I am pleased to be joined with some in my enthusiasm for Paradores. We had wonderful stays some with a view as Ian mentions in Jaen, others looking only at a square , but what a Parador this was in Ubeda, the Parador was the Bishop's renaissance palace, and so forth....I guess Spain is already established as a prime tourist destination and the Government does not need anymore to promote tourism by way of subsidizing Paradores. I am glad for Spain because we all know that the Government is not an ideal manager, not in Spain, not here, not anywhere...maybe I would not be able to afford Paradores anymore but I am glad for them.

My only complaint about the Parador system is that several years ago they commissioned an architectural firm to modernize many of them to make them more "appealing" to some and did not retain much of their medieval charm.

Alarcon, for instance has been is the one I am most familiar with . We were just there the other day.. and every time I go it saddens me that, although it is still a beautiful place because the building itself, and the setting are amazing.

1) they removed a healthy fig tree in the patio so now there is no natural shade

2) they removed ALL the original medieval coats of armor, flags, swords, etc. from the walls and put up a modern tapestry they designed

3) they removed the wooden carved banister from the three floors of balconies surrounding the patio and put glass instead.

If you had never been there before, you wouldn't be taken aback, but I still don't understand why they accepted this type of renovation over an authentic one.

I hope the Institution received many hundreds more letters of complaint and disagreement than mine and this type of renovation does not take place again unless absolutely necessary in an historic building.

Hi lin..., I am sad too. I recall de Parador of Alarcon very well, it was probably one of the first Paradores styed in. How is this possible>?
You are totally right, new trends without control or sense of tradition can be very dangerous.
It has happened again and again, how many beautiful buildings all over the world have had their
facades and even more elements changed to follow a new style. Although in this case,for what I understand , the changes have been mostly inside the lack of common sense seems to be the same.

Luckily i have photos of me and my family in that quaint patio with the fig tree and the wooden balconies. It had so much more personality before.

Of course they haven't touched the stone walls!

That is a relieve. LOL

Thank you very much for all the wonderful feedback -- yes, the Granada site is already booked for next year, but I will check out Ronda and Arca sites. Trip planning is one of my favorite pastimes!

Didn't have time to read thru all the replies, so I am sure this is just repeat of above. We stayed in the parador in Ronda fairly recently. The photo off the balcony of our room is still my screen saver on my phone - and we didn't have the bridge view. Rooms were great, breakfast was okay, front desk was government-employee-esque, bar was nice - can get a glass of wine and sit out and look at the bridge. Several good restaurants within walking distance, bull ring in the same street about a block away.