La Hedrera - Re-Imagining a Palatial Spanish Estate

A dream home in the mountains near Alicante, Spain has been restored into a grand estate, a residential complex for a large family and their regular guests. La Hedrera is a masterwork of architectural restoration, one envisioned and executed by Hernández Arquitectos and a team of talented collaborators. It is a massive achievement, a home that is as much a hotel as it is a private residence.

La Hedrera is clearly Mediterranean in identity, but also in location. It rests less than 10 miles from the Mediterranean coast in Alicante, Spain, but is far enough away to offer peace and privacy to its inhabitants. La Hedrera is perched near a peak of the Sierra de Aitana mountain range, overlooking a 1,200 acre hunting preserve with active local wildlife. It’s as much a home of the country as it is of the coast, and it is still close enough to modern Alicante for urban amenities, dining and entertainment.

Entertainment, however, is a central focus for La Hedrera. Its built in such a scale not only to house its owner/occupants, but also a large and regular group of guests. Its second story features seven bedrooms in the main building, each with its own private bathroom and terrace, and four additional bedrooms in a second wing. The top floor includes a bunk-style room for children with nine beds, conveniently located next to a game room with TV, billiards, ping-pong, foosball and other table games. These guest facilities and the rest of the home are all built around a grand terrace in the center, a large and open space with space for relaxing and swimming in the warm Spanish sun.

The ground level around the terrace features the common areas where guests spend most of their time. A large dining room has space to serve 32 guests or a small portion of the family on quiet evenings. This dining room adjoins the kitchen and a lounge area, the latter of which leads to a brick cellar with wine racks and a tasting table. Between this main level and the immediate grounds around the estate, the hosts can throw intimate gatherings and large private events at ease.

La Hedrera is a remarkable work of residential architecture for both its scale and spirit. It is as much a hotel as it is a home, a complex capable of housing dozens of guests at a time. Our hat goes off to Hernández Arquitectos, and our hand goes out to the owner if they ever need help occupying one of those guest rooms… [photography: Mayte Piera]

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