History

When José-Cruz de Garay-Elorza returned from “the Americas”, he did not go back to his hometown of Bergara (in the Basque Country), but instead settled in La Pobla de Lillet, a small town in the Berguedà region. At the time, this was one of Catalonia’s main centres for the textile industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Shortly afterwards, along with two business partners, he established a textile factory.

He married Concepció Pujol i Morató, a native of Manlleu, and they had nine children — one of whom became our grandfather. One of his brothers, known as “Pepitu”, died young but left behind hundreds of glass plate photographs, which are now of great historical value. Many of these images are exhibited around the hotel.

One of the textile factory partners married a woman from “La Vedruna”, a large, historic farmhouse in Les Planes d’Hostoles. Through this connection, the Garay family discovered the area. A few years later (around 1900), they purchased a small plot of land on part of an old lava flow that was then located on the outskirts of the village, not far from the railway station linking Olot to Girona.

This marked the beginning of the Garay family’s story in Les Planes d’Hostoles.

Our grandfather married Petronila Torrents i Brunet, a member of a well-established family from Vilanova i la Geltrú. Two of her brothers were artists: Damià, a sculptor and poet, and Martí, a renowned painter. Works by both are displayed throughout Hotel can Garay.

Can Garay was built between 1904 and 1906, in keeping with the principles of Catalan Art Nouveau. Inside, the harmony between architecture, traditional materials and decorative arts is clearly expressed in the entrance hall and main staircase – with noble wood finishes, leaded stained-glass windows, antique light fittings and period furniture.

Outside, set in a romantic and historic garden, stands a refined pavilion tower clad in glazed ceramic tiles. A century later, in 2006, the fourth generation of the Garay family lovingly restored the property, transforming it into a small Monument Hotel filled with history, memories and art.

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