We are booked in for 2 nights in December at the Parador Aiguablava Has anyone stayed here before? Comments on room and food?

Hello ngso, I have never visited Spain but I have a beautiul book of Parador's in Spain. Out of curiosity I looked up the Parador Aiguablva. It is not profiled in the main (major) part of the book but in the back under "Historical Parador's it is listed.

Parador de Aiguablava. Address: Platja d'Aiguablava, 17255 Bagur (Girona). Description: A modern purpose-built parador discreetly located in an area of coves and pine wood. Ideal for sports and relaxation.

Actually it sounds lovely.

The book I have is entitled "Historcial Parados, A Journey Through Spanish Hotels".

Out of curiosity I went onto to Google and put in the name. If you do the same you will find all kind of information about this Parador. It is sort of northeast of Barcelona. Enjoy!

You can see pictures of it in www.pardor.es.
It seems to have a beautiful location.

Thanks for the info. Just wondering if it is very isolated and how far to dinner etc at night. are the meals there good
?

We visited but did not stay at this Parador two years ago. Modern hotel with lots of glass and marble.
Rather sterile. Rooms also somewhat cold and modern and moderate in size. Hotel sits on a bluff of a small piece of land that juts out to sea. Small pool in back. Grounds limited as you are surrounded on three sides by the sea. Pretty area with lots of touristy looking restaurants etc. Lots of vacation homes in the area but the Costa Brava here does not remind me of the Costa del sol with it's endless miles of condos and hotels. Nice place to bring the family for a week at the sea during the summer.

Yes I have, but it was 1999. The location is beautiful but the hotel is modern and functional. The food there was good, but the town of Begur is not far for other choices.

There are people on this site who love the place, but when we stayed there in 2004, we did not particularly like it. It is in an absolutely beautiful location, and the facility itself is fine (although maybe a bit sterile as suggested above).

However, we were interested in exploring along the Costa Brava, and we found it tedious to get to and from. We were also unable to find any way to see the beach area below the hotel, as it seemed that all of the property in Aiguablava was private.

We also did not particularly like the menu in the restaurant, but that is a matter of personal taste as well.

For another perspective, search for posts on this site by Maribel, who is an expert on all things Spanish and who loves the place. We found almost all of her recommendations to be reliable, but we just had a different feeling about the parador.

Hi ngso -- we stayed there a year ago in May. I agree with much of what has been posted. The location is gorgeous, but also remote. The parador itself is modern and, as mentioned, a bit sterile. If anyone in your group has mobility issues you should know that parking is a bit difficult (a car is an absolute necessity in that part of Spain) If this is an issue at all, and even if not -- you will probably want to drop any luggage at the door -- you then have to somehow back around in a tiny, crowded lot (unless you are lucky enough to park up there) and park in a much lower lot and trek up to the Parador. The beach mentioned in one of the posts is public and easily accesible from this lower lot; realize that it is pretty small, but lovely. (maybe not as much in December as it was in May ;-))

Our room was modern, very comfortable. Great bathroom -- spent hours in the bathtub. Pool area has a gorgeous view. Restaurant was fine, the best part was the great prices on wonderful wine. And if you want to have more than a glass or two of wine, you really have to limit yourself to the parador -- the roads are tricky pre-drink in the daylight.

Begur is a nice town, Pals has a beautiful medieval center that is lovely to tour, many beautiful little coves and then other nice bigger beaches.

Have fun and report back!

Hello ngso:

I stayed there about 5 years ago. It was just wonderful, because of the spectacular view. I had a massive room, overlooking the sea, with a large balcony. Yes, the décor, as it is in most Paradors I have stayed in, a tad too traditional and unimaginative: Early Spanish Inquisition is my classification, but the view makes up for it. Bathroom was very large and as good as you would find in the best hotels.

I only stayed one night, after a long drive, so I did not venture into the town. I dined in the Parador. I am generally unimpressed by the standard of cuisine at the Paradors. The fish was fresh, but the cooking uninspiring. Not bad, cheap, just not great.

I would definitely stay there again. Don’t miss the wonderful gardens, just down the road.


Regards Ger

Thank you so much for all your replies We tried to find accomodation in Colliure but everything seems to be shut at this time of the year. I did find Maribels post but mas de Torrent is fairly expensive as we need 2 rooms . Our kids are 24 & 18. We may take demi pension and lunch out. Would like to try the retaurant at Emporada.
I agree about the paradors being slightly sterile but they do provide good reasonably priced accomodation in some fabulous locations. They could turn down the lighting in the dining rooms a notch or two I do recommend the parador at Ronda...room 214 has the most wonderful views.
Any ther recomendations that could be open in December?

We just got back, and agree with what was said--it is a lovely spot, if you have good weather in December. One restaurant in the area which was just a treat and fairly reasonable is Restaurant Galena Mas Comangau It was opened fairly recently by a hotelier from Barcelona and Malaga or Majorca, can't quite recall (I am going to post a general recommendation for this restaurant). Its web site is www.mascomangau.com. Have a great trip.

Given the isolation is there anywhere else that anyone would recomend? I have tried a few other places but many are closed over December. We would like to make it to Figieures to the Dali Museum .