This is the second Parador I stayed in while in Spain. As it is another Parador, my review will be very similar to my review of another Parador I posted, because the pros and cons are the same. The hotel, a former palace, is just beautiful, with several very large common sitting rooms on the ground level. My room was great - large and comfortable, with a beautiful, updated, and well-appointed and well-functioning bathroom. There is a large stone veranda off the dining area on the ground level, which could be a wonderful place to sit for an drink outside. All that being said, here are the problems I have with this Parador in particular, and other Paradors (government-owned and -run hotels) in general: It is run like, and reminds me of, the old hotels I used to stay in the Soviet Union. The beautiful outdoor area was closed for no explicable reason. Not tables to sit at on a beautiful day when you want to be outside. The television (in both Paradors) didn't work. The bartender in the bar was overworked, doing two jobs from what I saw, and wasn't always at the bar to serve us. He was working alone, and had to work the bar and serve the diners in the dining room. Getting a drink was impossible. Dinner was in a beautiful, large dining room; but the lights - all the lights - were all turned up to a violently high level, so it was like eating in a warehouse. The server told me the lights couldn't be dimmed, they just turn on or off. The food service and presentation was better here than the other Parador, but not by much. Breakfast is not available until 8:00 am, so if you have an early departure, you can forget about breakfast or even coffee. Yes, you can't even get coffee until 8:00. It was clear that the hotel is understaffed and the ones that were working were doing double, even triple duty. I can't complain about them, I felt bad for their huge work load. They looked exhausted, but made an effort to be cheerful and helpful. The general feeling I had of the hotel was apathy for the guests and their needs. ”Do just enough to keep the place running.” Lastly, this hotel is not close to town. We were told it was a 30 minute walk, but it was more like 45 minutes. The hotel offers no shuttle service to the town and back. This hotel is beautiful and has so much potential. It could be a marvelous hotel with just a few changes and a little more effort. But like the USSR, attention to detail, servicing the guests and their needs beyond their room is non-existent.
