Breakfast in bed? Are you kidding? Not when you're staying at the El Bulli and there's a seven-course concept meal being dished up downstairs by superstar chef Ferran Adria and his number two, Rafa Morales.
Most people would kill just for a taste, let alone seven courses of Adria's food. His El Bulli restaurant in Roses, on the Costa Brava, has a year-long waiting list just to get a table. But in the south of Spain, just outside Seville, the award-winning chef has set up El Bulli Hotel Hacienda Benazuza, a five-star pile that is a cross between the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcazar in the centre of Seville.
The feast I've risen to savour, voted 'best hotel breakfast in the world' by Gourmetour magazine, would sit firmly at the top of any trophy breakfast list. First, there is hand-pressed fruit juice. The juices come in small, fat bottles with wire and cork tops. I opt for three: strawberry with orange, lychee with roses, and mango with passion fruit. Each is utterly delicious and nothing like anything I've ever tasted before. I'm in secret rapture right from the start.
My black coffee is rich, dark and creamy. There are five choices of freshly baked croissants, including the black chocolate variety, which is beautifully light yet rich at the same time. Tiny toasts are next and are served with a pot of freshly made vanilla butter.
Each course comes in amusing little bite-size mouthfuls. It's almost finger food, really. You can work your leisurely way through all of the seven courses and not feel remotely like a porker.
And looking round at my fellow guests, do they look like members of the bling brigade? Well, quite frankly, no. They are mostly Spanish fatcats and their families, weekending from Madrid. One of the many great things about overnighting at the El Bulli is that the hotel caters primarily for the domestic market rather than the international foodie set.
There are two courses of egg dishes, each with a variety of choices. I go for the boiled egg with cream potatoes and black truffle juice, followed by scrambled eggs with Iberian ham and tender sweet garlic. Every mouthful is an explosive taste sensation.
I go on to enjoy Iberian pate with black sausage, ham with fresh basil and smoked salmon with aniseed before climbing back to my royal chamber - parts of the hotel date back to the 10th century and monarchs stayed here in its earlier incarnation as a private mansion - to prepare for a day lying beside what must be the sexiest pool in the world.
The El Bulli bargain
To experience Ferran Adria’s food at affordable prices, head to his fast food
concept, Fast Good (fastgood.com). Branches are planned all over Spain, burgers cost €5.50
· El Bulli Hotel Hacienda Benazuza, 41800 Sanlucar La Mayor, Seville (0034 955 703 344; elbullihotel.com). Double rooms from €330 per room per night. The seven-course breakfast costs €35