Noise, pollution, overcrowding and stress are among the main evils that generally affect citizens of the 21st century. For many, it seems inevitable to live in cities where all these annoying circumstances become more acute and their solution lies in escaping from time to time, getting an oxygen tank for a few days to keep going. In it hotel Le Meridien Ra, in the Tarragona municipality of Vendrell, which has one of the best beaches on the Costa Dorada, they know this and have adapted their facilities, which housed an old sanatorium of the order of San Juan de Dios in the last century, to heal ailments of our time. Wellness treatments and cultural proposals are offered as a remedy to heal body and mind.
This is a hotel that preserves the history of what it was from the moment you enter. In the parking lot, there is a large sign made of tiles that reads Sanatorio MarÃtimo de San Juan de Dios. Next, in the large entrance hall, from where the visitor already glimpses the sea, the memories of those who lived in this building built in 1929 are preserved in a large display case, which tells the history of the place through some ceiling panels and some objects. , like paintings and tiles that once decorated this former hospital for children with tuberculosis.
In front of the magnificent Sant Salvador beach, in the municipality of Vendrell – located just 35 minutes by car from Barcelona airport – this religious order built the first sanatorium next to the Mediterranean to take advantage of the benefits of the mild and sunny climate that bathes this sandy area, in addition to the healing properties of the sea, since in this area the waters are richer in iodine due to the characteristics of its algae.
With the prosperity and generalization of summer vacations in the sixties, this sanatorium for disadvantaged minors was moved to Barcelona. It seems that their presence hindered the urban spirit of construction of second homes that began to rise on the Costa Dorada, when developmentalism also began to break out on the Costa Brava. In 1969 the sanatorium was abandoned, it was completely looted and its ruins became a hotbed of children’s games and gang meetings of teenagers from the area.
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After 15 years of abandonment and thanks to the neighbors’ fight to ensure that this imposing construction, located about 50 meters from the sea, was not demolished, the Vendrell City Council approved its reopening as a spa hotel, called Ra Wellness. Years later, in 2004, the Marriott International group converted it into a five-star hotel, expanding its facilities around the historic building, without breaking its characteristic presence, creating two wings on both sides where it could accommodate 144 rooms of different types, from suites to apartments and thinking of the tourist and the convention traveler. In addition to many meeting rooms, it has different terraces and gardens, where weddings and events are held, and two restaurants.
Its dazzling historic building in front of the sea continues to remind us of its past, which is also present in different rooms where elements have been preserved such as the domed room of the old chapel, a religious altarpiece that presides over the spa or an archangel who watches over the tower. In some ways, it is still a place to heal, with thalassotherapy thanks to a saltwater pool and a wide catalog of wellness treatments. Due to its past as a spa, Le Meridien Ra can now boast of having the facilities of spa largest in Spain, with 7,200 square meters divided into three floors.
Explore Spa by Le Méridien is a sanctuary for contemporary wellness retreats. There you can do all kinds of therapies that integrate tradition and modernity with natural ingredients from the land and sea. In its 55 cabins you can do Thalasso, Ayurveda, beauty treatments, Vichy showers, oriental therapies, relaxing massages and seaweed massages. In addition, it has a large gym with natural light with the latest Technogym technology machines, designed to improve physical performance. It also has an outdoor pool on the roof of one of the buildings.
But if there is any healing power in this complex, without a doubt, it is that of the place where it is. Without the overcrowding of cities, where there always seems to be a lack of air, here space is one of its great values. Everything is spacious and the breeze flows freely. The beach where it is located is one of the largest sandy areas on the coast. And of course, the Mediterranean, which can be seen from almost every point of the hotel and from every room, something that does not always happen in buildings facing the sea. The blue flag indicates the good quality of the water on this coast, which has seven kilometers of fine sand beaches that look like a golden carpet under the sun. For guests of the accommodation, there is a sun lounger service and a beach club to drink something.
A walk through nature and culture
For travelers looking for more authenticity, it is advisable to walk along the shore towards the south to the natural area of ​​Les Madrigueres, the last virgin window to the sea. It is a wetland area of ​​30 hectares, where the Bisbal stream flows, and you can cross it along a marked sand path. It is a joy to walk in silence through this territory full of dunes, crops and Mediterranean vegetation to try to hear or see native species such as the snowy plover, a small bird that lives in the mud of this type of sandy area.
It is a place that is not absent from historical memory. Just before reaching the urbanized area again, there stands an old bunker from the Civil War, like so many others that are still on the Catalan beaches. On a poster, the story of a family that lived there for years in the harsh and miserable post-war period serves to not forget the consequences of wars. Furthermore, on its façade there is now an interpretation of the Guernica by Picasso, considered one of the most representative works of the 20th century war.
Continuing along this path you reach the promenade of Sant Salvador beach again. After passing by some typical whitewashed houses and good places to have a drink—like the Casinet restaurant, with its terrace nestled in the sand—, you reach the summer home of the musician Pau Casals (El Vendrell, 1876 – Puerto Rico, 1973). Today converted into a museum, it also has a recommendable restaurant where you can eat after the visit.
Pau Casals spent time in this spectacular building, a personality worth discovering not only for his ability as a cellist and composer, but also for his human dimension. Some rooms are preserved as he left them and in others there are personal objects such as his first cello, a gift from his father, also a musician, or paintings by renowned painters such as Ramón Casas. In addition, the house of this renowned musician has a splendid neoclassical style garden, a magical place to contemplate the Mediterranean.
It must be for some reason that several men of culture landed on the beaches of Vendrell. Another short recommended walk is towards the north, to reach the Barral House, an old fisherman’s shop where the prestigious editor and poet Carlos Barral (1928-1989) lived, located on the promenade of Calafell, the neighboring town. With a white façade and a wooden railing, the building recalls the fishing past of this municipality. The City Council bought it in 1999 and has turned it into a museum about the area’s fishing past.
Aware of the cultural and heritage value of each site, the Le Meridien Ra hotel also has a program to introduce visitors to Catalan traditions. Thus, during the months of July and August it offers guests evenings dedicated to the castellers already the correfocs, two festive and popular activities. The Nens del Vendrell company comes one afternoon a week to build a human castle, while the Diables del Vendrell liven up a night with their parade of music, firecrackers and fire. Two events that surprise the foreign public, who also marvel at the Sant Joan festival, which is celebrated on the night of every June 23, when the hotel offers a dinner and dance with fireworks in front of the sea (an evening also open to non-guests with prior reservation).
Art in rooms and hallways
If the sea and the breeze replenish, art can also help soothe the soul. At Le Meridien Ra the rooms have original photos by the American photographer Gray Malin, who was at this hotel in 2015 to create one of his series, where geometry invades the beach. In addition, in the corridors on the first floor you can see the exhibition Cap i Cua, from the Catalan photographer Maite Caramés, a curious series where two fish come out of the sea to sneak into the hotel, giving rise to unlikely situations of great beauty that can lead the visitor to reflect deeply on existence. Of Jordi Rollan These are other works that occupy the wing where the convention rooms are located.
The hotel store, with a beautiful selection of dresses and holiday clothing, is selected by the local business Nus, in another demonstration of the desire to value the people and history of the Costa Dorada, especially Vendrell, capital of the Baix Penedès region. Before leaving, two more notes: other interesting museums also await in this municipality, such as that of the sculptor Apel·les Fenosa (1899-1988) or the poet Àngel Guimerà (1845-1924). Le Meridien Ra is located in a corner full of surprises, ideal for a healing getaway with sea baths and culture.
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