Man On The Lam | Travel & Lifestyle Blog -- A Curious Gentleman's Guide to Escapes and Escapism.