FOR SALE: HACIENDA MINERVA, Zuheros, Cordoba. €950,000

Beautiful Córdoba-style 26 Guest Room Boutique Country House Hotel with pool, Arabic Baths, Bodega, Restaurant and event space. 4,122 m2 built area 2,620 m2 plot area Main Features 26 Guest Bedrooms Private Owner’s Accommodation Arabic Baths Library Restaurant/Dining Room Main Drawing Room Events Room Outdoor Pool Beautiful Courtyards Bar Enormous Bodega Córdoba is a city famed for its Moorish architecture and its patios filled with floral displays. This beautifully styled country house hotel takes much of its inspiration from Córdoba, as the interior and exterior accommodation is invitingly linked in a romantic series of spaces. Archways lead into charming cobbled courtyards shaded by orange trees; timber gates provide tantalising glimpses into wider, galleried areas where guest bedrooms open off colonnaded walkways. In a corner, there might be a trickling fountain; in another, a reminder that this building sits on the site of an historic olive mill. The property that stands here now was built in 2008 as a country house hotel, and it built a steady reputation as a 4 star venue, listed in Condé Nast Johansens Guide. It was a place where guests came to relax in comfort, surrounded by history and stunning views. The property has since fallen into some disrepair, but much of this is cosmetic in nature. It is clear to see the quality of the construction everywhere, and when the property was designed it was wholly sympathetic to the landscape and the style of the region. There are Moorish and historic influences everywhere, from the reclaimed antique timber doors, the use of antique marble pillars, former olive mill machinery, water and planting to create cool, meditative spaces in which to relax and unwind. Now, Hacienda Minerva represents a fabulous opportunity to acquire an exceptional property at a highly competitive price; this is a distress sale handled by asset managers. In scale, the property echoes the style of a medieval Andalucian village, with areas carefully selected for the enjoyment of the guests. There is a large library, for example, adjacent to an outside museum of olive mill artefacts. The Arabic Baths are simply a condensed version of the 14th Century Moorish Baths that were so prevalent in Andalucia. There are large guest suites that have private sitting rooms with open fires and top floor bedrooms with vast views. The formal dining room is reminiscent of a hunting lodge, with an enormous stone fireplace and stone walls, with a gallery above. One of the guest drawing rooms has picture windows looking across to the magical white village of Zuheros. Despite the property’s size, everywhere manages to feel discreet and intimate. The former old cortijo is at one end of the property and was used as the owner/manager’s private home, although this could be used as a separate property rental. Hacienda Minerva sits in a splendid location just outside the village of Zuheros, recognised as one of Andalucia’s prettiest Pueblos Blancos. The village sits inside the Parque Natural de las Sierras Subbéticas, and just above the hotel there is the Via Verde del Aceite - a former rural railway line that is now used as a cycle route through glorious countryside. Zuheros is the location, too, of the Cueva de los Murciélagos, a hugely impressive cave that contains cave drawings, stalactites and stalagmites and history of human habitation that goes back thousands of years. This whole area is a focus for the emerging trend in slow, eco-based tourism where occupancy rates are increasing every year and there is strong demand for quality accommodation in rural, scenically breathtaking locations. In 2025, Zuheros was a Finalist for Capital of Rural Tourism and it is often promoted as being a model of sustainable rural tourism.