History

Stepping back in time…

The first known owner of Cortijo Soto Real, christened it “la finca las capellanías” and used the property for breeding the prestigious Spanish bull. Old newspaper clippings show proof of the bravery of the bulls raised here and pictures of “rejoneo”, bullfights on horseback, a very well known art in Andalusia.

When the property came into the ownership of a wealthy Arabian prince, he built the current Palacio, a country house with a “yeguada” and splendidly decorated horse stables. He continued to grow wheat, breed bulls and sheep and used the cortijo as a private retreat for his family and friends. In the summer of 2001 the property was sold to the current owner.

Mozarabic and Andalusian styles of decoration meet when the cortijo with its splendid salon and majestic rooms are perfectly combined with a complete new wing of luxury rooms. A splendid five star hotel was born.

However, the history of the land of Soto Real goes back much further than its first known owner and in former times many battles may have taken place on the property. Only a few kilometres away, important archaeological sites such as the Roman ruins of Carissa Aurelia, Esperillo and the Arabic Castle of Fatetar can be visited. Many great battles took place here in the war between the Muslims and the Christians eager to reconquer their homeland and archaeological finds on and around the property suggest that Soto Real was situated right on these ancient frontier lines.