Parador trail vacation! Advice?
 

The other day I began my researching paradores online. Their Web site is amazing, and I'm definitely inspired to plan a honeymoon trip in late May 2010 to visit Spain and stay in these amazing hotels.

Here's what I'm thinking for the trip: the site offers rates for routes, one of which is seven-night coastal trail which includes five paradores all the way from the northeast corner of Spain down the Mediterranean coast to the southern tip of the country. Paradores included on this trail are Benicarló, Saler, Jávea, Puerto Lumbreras and Nerja. The specific trail I'm looking at is described here:
http://www.parador.es/en/cargarFicha...entificador=48

Has anyone stayed in paradores before, especially one or more of the above? How did you book your trip? I like the idea of flying into Madrid and seeing that city for a few days as well. I wonder if we should book one in Madrid for a night or two before driving to the coast as well...

Also, we're both 25 (will be 26 by May) - I see that they offer discounts for younger travelers.

I am wondering - If someone else has taken a trip similar to this one before - how did it go? What would you do to make the trip go more smoothly? How did you travel from parador to parador? Dos? Don'ts?

The prospect of this trip is very exciting, but also totally foreign. It's really special because my parents met and fell in love in south of Spain in the 1970s, so a honeymoon there would be pretty romantic.

I'd love any planning advice out there!

I love Paradors and have used them on 3 of my trips to Spain. However, I use them on a geographic basis---I pick the destinations first then see what Paradors may--OR MAY NOT--apply. Spain is large---I have done 5 trips there and still have not seen it all. I would decide what you want to see in Spain---Andalusia is my favorite region.

We stayed at several paradors in Spain, but we didn't stay at them exclusively. We stayed at paradors in Avila, Cuenca, Toledo, and Caceres. We enjoyed them all, but I do think they can be a bit cold. By "cold" I mean impersonal.

Most of the hotels for which I have really fond memories weren't the paradors. They were places like the Infanta Isabel in Segovia, Hotel San Gabriel in Ronda, and Hotel Inglaterra in Granada.

At any rate, Spain is a fabulous place to visit. Enjoy your trip!

I looked at their packages & they seem to be geared around the standard properties rather than the historic ones. Might be good value but they don't have the charm of the castles & villas. We have stayed at the Almagro, Jaen & Granada paradors fwiw.

Ian

I think you can make up a much better itinerary than the one offered, although I am a huge fan of the paradors and have stayed in quite a few, both modern and historic.

For example, you will stay at Saler but do you really want to be there, or do you want to be in Valencia? (answer: you want to be in Valencia).

Pick a region, include a parador or two, and we can help formulate an itinerary.

Just because it is a "Parador" doesn't mean that it is a historic type property. Some of them are, others not. I have stayed at the Paradores in León, Zamora, Cangas de Onís( my favorite) and Santiago de Compostela. Sorry, can't help with the area of Spain you are considering, I'm not familiar with those sites.

Forgot to say that when I stayed at several Paradores I used the 5 night card offer. I don't know if it is still offered . If they offer it you should see if it would be advantegous for your dates. You have to specify in your reservation that you are using this rate. You then buy the card on the first Parador at which you state. For some Pardores you have to pay a supplemental fee over the flat amount paid in the 5 nights card.
I have always made my reservations by e-mail directly with the individual Parador.

We stayed at the Parador in Carmona this year, and while we are happy we stayed there (historic castle/fortress), we would probably not go back and instead try to seek an alternative. We found the experience underwhelming, and would say the property needs some updating. Soundproofing between rooms is also a very, very real issue. The dinner we had at their restaurant was also disappointing considering the price paid.

The Nerja Parador is one of their older properties and has what we considered to be fairly bland rooms and chose to stay elsewhere in Nerja, and are very glad we did. We did however have a meal at their restaurant and the experience was really positive - in fact it was one of the highlight meals of our trip.

I also noticed recently that the Spanish government is embarking on a multi-million euro Parador network renovation and updating program over a few years as part of a larger initiative to boost tourism which is suffering in the current economic context.

So, to sum up, I would say that the Parador "experience" is uneven and can vary greatly from one establishment to the next.

kanadajin

Some folk find the service in Paradores, how can I say this? Rather bland and impersonal.

We have only stayed in one and that was at the Alhambra which was, at that time, apparently the most popular one of all...we booked it about a year in advance.

As I recall it is the site of a former Christian monastery so somewhat historic and we enjoyed it.

I would only caution you that some of these places are obviously enormously popular so plan on booking as far ahead as possible.

We stayed at 2 Paradors during our trip which took us from Barcelona to Sevilla (Barcelona is fabulous, you don't need a car there). We dropped the car in Sevilla and took the fast train to Madrid. We went in February which turned out to be great, but we thought if we headed south the weather would be milder. It was a good choice for us. We rented a car for the trip in between and found the driving quite easy. The roads are well marked, and good, although we did get a bit lost on our way to Alarcon. This parador was a fortress type, the building was sort of narrow, but was high, so the views were extraordinary. All the plumbing was very European modern. We were so impressed that we redid our bathroom when we got home! The dining area in Alarcon was nice, the food good enough. We also stayed at a parador in Ubeda, a sweet little town that was nice to visit. This was more of a former palace. It was under construction in the main lobby area at the time, so we missed that, but the terrace in our room opened out so I could practically touch the beautiful church next door.

We loved our trip which also included Granada, the Alhambre is unbelievable.

We found the service to be pleasant enough at both these stays, but like other readers you might want to make sure the paradors are in places you want to see, and use the internet to also check other room possibilities. But do try a couple.

I can't wait to go back and see some of the northern parts of Spain. It's a huge country.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone. Based on what you all have written so far...

- The specialty, historical sites (old monasteries, castles, etc) are better bets than the "vanilla" properties?

- To stay at the more popular sites, we need to figure this out quickly and book now.

With your help, we are narrowing this down!

To get me started, how about something like this for a seven to 10-day trip:

Granada
Seville
Malaga

Should we add more? Enough? Too much?


Since this has been so informative, I have another question or two:


If we do an all parador trip, do you recommend half-board or just breakfast? I understand now from your responses that the food isn't always stellar.

Should we be looking at other lodging options? If so, does anyone recommend other places to stay in Andalusia?

Whoa. I'll try to narrow my focus a bit and then ask about some specifics. These forums are amazing. Thanks again for all of the feedback!

I can't speak to the paradors, but I can offer itinerary advice, especially for a honeymoon: don't overdo it! Much depends on if it is 7 or 10 days, as well as the flights you get. Sevilla and Granada would be perfect for 7 days, with maybe even some day trips. Although I actually really liked Malaga, I would omit it and add somewhere else if you get 10 days. I would add a smaller place (Ronda is a great choice--though a mid-size city, it offers lots of nature access and is geographically and transportation convenient).
Check in to flights into Malaga or Sevilla and out of the other--I got good deals this year through Iberia. They have great sales.
I rented a fantastic apartment in Sevilla, so if you are interested in that kind of thing, the company was http://www.embrujodesevilla.com/.

Definitely add the Ronda Parador to your list and pay extra for the balcony room. It was the coolest hotel ever.

I think the only one that you NEED to book first is the Granada one. That one is hands down the most popular and should be locked down.

We found the food at the Paradors hit and miss.

Oh, and we loved our hotel in Seville, the Dona Maria. The hotel was nice, but the location was just completely unbeatable. It is right in the heart of where you want to be.

And one more cool thing to do on your way through Cordoba. The Arabic bath. It would be a cool honeymoon thing to do. You go in a group with your bathing suits on. We enjoyed it a lot!

http://www.hammamspain.com/cordoba/

>>>Some folk find the service in Paradores, how can I say this? Rather bland and impersonal.<<<

The reason is that Paradores are state-owned.

I agree that you should not follow a pre-fixed route but compose your own itinerary. Research the websites carefully, some Paradores are in gorgeous historical structures (my favourite is Oropesa), others are modern concrete structures. Many have spectacular locations, e.g. Toledo, others not.

In some places, the Parador is the best hotel in town and has the best location. But the Parador is not always the first choice in town. Often, Paradores are crowded by tourists from overseas and lack Spanish experience - they are soulless hotels for travellers who stay one or two nights and never come back. E.g. I know the Parador in Carmona well, but we were glad we stayed in Alcazar de la Reina, a four-star hotel whose rates are about half as much as the Parador and which is a wonderful boutique hotel with highly personalized service.

BTW, I stayed never in a Parador which had memorable food (besides the "huevos del toro" we had on Easter in the Parador of Toledo). So I would not opt for half-board.