The Hotel de la Reconquista in Oviedo, the 1752 hospice where Princess of Asturias Awards winners stay

In Oviedo, in northern Spain, the Hotel de la Reconquista occupies a former hospice built from 1752 onwards, and it is here that the Princess of Asturias Awards laureates stay every year. These awards, Spain’s answer to the great international prizes, are presented in Oviedo each October by the Foundation that bears their name, which was born within these walls in 1980. Patti Smith, the 2026 laureate of the Award for the Arts, arrived on Sunday 18 October, five days before the ceremony.

☰Contents

1. A hospice built from 1752 onwards
2. Beneath Ventura Rodríguez’s 28-metre dome
3. The Covadonga room, cradle of the awards in 1980
4. Patti Smith opens the 2026 awards week
5. 142 rooms, 4 suites and royal carpets
6. La Regenta, dining over the Patio de la Reina
7. What does a night in Oviedo cost in November?

A hospice built from 1752 onwards

The building was the initiative of Isidoro Gil de Jaz, to plans by the architect Pedro Antonio Menéndez de Ambás, and housed Oviedo’s provincial hospice from 1752 to 1965. Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural, Spain’s national monument listing, in 1973, it was converted into a hotel by the architects Sainz de Vicuña and Fernández Cuevas and opened on 4 June 1974. Its baroque façade, emblazoned with the arms of Spain, leads into lounges where the hotel displays tapestries, paintings, sculptures and antique furniture. Today it is run by Eurostars Hotels.

Beneath Ventura Rodríguez’s 28-metre dome

From the wooden galleries of the patio, the chapel dome rises above the rooftops, the work of the architect Ventura Rodríguez, completed in 1770. Its plan is octagonal outside and circular within, where bare stone, balconies and a crystal chandelier climb towards the 28-metre dome.

The Covadonga room, cradle of the awards in 1980

The Princess of Asturias Foundation was established in 1980 in the hotel’s Covadonga room, and the address has been home to the awards ever since: the official website speaks of more than 40 years in their service. Every spring the juries meet here and the winners are announced in the Patio de los Gatos, the Cats’ Courtyard. It was from the Covadonga room, on 29 April 2026, that the Arts jury announced its decision in favour of Patti Smith, who succeeds the Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide.

In October, during awards week, the King and Queen are the guests of honour at the hotel, the laureates stay here, and the house hosts official receptions, television broadcasts and votes. The 2026 edition, the 46th, also honours Studio Ghibli (Communication and Humanities), the historian Timothy Garton Ash (Social Sciences) and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (International Cooperation).

Patti Smith opens the 2026 awards week

The first laureate to reach Oviedo, Patti Smith walked through the hotel’s doors on Sunday 18 October shortly before 5pm, accompanied by the Foundation’s director, Teresa Sanjurjo. A group of gaiteros, the Asturian bagpipe players, was waiting for her: it marks the start of the “gaita season”, the hotel’s tradition during the awards. Stefan Schmitz, of the Crop Trust, arrived at around 6.15pm on behalf of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

The schedule had the astronaut Christina Koch (Concord), the writer Julian Barnes (Literature) and the researchers David Klenerman, Shankar Balasubramanian and Pascal Mayer (Scientific Research) arriving on Monday 19 October; Lionel Messi (Sports) is expected on Thursday 22 October. Patti Smith is giving two concerts, on 20 October at the Teatro Jovellanos in Gijón and on the 21st at the Fábrica de Armas de La Vega in Oviedo, fifty years after her first concert in Spain. The ceremony will take place on Friday 23 October at the Teatro Campoamor, in the presence of Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, before the week closes on the 24th in Llanes.

142 rooms, 4 suites and royal carpets

Rated five stars, the hotel has 142 rooms and 4 suites. The Royal Suites overlook the baroque façade, with carpets from the Real Fábrica de Tapices, the royal tapestry works, a marble bathroom with a whirlpool bath and a sitting room. The Premium rooms open onto the Patio de la Reina, the Queen’s Courtyard, once visited by Queen Isabel II; the Deluxe room in our price check measures 23 m².

La Regenta, dining over the Patio de la Reina

La Regenta restaurant serves Asturian and international cuisine overlooking the Patio de la Reina, at lunch from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and at dinner from 8.30pm to 11.30pm; the American Bar takes over afterwards. The hotel has no spa but does have a fitness room, and its conference centre of more than 9,000 m² offers 16 rooms, for up to 550 people seated and 1,400 for a cocktail reception.

What does a night in Oviedo cost in November?

For the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 November 2026, the Deluxe room costs €166 for two adults, taxes included, with free cancellation; breakfast is an extra €22 (checked on 19 October 2026). The official website warns of maintenance and improvement works under way, which may cause occasional disturbance. For other Spanish monuments turned into hotels, see the Áurea Palacio de la Tinta in Malaga, from the same Eurostars group, the Thompson Sevilla, in the former police headquarters, and the Six Senses Quexigal Palace, which will open in 2027 in Ávila.