I overlooked mentioning the Parador in Nerja. The building itself has no character but the rooms were updated a few years ago. It has a lovely garden and an elevator down to the Burriana beach. ( I don't know of any hotels at Burriana.)

The Hotel Carabeo is perfectly located. Have you heard back about the street construction? I know it will be suspended during the tourist season but don't know how far into September that goes.

I agree with Ian that the Paraiso is lovely. If you are interested in Burriana beach the Parador would be a better choice because of the elevator. If not, I would choose the Paraiso.

I hope your mother is doing okay and your plans are coming together.

i had forgotten about the paraiso. very nice grounds and a good location.

judi, there is at least one hotel in burriana...it's just up the hill directly behind the strip of restaurants....about a million stairs to climb. but i also mentioned it if they decided to stay in a flat or villa as there is a huge supply of them in this area and it is very popular (for some strange reason).

I just noticed Hotel Carabeo is closed until mid-April so I probably won't hear back! Grrrrr
So maybe we'll splurge at Paraiso del Mar.
Walkinaround/Judi/Ian--is Paraiso on Burriana Beach? I'm not crazy about the comments "isolated and hilly" and would stay away from that. The pictures of Paraiso look wonderful but your comments are more compelling as to how grand it is.
Ian--wonderful and helpful trip report. Still taking notes.

Maribel: I haven't gotten a car reservation yet. Our plan is Barcelona 5 days, plane to Seville. Pick up a car in Seville going to Ronda(2 nights), Nerja (2), and Granada (2 nights). I wonder if it is less expensive to drive or fly to Madrid from Granada. I'll have to check that. I don't mind driving but hate the idea of a car sitting in Granada for 2 days and not using it. Spanair might be the ticket!

Yes, walkinaround, I do remember that hotel halfway up the hill. I never hear anything about it; I wonder if they only do package holidays.

abynrm, the east side of Nerja is on a cliff so the beach is accessed by a bunch of stairs from the Paraiso. The Parador's elevator to the beach is only for guests of the hotel. If you do a google image search of Nerja you can see what I mean.

I admit to being prejudiced (and I have been to Ronda) but I question your allocating the same amount of nights for Ronda and Nerja. What are your plans for two nights in Ronda?

abynrm

See this picture:
http://tinyurl.com/325aor

The Parador's elevator is on the right & the Paraiso's stairs (141 of them) are on the left with the Paraiso above. There are landings on the way up & down so you can take the climb slowly.

The Parador has larger grounds & more rooms + a restaurant. It is set back a lot more from the headland than the Paraiso but both overlook Burriana. The Paraiso is much smaller & intimate. There is a condo on the other side of it.

Ian

abynrm...to be clear, Parador and Paraiso are both on the fringes of town on top of the cliff so both are a very easy, flat walk into town (e.g. balcon area). perhaps 5 mintutes. nerja is positioned on top of a cliff. burriana is at the bottom of the cliff off to the east of town. there are a few small beaches just below town that are accessed via stairways. the town gradually flattens down to the beach so hotels on the western end of town (e.g. rui monica area) are located directly on the beach level.

as far as beaches go, burriana is the best one in town. i would say that the beaches in front of the western hotels are the roughest. it's worth noting that there are a couple of good fish shacks on the beach west of the western hotels...just keep walking and you'll see them.

i THINK that the paraiso stairs down to the beach might be closed but i'm not sure. the paved walk that winds from burriana to the beaches just below the centre of town is definitely closed due to erosion....probably permanently unless major work is done. this means that the only way between burriana and balcon area (or the parador/paraiso area) is via the paved switchback trail near the parador or up the parador lift. nerja maps still show the beach level trail as open but it most definitely not. this gives a false impression that it's a very easy flat stroll to get between burriana and town.

it should be noted that the parador lift has been out of order almost every time i've seen it (several times). and it is only for hotel guests.

hope this helps.

ian and walkinaround, thank you so much for the information. I have written Paraiso for reservations with the knowledge that we will be in an area where we can relax and do some sightseeing. I really appreciated your detail of the beach and what the place feels like.
More questions on a new post I'm sure!

Be aware that not all the rooms at Paraiso face the sea.

abynrml2106,
I would go with the cheap Spanair ticket.
Absolutely no reason to pay for a car in a garage in Granada for 2 days. The little red Alhambra minibus system works well and takes you to and from the Alhambra from downtown and up and around the Albayzín.

I second the Hotel Reina Cristina, you pull up outside the hotel, they help you unload and then they park the car for you.

In Ronda, the parador is wonderful, try to get room 13 on the ground floor - 2 sided balcony with wonderful views.

I noticed you orignally wrote:

Barcelona 5 days, plane to Seville. Pick up a car in Seville going to Ronda(2 nights), Nerja (2), and Granada (2 nights)

If you can rearrange this way:

Barcelona 5 days, plane to Granada. Pick up a car in Granada (after stay) going to Nerja(2 nights), Ronda(2), and drop off car in Sevilla (2 nights).

Then you can AVE train from Sevilla to Madrid and avoid all the airport procedure hassles and cattle class seats.

A few more comments that may be helpful:
I stayed at the Parador in Nerja last year, and it is good value for the price, especially if you can get the GOLDEN DAYS seniors discount.
in Grananda, please consider the hotel Los Migueletes: fantastic!
Good luck!

I had thought most people would stop reading this thread and haven't checked it daily. Sorry. Now that all my flights are reserved I can't change them without cost but I'd agree with gregg. I shoud have flown to Granada from BCN and taken the trip the other way. Oh well.
We do have 2 nights in Nerja at the Paraiso with a sea view thanks to many of your posts about it.

Just returned from a trip to Granada (March 19-21 2008) and stayed at the Hotel Aben Humeya which was close to the Cathedral (10min walking distance) and to the tea houses. Don´t miss the tea houses- you will get a taste of the moroccon influence in this tiny alley way and the souveniors and teas are better than those sold outside the cathedral.

bookmarking thank you

This post is almost four years old, many things have changed since then, and it may need an update.