My husband and I are traveling to Spain in October. We will be spending a couple of days in San Sebastian then the last part of the trip in Madrid. We have two days in between that we would like to spend in a Parador. I am a wine fanatic and my husband wants something "village-y" with some natural beauty. Maybe mountains or hills to take nice long hikes (and to bring a nice bottle of wine!!). I have been looking around on the web at the Paradores and they all seem lovely, making our decision very difficult. Does anyone know of a Parador that fits these criteria that is not too far out of the way from our previously scheduled stops? We will be renting a car and wouldn't mind something around a 3 hour drive each way. We are not concerned with budget for this.

Is there a reason why you have to stay in a Parador? There are many other properties that are historical, luxurious and just as nice as Paradors.

If you follow the typical route, you will pass through Vitoria-Gastiz and Lerma, both of which have excellent Paradors. The one outside of Vitoria just reopened. The Parador in Lerma is only a two hour drive from Madrid, but perfect for exploring the area.

If you'd like to get off the main road and drive through Navarra's wine region and the Rioja, then there are two Paradors in the Rioja and an excellent one in Soria, but as CathyM mentions, there are a number of other great properties between San Sebastian-Donostia and Madrid.

I back Robert´s opinion on Lerma´s Parador, a beautiful town with the Parador on top of the hill, good wines (not Rioja, Ribera del Duero) and at a very short distance from the main route to Madrid. Perfect place for roasted lamb...

http://www.parador.es/es/tratarFicha...do?parador=110

The Parador at Lerma looks beautiful, I will definitely look into it.

CathyM...there are no reasons that I was looking at Paradors other than there very easy search tool and what I have heard is a pretty consistent quality. If there are other hotels or historical sites that you would recommend, I would love to consider those as well.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

I just realized that I had underestimated the total time from San Sebastian to Madrid. We might have to increase the time on the road a bit because we don't mind going "off the beaten path" since this will be our respite between big cities. Let's say max 5 hours each leg of the trip. Does this change your suggestions?

Not at all. I would do both Soria and Lerma, but start with the Parador in Olite so you could explore the wine route in Navarra.

I can't believe I forgot Olite - I was just there in September! This is a great little village with several small bodegas - you can even walk to some of them. The only issue you may have with visiting depends on when your trip is in October. We visited in mid-September and the wine harvest had just started. Since these are small operations they don't have the resources to do tours during the wine harvest. But we were able to do tastings. The parador in Olite was once the castle of the Navarese kings - very neat place to stay. Alternatively, my favorite place to stay in Olite is La Joyosa Guarda. It's in an historic building and relatively new hotel. There are less rooms than in the parador so I like the more intimate feel. The owners are very welcoming. Our breakfast was included in the room rate and was quite good.

http://www.olite.com.es/
http://www.lajoyosaguarda.com/hoteles-en-olite.html

Of course, you could always head to the Rioja area. It's about 2 hours from San Sebastian and then another 4 hours on to Madrid. You could easily spend a couple of nights in Laguardia, Labistida, Briones, Elciego...to name a few.

Have you seen Maribel's guides? She has excellent information on the Rioja regions. Also add the beginning of her Rioja guide is information on Lerma and the Ribera del Duero.

http://www.maribelsguides.com/

This website may be of help also, www.nekatur.net, for quality rural lodgings, at very good prices, in the Basque Country.

If not concerned with budget, you should also take into consideration the spectacular Frank Gehry (Guggenheim) designed Hotel Márquez de Riscal in Elciego, "The city of wine", close to Logroño.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury...ropertyID=1539
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tra...icle624119.ece

I agree that Paradores are not the ONLY option, however they are reliable, and offer great promotions , for Seniors and actually many other promotions. The Parador in Olite for instance if a very nice place, as most of them. They vary, if you go to their website parador.es you can see for yourselves. In most Paradores there is the option of a superior room for very little.
Usually I am for private owned places but Paradores are really very nice and the Spanish Goverment is to be congratulated for them.
Given the option in most cases we have opted for the Parador and never regret it.

Thank you all for the wealth of resources to look through. I had not seen Maribel's guides before and they seem very helpful. I have quite a bit of research to do (as well as quite a bit of time before we go).

The only other area that my reading has lead me to consider is Cantabria (Santillana). This would reroute us outside of the Rioja region, but would still keep us within close driving range to Madrid. Does anyone have a second to give me the pros and cons of visiting Rioja vs. Cantabria and vice versa?

Thank you again!

We stayed overnight in Santiallana del Mar in the parador. It was our only bad experience ever in a parador( rooms needed redecorating, food mediocre, higest prices of the whole trip). The town is cute, but touristy. We much preferred the town of Comillas nearby.

If you are willing to go a bit past Cantabria, into Asturias, I highly recommend the Parador in Cangas de Onís , in the Picos de Europa area.

In Cantabria I have heard good things about the Parador in Limpias, between Bilbao and Santander.

I think we are sold at staying in the Hondarribia Parador near San Sebastian while we are there. It has too much character to pass up! For the time in between San Sebastian and Madrid we are leaning towards Cangas de Onis or Olite, but it seems that our trip could fall right at harvest time, which it seems would limit quite a bit of the Bodega "hopping".

HappyTrvlr - that is good to know about Santiallana, this is the type of info I am hoping for as based on the Parador web site they all look beautiful.

Cruiseluv - What did you like about the Cangas de Onis? The activities section on the web site lists so many hikes and outdoor activities that I think we are swaying towards this one. The drive along the coast and into the Picos from San Sebastian could be nice as well.

Also, I have noticed that the Paradores have fixed rate prices available that don't come with breakfast, does anyone have any idea how much breakfast and dinner at the Paradores runs typically? I know it is probably different depending on the location. A range would be helpful.

Thanks to all for the help! I know I am way ahead of the game on planning but I am trying to book early to ensure we can get our top picks for hotels.

HeaAndrews,


Cangas de Onis is one of the gateways to the Picos de Europa.

I stayed 2 nights at the Parador in Cangas. I didn't have a car. So the first day I just walked to town (10-15 mins walk from the Parador) , walked around, saw the bridge, had something to eat. The next day I went back to town and took the ALSA bus up to the Lakes or Enol and Ercina, up in the mountains. I was very lucky to have a cloudless day. Once there I walked on some trails between the lakes and enjoyed the scenery. On the way down by bus I stopped at the Santuary of the Virgin of Covadonga, the Patron saint of Asturias.

There are many trails/ walks that you can do from the Cangas area, however, I am not sure how good is October for that. Maybe there is already snow in the area? I was there in the summer.

Regarding cost of meals... typically breakfast is around 10-12 euros. Dinner in the restaurant is not cheap, but not outrageous. What you would pay at a nice restaurant , maybe around 30-40 euros per person?


If you decide to come to this Parador , ask for a room in the old section (I believe they call it "Zona Monasterio"). I had a lovely room , overlooking the gardens and the River Sella. The hotel has a modern annex where many of the rooms face the parking lot.

Lucky you to b able to get into the parador in Hondarribia! It has so few rooms and hard to get a reservation. On the outside it doe not look impressive but what a surprise once inside.I walked up a pretty but steep street up tp the parador,went inside-very gracious at the desk, they let me wander around and then I went around to the other side -what a fabuluos view and walked down into the town.I passed Hondarribia's tiny tourist office with great posters/ postcards and maps.
The breakfasts at the paradores are wonderful-take your time and indulge! I think they run about 20 € but worth it.

The Parador in Hondarribia doesn't have a restaurant, so I'm not sure how good their breakfast will be. The one in Olite has a great buffet spread, as do most of the other Paradors in the system, but unless you're really hungry, or eating late in the morning, a brunch more or less, it's hard to justify the cost any more.

I know you all are going to think I'm crazy, but I went ahead and booked for October! I had a fear of not getting the exact room I wanted at the exact rate I wanted. Can you tell I am excited for the trip?

My husband actually ended up deciding the winning Parador and that was La Granja...rural enough to enjoy the countryside, but with Segovia close enough to keep us entertained for two days. This presents an interesting transportation decision though, so I thought I would query all of you who obviously know the region very well.

We have up to now planned on renting a car, but with Segovia being only 11km away from La Granja, a train or a bus has become an option as well. This becomes a conundrum in that I had been planning on doing lunch at Etxebarri in Axtondo for on our trip in between Hondarribia and La Granja. So a few of questions: can you take a taxi or bus to Axtondo from Hodarribia or San Sebastian? I have not been able to find any indication on-line that this is the case. Also, if we were to arrive at the Train station or bus station in Segovia, how would we get to the Parador in La Granja? Taxi? Is renting a car my best bet?

Thank in advance for your help!