I have a great book on Paradors in Spain, but all they give is a fax number. Does anyone know of internet access for reservations. Thanks again.

Hi, Merriem, <BR>Go to http://www.parador.es/cgi-bin/en

If the internet reservations, or the 800 number tell you a parador is full, don't give up. We've found that faxing paradors directly resulted in rooms at paradors that the internet and 800 number declared full.

Hi Merriem: <BR> <BR>I agree with Marija. <BR> <BR>In fact, depending upon the time of you you go, you can sometimes just walk up to the front desk and ask if there is a room. <BR> <BR>I've stayed at a few of them and found them most enjoyable.

Once you get your confirmation, please note that you have to show up or call by the check out time at the bottom or they will cancel your reservation. This is not at all clear from the confirmation form!

Well, I tried the email address to book three individual nights at three different paradors -- Leon, Santiago, and Ronda. I got back a response that said "we have availability for two nights and expect our price to be. . ." can't believe the price is for all three, and have no idea what two nights they are talking about, or which parador. Do I try again, or must you communicate in Spanish with their email address??

Merriem and Patrick---- you can contact the Paradors directly by typing the name of the city + @parador.es. That is: [email protected] <BR> [email protected] <BR> [email protected] <BR> <BR>You could confirm/check the reservations individually. Better safe than sorry... <BR> <BR>

There are several reservation systems like this that seem to give a "too-generic" answer (for example, Logis de France), and I think that you can get additional peace of mind by sending a fax to each property, saying something like: <BR> <BR>This fax is a confirmation of the Internet reservation I made for DD/MM/YY. Can you please confirm by return fax to me the rate for this reservation? <BR> <BR>ANY reliable Parador will reply to you by fax, and there will be no problem with them understanding this much English. They MIGHT answer you in Spanish, but you will be able to understand it, almost surely. <BR> <BR>The "general map" of www.parador.es is admittedly, NOT very user-friendly. But if you're going to these places, you need to know the geography anyhow. I looked up the three locations you mentioned and got the three fax numbers, just to see if I knew my geography well enough. Just looking at the picture for Ronda makes me salivate to go back there again! <BR> <BR>Here's the fax numbers: <BR> <BR>Ronda: (34) 95 287 81 88 <BR>Santiago: (34) 981 56 30 94 <BR>Leon: (34) 987 23 34 58 <BR> <BR>There are also individual e-mail addresses, but you don't really know if the answers will be generated at the central information office or at the individual property. Still, what could it hurt to try? <BR> <BR>[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] <BR> <BR>Feel free to write me if I can help you further in any other way. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Just an update. Today I received a fax from the paradors in Spain. They clearly confirmed a reservation for me in Leon (21.500) and in Ronda (18.500). But they informed me that the one in Santiago is fully booked for my date: September 13 (Wednesday) 2000. <BR>I tried calling the New York booking office and was told there was availability at Santiago, for $235 per night. I asked prices for the other two and found that they charge between $55 and $70 more per night than directly with the paradors, and they will only let me book if I do three nights with them (at up to three separate places).In any case, i am now faxing Santiago directly to see what I can find there. And trying when I get there is not an option. I am not fond of driving around after the 4:00 deadline looking for another place to stay if they don't have space. <BR>Thanks for all the help, everyone. Will keep you posted.

These are 800 numbers I have for parador bookings in the USA: <BR> <BR>1800 2231356 <BR>1800 3430020 <BR>1800 6341188 <BR>18008771525 <BR> <BR>There is a number to call in Spain to make bookings for the Alhambra ( I think I may have posted that there is a no in USA but that was a mistake) <BR>(34) 902 224 460 <BR>

A futher update on my dealing with Paradors. I finally contacted the one at Santiago directly by email and have been confirmed at a rate of 26.500 per night (about $160 US), a lot better than the $235 price offered by the New York agency I called. The bottom line is if you don't mind what you pay then book here in the US, otherwise go direct. Oh yes, you might have noticed that the Spanish central reservation office said that there was no availability at Santiago for that date, but dealing direct got me a room. I have usually found that it costs more to book just about any hotel in Europe, especially the small ones through a US office than by dealing directly with the hotel.

Hi Rex and others: we're renting a house halfway between Granada and Motril for 2 weeks in March. I thought maybe we'd drive to Ronda for an overnight and looked at the paradors website for Ronda. It didn't captivate me. The andalucia.com site had 3 inns that looked more interesting: Alavera de Los Banos, right in Ronda; Molino del Santo and Hotel la Fuente de la Higuera, both right outside Ronda. Any thoughts about where to stay? Thanks - this forum is great resource. <BR>

Gail, Are you kidding? We haven't been to Ronda since 1970, but the gorge is breathtaking and the town is interesting. The only place we are returning to in Spain next year is Ronda, and primarily to stay at the parador there perched on that gorge. I have been told by many people that it is one of the nicest of all the paradors in Spain. Why wouldn't you want to stay there??