The Order of the Minims was founded by San Francisco de Paula in the Italian region of Calabria on the year 1435, and after expanding in Europe, came to Spain in 1492.

The relationship between the religious order and the town of La Fresneda originates in a beautiful legend that end up determining the construction of a convent 6 km from city center, dedicated to our Sra. de Gracia, and then the urban convent that today is the Hotel & Restaurant The Convent***.

This legend has a shepherdess found an image of the Virgin in a rock section, in a rough mountain in the Valley of the silence. He took it to the neighboring town of Valljunquera, where she was originally, to recite and worship. But within days, the image disappeared from the place. The search from the pastor begun and ended in the same place where it all started: on that same remote rock away from the village of La Fresneda.

After that incident, nearby residents began to frequent the sacred rock and called "Grace" for all they received.

All this led to the village of La Fresneda decided to build a chapel on site, which was commissioned to the Order of Trinitarians. However, the harsh and inhospitable valley made them desist in maintaining the order, and finally the village of La Fresneda and the Order of Calatrava donated it in 1581 to the Order of Minims Padres San Francisco de Paula.

Next to the chapel, the friars built a new church and a simple convent. But again the harshness and austerity of the time were the causes for which they decided to leave it and move it to the town, for which in 1593 they began the construction of the new convent that ended in 1613. The Convent now was a reality.

However, for years they were attending the two religious centers at the same time. And in the eighteenth century they decided to build a new convent next to the original chapel and adjoining it, a new church with three naves completed in 1795, which completed a major monuments used until 1865, when the confiscation order arrived giving end to it.

Currently from the convent of Our. Sra. De Gracia and the church are only left some impressive facades and ruins. But it is worth visiting it closer and seeing it for yourself.

From the urban convent of 1613, which today houses the Hotel & Restaurant The Convent***, remains the standing church building (no roof, no altar, no bell, but with intact chapels and part of the original paintings), the well of the cloister, and numerous remains of walls and paving, who have been rehabilitated to become part of the current complex.

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• We focus on sustainable tourism with the environment, surroundings and our culture.
• We focus on quality tourism, without losing the essence that characterizes us, which is the family atmosphere and our staff.
• We believe in a slow way of life, quiet and away from stress. We are aware that the Matarranya is a privileged place for it, and so we try to make our guests feel this way.
• We are committed to reconciling work and family life. We incorporate visits and hospitality students in practice.
• We believe in the Convent, in the enthusiasm for which we live our adventure and the illusion that we have in our project. This is what we like to transmit to our visitors.

Work with us: If you want to embark on this company, in a dynamic and friendly environment, please send your CV to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are a family from the Matarraña that in the year 1999 decided to change the destiny of their lives and embark on a new and perilous adventure. To open the doors of this unique building and share it with all those travelers wanting to discover the charms of a wonderful area like this region.

To do this we had a family home with more than four centuries of history, many ideas and above all illusion. A lot of illusion.

We got down to work, and after much effort and determination, we managed to convert the old stone walls into amazing architectural winks that, today, have become watchwords of this great project. We were able to convert the forgotten remains of a church in a daring glazed patio that has returned to life their bows and chapels!

The convent, built in 1613, was destroyed by the confiscation of the nineteenth century, and with changes in owners also changed the use of the building.Its stones entered a spiral of decline... After many decades, what once were chapels of worship and presbyteries, had finished transforming into stables and corrals.

A family ancestor acquired the building shortly before the Second Republic, about 1930, to convert it into a home for their future generations. It continued this way during the rest of the twentieth century, going from grandparents to parents, and parents to childrens.

However, what the time could not be forgotten was the soul of the convent. Despite decades of being hidden the paintings and capitals, got recovered from their splendor of yesteryear.

That's how it happened that the convent reopened its footsteps in history, and was able to reveal to Mariano and Ignacia [owners] that it should come back to life.

And this is our little story. It almost just begun, and we want to be long and happy.
We are Mariano, Ignacia, Ana Marta, Elena, Sara and Diana, and The Convent is our hotel.