Our history’s charm
The house and the families of La Laguna
From the 16th century to the present day
Our history dates back to the XVI century, a period in which there must have been a house belonging to the Ponte family, as Pedro de Ponte – great-grandson of the founder of Garachico – when listing the assets of the old Mayorazgo founded by his grandfather, mentions the main houses that his parents owned in Plaza San Miguel de los Ángeles in La Laguna.
After several events, including the foundation of the house as a casino, the future hotel was owned by Juan del Hoyo-Solórzano and Peraza de Ayala, mayor of La Laguna from 1865 to 1868.
When he passed away, the house was inherited by his niece, the Marchioness of Celada due to her marriage to the XV Marquis, Don Ángel Benítez de Lugo y Cólogan (1883-1928), who was mayor of La Laguna and Gentleman of the Chamber with exercises of King Alfonso XIII – a family that from then on moved to live in La Laguna, from La Orotava, where they had resided since the first conquest of the island.
His son, the XVI Marquis of Celada, upon marrying Doña María de Ascanio y Poggio, moved to live in this house, which he renovated and enlarged, and where he lived with his family. The XVII Marquis of Celada, Don Diego Benítez de Lugo y Ascanio, turned it into a hotel that is currently owned by his daughters.
Historical shields
Saved from the flames
The house has been completely rebuilt, only the main body of the façade – of three floors, with mezzanine, entrance and central windows framed in stonework and stone corners – has been preserved, and inside it only retains the two-section stone staircase on the right of the entrance.
In the hotel lobby, there are two magnificent coats of arms carved in stone that come from the façade of the palace of the Marquises of Celada in La Orotava, which was devastated by a fire in which only the stone facade of the palace remained standing, with the coats of arms on each of the corners at the height of the second floor.
When the façade of the palace was demolished, the coats of arms were moved to our hotel by the XVI Marquis of Celada in the mid-1940s. They display the coats of arms of each of the spouses who built the palace in La Orotava. One displays Lugo, Pierres, Señorino (ancient arms of Lugo) and Llanera, and the other displays Vergara, Alzola, and Hoyo-Solórzano.