Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon provided funds in 1499 for a hospital and pilgrim hostel. Enrique Egas oversaw the project, with masons, engineers and sculptors drawn from across Europe. Construction began in 1501 and took over ten years, and the infobox gives 1511. Charles V completed the Obradoiro square in 1526. The front facade is Plateresque, and the article gives no further style label for the building. It has four colonnaded courtyards, two of the 16th century with fountains and two of the 19th, and its Baroque courtyards were added in a later remodeling.
The building was a state-run hospital and pilgrim hostel for about four centuries. Franco inaugurated it as a luxury hotel on July 24, 1954, and it joined the Paradores network in 1986.
It is a five-star hotel with 137 rooms. The first ten pilgrims who prove they completed the Way of St. James receive free meals.
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