The Parador is already booked. Can anyone suggest another hotel in Ronda?

I would put San Gabriel at the top of my list following the Parador, and then La Casona de la Ciudad. Reina Victoria used to be the best in the city and still has a lot of charm but I think it has not been renovated yet. Other hotels not as fancy but still nice and acceptable are Maestranza, Polo, San Miguel, La Goyesca and Alavera.

I second San Gabriel - what a charming place.

Think you'll love the San Gabriel for its charm, intimacy, decor, warmth of the owners and the amazing value. Very sweet place. If it's booked, I'd choose the new and very stylish Casona de la Ciudad-has a kind of British country house hotel look, like right out of House Beautiful. La Maestranza seemed to me like a "W" wanna be, I think the Polo and Don Miguel are solid, more modest, budget choices. I've read good reports about the Alavera de los Banos, but it's more removed, down by the Arab baths. The aging Reina Victoria (stayed there in '70) would now be my last choice, as Pedro has mentioned, because these new properties now have far surpassed it in comfort and style.

Just a question. Who did you check with that the Parador was booked? I ask because when I started planning a trip through Spain, the US booking office for paradors told me several were already booked. Then I faxed them individualy and got into every one I wanted -- at much lower rates, incidentally. I'd never book a parador through a booking agency.

Patrick,<BR>You and I share the same approach; I never call the US booking agency, Marketing Ahead, but instead, I just call, fax or email the individual Paradors directly. Their email addresses are simply their location + parador.es.<BR>Tom, you might want to email [email protected]<BR>just to make sure.

I stayed at the hotel Don Miguel in October and it was wonderful. It's literally a stones throw just across the street from the parador and 1/2 the price. I had a room with a balcony overlooking the gorge and bridge - what a view! The rooms were immaculate.<BR><BR>There's also a restaurant on site with the same view. I had read rave reviews about it and the food was good, however the service was not - may have just been a bad day.

I stayed at "Molino del Santo" which is a 10-15 min drive from Ronda in Benaojan on the way to the caves. It was the best part of my Spain trip. It is like a village hotel with the mountain as your backdrop. There is also a stream running beside it. Do a search, I'm sure you'll love it.

I also stayed at the hotel Don Miguel in March 2000. We had a nice room that opened to the gorge. The view is one the most impressive we have had in any hotel in Europe. The bathroom was large, new and had a tub. Great value at about $65. The hotel is not luxurious, but the view was more than worth it. Ronda was fantastic, you'll have a great time regardless of where you stay.

Our favorite hotel of a 2 week trip through spain in March 2000 was at the Alavera de los banos in Ronda: our room was small but charming, with a view of a rolling hill studded with sheep. The owners were helpful but not intrusive and the meals were fabulous: The breakfast seemed wildly generous: fresh oj, fruits, cheeses, meats, and home made bread with jam. It's not more than a 5 minute ride from the train station, though if you don't speak Spanish, using the phone to call for a taxi can be a challenge. We finally had a native Spanish speaker call for us- well worth the effort to get to this lovely hotel.

hi<BR>we are booked in reina victoria in late sept. and we only did so after checking their site which says that the hotel has been completely renovated in 2001.<BR>check it out at www.husa.es