There are recognitions that distinguish what a company does, and others that, above all, underscore how it has chosen to do so. The Regional Tourism Award for the Best Inclusive Tourism Initiative, granted to La Hospedería Bodega Nuestra Señora del Rosario, belongs to this second category. Behind the award lies a philosophy of hospitality based on an essential idea: ensuring that travel, accommodation, and the enjoyment of gastronomy become an increasingly accessible experience.
The recognition was presented on September 28, 2026, at the Parador de Sigüenza, during the II Regional Tourism Forum of Castilla-La Mancha, a gathering that brought together administrations, businesses, and professionals to reflect on sustainability, innovation, de-seasonalization, and the future of the sector.
For La Hospedería de El Provencio, the award holds special significance. Our establishment occupies the former Bodega Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a space intimately linked to the winemaking memory of the town, which today houses a four-star hotel and a fine-dining restaurant. A building born from the collective effort of generations of farmers that has evolved to become a place dedicated to accommodation, gastronomy, wine tourism, and culture.
Now, that history incorporates another fundamental value: inclusion.
The tourism of the future should not be measured solely by the quality of a room, the creativity of a kitchen, or the beauty of a destination. It must also ask how many people can truly enjoy these experiences.
This Regional Tourism Award precisely recognizes that path and confirms that accessibility and excellence are not independent concepts. They are part of the same approach to welcoming guests.
A REGIONAL TOURISM AWARD RECOGNIZING A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY OF HOSPITALITY
The Parador de Sigüenza hosted the presentation of the 2026 Regional Tourism Awards as part of the II Regional Tourism Forum of Castilla-La Mancha.
The event brought together institutional representatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals to address some of the main challenges facing the sector: innovation, sustainability, internationalization, de-seasonalization, and the creation of experiences capable of generating value in the territories.
Within the category for businesses, different areas of tourism activity were recognized. La Hospedería Bodega Nuestra Señora del Rosario received the award for the Best Inclusive Tourism Initiative.
The value of the award lies precisely in what it represents.
What does it truly mean to speak of inclusive tourism?
For years, tourism accessibility was primarily associated with the elimination of architectural barriers.
That work remains essential, but the current concept of inclusive tourism demands a much broader perspective.
A guest’s experience begins before entering their room. It involves the information they receive, the ease of understanding spaces, service processes, environmental stimuli, communication with the team, and the establishment’s ability to respond to diverse needs.
Therefore, the question should no longer be limited to whether a hotel meets certain technical requirements.
The fundamental question is another:
LA HOSPEDERÍA AND ITS COMMITMENT TO TOURISM ADAPTED FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM
One of the main pillars explaining this recognition is the work carried out by La Hospedería to address the needs of people on the autism spectrum.
In September 2026, the Government of Castilla-La Mancha highlighted the establishment as the only Autism Friendly certified hotel in the region, also noting the adaptation of its facilities and its gastronomic offerings.
It is not, therefore, an action created around an award, but rather work integrated into the way service is provided.
Understanding before adapting
To speak of autism is to speak of an extraordinarily diverse reality. Needs vary from person to person, and precisely for this reason, tourism adaptation must avoid standardized responses.
In some cases, anticipating information to reduce uncertainty may be important. In others, certain environmental stimuli can acquire special relevance. Communication or the organization of spaces can also influence the experience.
The goal is not to assume what each guest needs, but to have better tools to listen, understand, and respond with flexibility.
Here lies a fundamental difference between formally complying with accessibility and developing a true inclusive culture.
Gastronomy must also be enjoyable
This philosophy also extends to the restaurant.
Dining out involves much more than choosing a dish. It includes understanding the menu, communication with staff, the ambiance, service times, and numerous stimuli that form part of the experience.
Working on these elements allows progress towards more accessible dining without sacrificing culinary creativity or service level.
Fine dining and inclusion are not opposing worlds.
An excellent gastronomic experience must also demonstrate the ability to understand those who sit at the table.
An old winery that learned to look to the future
The Regional Tourism Award gains even greater significance when viewed through the history of the building.
In 1950, farmers from El Provencio promoted the Local Field Cooperative Nuestra Señora del Rosario, the first wine cooperative in the town.
The initiative arose from the need to work together and improve the possibilities of an activity deeply linked to the territory: vine cultivation and wine production.
The growth of the cooperative made the existing wineries insufficient. In 1955, construction began on a new winery on the site where La Hospedería is currently located.
That building became, for years, the setting for harvests and workdays. Generations of ‘provencianos’ came there to unload their harvest, making it a space with economic, but also social and emotional, value.
Recovering heritage to return it to people
When the old winery ceased to perform its original function, an opportunity arose: to give it a second life without erasing the first.
The La Hospedería project emerged from this philosophy.
The property was recovered and integrated into a hotel establishment inspired by the spirit of the ancient ‘hospederías manchegas’, connecting accommodation, dining, and wine culture.
The transformation demonstrates that preserving heritage does not only mean restoring walls or protecting a facade.
It means ensuring it regains its utility.
Today, where harvests were once received, travelers now arrive. The spaces historically related to wine are part of new experiences, and the building continues to generate memories, even though its function has changed.
The award for the Best Inclusive Tourism Initiative adds a particularly coherent interpretation to this recovery: a living heritage acquires even greater value when we ensure it can be enjoyed by more people.
FROM ACCESSIBILITY TO A BROADER VISION OF EXCELLENCE
In a four-star hotel, speaking of excellence means paying attention to details.
Rest, cleanliness, service, architecture, dining, and professionalism are essential aspects. But the contemporary traveler also values less tangible elements: personalization, authenticity, tranquility, and the ability to address specific needs.
Accessibility directly falls within this conception.
Designing information better, training staff, anticipating certain situations, or simplifying processes can be essential for some guests and, at the same time, improve the overall experience of the establishment.
Contemporary luxury also means feeling understood
There is a form of luxury that does not depend on what can be photographed.
It is arriving at an establishment and realizing that someone has previously thought about how to make our stay easier.
Finding the capacity to listen.
Receiving attention that does not feel automated.
Feeling at peace.
The sophistication of an establishment is not measured solely by what it incorporates, but also by its ability to eliminate friction.
From this perspective, inclusion and tourism quality cease to compete.
Inclusion becomes part of quality.
CASTILLA-LA MANCHA AND THE RISE OF INLAND TOURISM IN 2026
The Regional Award arrives in a favorable context for inland tourism.
Data presented by the regional government before the II Regional Tourism Forum indicated that July 2026 had been the best July in the historical series for rural tourism in Castilla-La Mancha and the second best month recorded until then. Between January and August, hotels in the region had registered more than 1.53 million travelers and 2.7 million overnight stays.
During the Forum, the capacity of tourism to generate employment and economic activity was also highlighted, especially relevant in rural territories.
But growth poses a significant challenge: converting more visitors into greater value for destinations without losing what makes them unique.
Castilla-La Mancha throughout the twelve months of the year
The regional tourism strategy is also focusing on de-seasonalization.
The campaign “Castilla-La Mancha all year round”, announced in the context of the II Forum, seeks to reinforce the community’s capacity to attract visitors throughout the 365 days.
Gastronomic tourism and wine tourism fit particularly well into this approach.
A getaway centered around a restaurant does not depend on summer.
Wine offers different experiences throughout the calendar.
Heritage endures.
Cuisine changes with the seasons.
And the tranquility that many travelers seek inland can be enjoyed precisely outside of peak demand periods.
The traveler seeks places with a story to tell
The evolution of tourism is increasing the value of unique establishments.
A comfortable room is essential, but it can be found in numerous destinations.
The same applies to a good restaurant.
Differentiation emerges when there is a story behind it that cannot be transferred elsewhere.
At La Hospedería, that story belongs to El Provencio.
The building, the cooperative past, the wine culture, the cuisine, and the work developed in accessibility are all part of a project inseparable from its location.
Traveling to understand, not just to visit
A segment of contemporary travelers seeks deeper experiences.
They want to discover local products, explore heritage, taste gastronomy linked to the destination, and have time to enjoy.
This way of traveling particularly benefits rural areas.
Its main strength is not in accumulating grand attractions, but in offering something increasingly valuable: identity, proximity, and time.
EL PROVENCIO GAINS PRESENCE ON THE REGIONAL TOURISM MAP
When a business located in a small municipality receives a Regional Tourism Award, it generates an impact that extends beyond the establishment itself.
Travelers attracted by La Hospedería also discover El Provencio and can use their stay as a starting point to explore other resources in the province of Cuenca and Castilla-La Mancha.
Gastronomy, accommodation, and wine tourism then function as gateways to the territory.
When an establishment becomes a reason for travel
Gastronomic tourism is even changing the process of destination selection.
Sometimes we no longer decide where to travel first and then look for a restaurant. An establishment, a culinary experience, or a winery can directly become the reason for our journey.
When this happens, the tourism business also acts as a promoter of its location.
The incorporation into Raíz Culinaria and the Regional Tourism Award expand this capacity for attraction and position El Provencio within two areas with great potential: gastronomy and inclusive tourism in Castilla-La Mancha.
Tourism that generates opportunities in rural areas
The II Regional Tourism Forum championed the sector as a generator of employment and an element of territorial cohesion.
This dimension is especially important in small municipalities.
The activity of a hotel and a restaurant mobilizes professionals, suppliers, products, services, and commerce. It can also contribute to preserving and disseminating heritage resources that, otherwise, would have greater difficulty finding a new function.
The opportunity for rural tourism lies precisely in generating an economy around what makes each place unique.
Not growing at the expense of identity.
Growing thanks to it.
2026: A YEAR THAT CONSOLIDATES A NEW STAGE FOR LA HOSPEDERÍA
The Regional Award for the Best Inclusive Tourism Initiative completes a particularly significant year.
The restaurant’s incorporation as an Ambassador of Raíz Culinaria recognized its gastronomic proposal. The first prize obtained by Emilio José Martínez in the National Purple Garlic Cooking Contest of Las Pedroñeras once again focused on regional cuisine and produce. And the recognition received in Sigüenza now highlights the work developed around inclusion.
These are three different milestones pointing in the same direction.
A four-star hotel that preserves the memory of an old winery.
A restaurant that interprets Castilla-La Mancha gastronomy through contemporary cuisine.
A wine tourism proposal linked to the true history of the building.
And a service model that seeks to expand the possibilities of enjoying all of this.
The award is a source of satisfaction, but also a responsibility.
Accessibility requires continuous learning, staff training, and reviewing processes to detect barriers that are not always evident.
It is not a definitive goal.
It is a commitment to continuous improvement.
CONCLUSION: OPENING DOORS MEANS ENSURING MORE PEOPLE CAN CROSS THEM
The history of La Hospedería began long before the hotel existed.
It began with farmers who decided to work together and with harvests that for years brought families from El Provencio together around a winery that eventually became part of the collective memory of the town.
Decades later, recovering that building allowed it to be given a new function without erasing the old one.
Today, it welcomes travelers interested in rest, fine dining, wine, and inland tourism.
The Regional Award for the Best Inclusive Tourism Initiative of Castilla-La Mancha adds a new dimension to this journey.
It reminds us that preserving a place also means sharing it; that the quality of an establishment is measured as much by what it offers as by the way it welcomes; and that innovating in tourism does not always mean adding more services, but also identifying and removing what prevents full enjoyment of them.
For La Hospedería, the recognition received in Sigüenza does not represent a final destination.
It represents one more reason to continue moving forward.
Because a hotel can have four stars, a restaurant can receive accolades, and a building can preserve decades of history.
But hospitality acquires its full meaning when we achieve something even more important: that every person who crosses our door feels that there is also a place designed for them.
