As you look up from the patio, a cage-like structure of white rectangular pillars frames the sky view above – the architects’ strikingly modern addition to the otherwise original features. The hotel’s oak and steel doorway leads through to a stone courtyard framed by columns and arched vaults. He goes on to tell me about the Roman, Visigothic, Moorish and Catholic occupations, whose traces can be found in the defensive fortress of Cáceres’s Old Town. Here I meet Marco Mangut, a guide with ToursbyLocals, who explains that the Plaza Mayor is among the 10 largest squares in Spain. Outside the walled town, the leafy Paseo de Cánovas makes for a charming walk, where food markets sometimes pop up Calle Pintores is a busy commercial street, while Calle San Pedro is good for souvenirs and admiring the attractive façades of the buildings, before enjoying al fresco drinks at the bars on the Plaza Mayor. Lively little areas, such as around the Plaza San Juan, are filled with foodie spots and small shops selling handicrafts and other local goods. The restaurant has rooms, too, but the pair have now spent £6 million on a new hotel in the Paredes-Saavedra palace, a 15th-century nobleman’s home across the road. Ask locals about the couple, both in their early 60s, and you’ll hear about the attention that their establishment has drawn to the city since it opened in 1986. In Cáceres, I’m greeted by José Polo and Toño Pérez, the owners of Atrio, one of 13 restaurants in Spain (and the only one in Extremadura) with three Michelin stars.
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