Have you heard of Paradores? (Hotels in Spain in general)

Member Name: pfdez

Product:	Hotels in Spain in general
Date:	27/11/01 (557 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Quality, Price

Disadvantages: Availability

You probably haven't.

Paradores is a very particular chain of hotels owned and run by the Spanish State.

These hotels have different ratings, but all have something in common, they are all located in particularly beautiful spots all over Spain and are of an extremely high quality.

Paradores were started by king Alfonso XIII at the beginning of the XX century. He was initially interested in having good hotels near some of the best hunting grounds in Spain.

The network was expanded by General Franco as part of the effort to encourage tourism to parts of Spain considered of public interest.

This means that many of the hotels are located in national parks and other protected areas where construction of private hotels is not allowed.

Other of the attractions of Paradores is that they are meant to promote the local culture. In most of them waiters wear traditional outfits and the menus provide a rich selection of traditional local dishes and wines.

I have stayed in paradores in Javea and Teruel. I have also eaten in the Parador del Teide.

In every occasion, the service was exquisite, the food fabulous, the location extremely beutiful and the prices more than reasonable.

I would like to visit as many as I can in the near future. There are more than 50, so I guess I will have to prioritise, but it is certainly an option that I would recommend to anyone willing to explore options other than the ususal resorts.

Expect to pay about £80 a night, although there are many offers and prices vary considerably. Expect a majority of Spanish guests with many other nationalities, specially in the summer.

Some of the hotels are very busy all year round so book early if you want to avoid disappointment.

If you want to find out more check out www.paradores.es

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