Until the year 1836, after the seizing of Mendizábal, this house belonged to clergy, being the Friar’s house and a priory house. Given its location in a beautiful spot of the Pisuerga landscape, and due to being right next to the parish church, it became a stopping place for pilgrims and a settlement for the knights of the crusades.In the 12th century, the Crown of Castile granted its unowned enclave to the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem as “priory and jurisdiction of the town of Bamba and its entrustment (Arroyo)”.

By the end of the 12th century, the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem had created a historical-artistic jewel, the Romanesque church of Arroyo, a rare example of the Romanesque style in the Valladolid province. Written details can be found from the 18th century which show this place to be a shelter for soldiers, after the Napoleonic invasion. Historical events which happened in this house on the night of 8th December 1811, a squad of French forces arrived in the town and found the Priory House. Believing that they were going to find the famous guerrilla fighter Victoriano Diez “Chagarito” and three of his men there, they opened fire on the house, reducing it to dust and took the priest Mr D Alexo Anton and the fighters, captured and naked, to the “Chancellery of Valladolid” prison.

He was tried in Valladolid after having betrayed his fellow fighters thinking that it would save his life, however, he was sentenced to death by garrotte and to be quartered, which took place on 24th December. The quarters of his body were placed along the streets on the way into Valladolid.

The rest of the fighters were freed. The ambush was aimed at capturing “Chagarito” after a tip off. The Chagarito is a famous fighter, considered by the French Captain Elzear Blaze in his Napoleonic writings to be the terror of Castile due to his sinister figure and due to being ferocious with the French. He carried out his atrocities in the outskirts of Valladolid. This fighter fought amongst the ranks of another inhabitant of Valladolid, Juan Martín, Tomas Príncipe, Leader of the Simancas cavalry.

Present dayIn 2001, the Oliveira family reconstructed the building, making it as similar as possible to the original structure, guided by the existing foundations. Original elements still remain such as the cross in the hotel’s entrance, one of the few crosses forged in the Romanesque style and parts of the original wheat mill.The paintings on the walls are Romanesque style paintings and are an allegory to Saint John of Jerusalem.