Lifestyle

BALLESOL guest accommodation in Finestrat

Ballesol Costa Blanca Resort: An Accessible Dream Guest Accommodation in Cala de Finestrat

By Spain for Design / December 22, 2025 /

This past summer, I was a guest at the Ballesol Costa Blanca Resort residence, which offers one and two-bedroom apartments for seniors seeking independence and modern amenities. Amenities include a 24-hour reception, restaurant, cafeteria, library, gym, and indoor and outdoor pools. Full-time residents have access to medical supervision by a team of qualified professionals. In…

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MAYOR CALA DE FINESTRAT

Spain for Accessible Design: Summary 2024

By Spain for Design / December 23, 2024 / Comments Off on Spain for Accessible Design: Summary 2024

This year was not as I had hoped to feature accessible travel and design in Spain on my website, partly due to other responsibilities that led to insufficient time to connect with my network. Next year, I will research, identify, and capture images of accessible tourist sites, accommodations, and beautiful interiors that combine striking design…

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El Tapeito

Two Weeks in Spain

By Spain for Design / September 9, 2024 / Comments Off on Two Weeks in Spain

In August I travelled to Spain with my family for the first time in five years. It was a whirlwind of activities and experiences. I revisited old favorites-cafes, restaurants, shops-and discovered new ones. We took a side trip to Vienna for a few days, a gift to my son who is interested in the history…

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algonquin cetificate

Moving Forward

By Spain for Design / January 31, 2022 /

Certified Decorator Last year, I finally received my certificate in residential decor from the continuing education program at a local college. It was seven years of attending evening and night courses after my full-time day job. There were long rides on public transportation lugging drafting equipment, and bulky mood, or presentation boards on cold winter…

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Granada-Parador

Inspiration: Courtyard of the Parador Granada

By Spain for Design / June 7, 2021 / Comments Off on Inspiration: Courtyard of the Parador Granada

My two-night stay in July 2017 at the Parador of Granada was one of my best family vacations. It is one of the best known and most popular of the paradors. A 14th-century Moorish palace later converted to a Franciscan convent, the style of the architecture, decor, lighting, and art reflect the two heritages. One of my…

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THE RITZ MADRID

The Ritz Hotel in Madrid Reopens After Three-Year Renovation

By Spain for Design / May 31, 2021 / Comments Off on The Ritz Hotel in Madrid Reopens After Three-Year Renovation

Opened in 1910, during the Belle Époque era, the original building of the Ritz hotel in Madrid was designed and built under the supervision of hotelier César Ritz. Now part of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid recently reopened in April after a three-year historical restoration headed by Spanish architect Rafael de La-Hoz who retained…

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La Palmera Del Indiano Restaurant

Oviedo’s La Palmera del Indiano Restaurant Evokes the Tropics

By Spain for Design / May 24, 2021 / Comments Off on Oviedo’s La Palmera del Indiano Restaurant Evokes the Tropics

Asturias-based photographer Érika Anes shot these images of La Palmera del Indiano restaurant on the terrace of Barceló Oviedo Cervantes hotel exclusively for Spain for Design. Situated in the heart of Spain’s elegant northern city of Oviedo, the five-star accommodation, part of the Spanish hotel group Barceló, opened in 2007 in a refurbished early-twentieth-century Indianos townhome. Indianos is a distinctive vernacular architectural style of residences…

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View of the San Roc Parish Church in Oliva, Valencia

2020 Year in Review

By Spain for Design / December 7, 2020 / Comments Off on 2020 Year in Review

Turbulent. Frightening. Surreal. Opportunity. Change. The “new norm.” We will recall 2020 as one that marked the before and after of some key moments in our personal and professional lives. Spain for Design asked members of the design community in Spain profiled in these pages about their experiences and thoughts. What has 2020 meant to…

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Erika Anes

Asturias for Design

By Spain for Design / September 7, 2020 / Comments Off on Asturias for Design

Spain for Design commissioned Oviedo-based photographer Erika Anes to shoot five commercial spaces with standout designs in Gijon, Asturias’ largest city, and Oviedo, the capital city. The Collector Concept Store (Gijon) The owner of the Collector Concept Store created a space in which art, culture, and fashion comfortably coexist. The upper floor displays a masterful mix of…

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Asturias for Architecture

By Spain for Design / July 13, 2020 / Comments Off on Asturias for Architecture

Asturias has no shortage of architecturally significant buildings and monuments, including the most complete collection of late medieval architecture in Western Europe. Dating from the ninth and early tenth centuries, they are unparalleled for their quality and preservation in their original state. Asturias is known for pre-Romanesque architecture, six of which have UNESCO World Heritage status, one…

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Cider

Asturias: Memories of a Natural Paradise

By Spain for Design / July 6, 2020 /

“Asturias, paraíso natural” (“Asturias, Natural Paradise”) is the official slogan of Turismo Asturias, the tourism office of the Principality of Asturias. Parts of this northern region of Spain are on the Northern Route of the Way of Saint James, popularly known as the Camino de Santiago. It has a breathtaking landscape, where the mountain and sea…

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Ibiza Bohemia

Book Nook: Ibiza Bohemia

By Spain for Design / June 30, 2020 / Comments Off on Book Nook: Ibiza Bohemia

Ibiza Bohemia Maya Boyd (Text), Renu Kashyap (Producer), Published by Assouline (June 2017) Every once in a while, one comes across a coffee table book so engaging that it not only feeds us with knowledge and induces us to linger at the images, but it also encourages us to immerse ourselves in a place. Ibiza:…

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