Anne

Hi<BR><BR>My family will be visiting Spain in the winter. Any recommendations on where to stay in Granada? There will be four of us (two teenage kids). We want a little luxury, convenience, but don't want to blow our entire budget. I hear that staying really close to the Alhambra is very pricey and not necessarily worth the markup.<BR><BR>Thanks

Maribel

Anne,<BR>The Parador on the Alhambra grounds costs 202 euros (all yr) and is the most expensive and hard to book in the network. <BR><BR>But just a 5-10 min. walk away, still on the Alhambra hill, you'll find the family friendly 4 star Alhambra Palace, a kind of grand, extravagantly pseudo Moorish structure, built at the turn of the century and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII . It has that bit of luxury you'd like but not so expensive. They have good service, public rooms that imitate the interiors of the Palacios Nazaries of the Alhambra, a nice terrace for drinks, bedrooms in the back have lovely views of downtown and the Sierra Nevada, large baths have beautiful blue and green Moorish tiles, there's handy free valet parking, immaculate housekeeping, full concierge and room service, bountiful buffet brks., nice prix fixe dinners, even an ATM behind the front desk. Plus you can take a little jitney from the Alhambra to downtown-departs every 15 min.<BR><BR>Only one caveat: be sure to request a rm in back rather than an unrenovated one in the turret facing the front entrance. I think they do have family sized suites. High season doubles run as much as 150 euros, I believe. Winter rates should be less, maybe 115-120?.<BR><BR>We've enjoyed staying there very much. We never seem to be able to snag a rm at the Parador for a big splurge (stayed there once, long ago) but still love spending the night on the Alhambra hill, so the Ahambra Palace is a nice compromise. <BR> <BR>www.h-alhambrapalace.es/<BR><BR>You can sometimes find a discount through Expedia, Travelocity or Travelhero.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR>

Maribel

Hi Anne,<BR>Seems the winter rate on Expedia is $140 double. I think you can do better than that by contacting the Alhambra Palace directly.

Nick

You could also try La Posada Morisca, for which we get many favourable reviews, although it is 108Eu per room.<BR><BR>http://www.innsofspain.com/hotelview.asp?hotelid=1145<BR><BR>Nick.<BR><BR>

Linda

Four of us stayed at the Hotel Macia Plaza in Granada in April. It is a great hotel-clean and modern-right on the Plaza Nueva. It is very handy for the buses to the Alhambra and the Albaicin. We paid 62.5 euros plus tax for our room. For 5 euros we had our best breakfast in Spain-an expanded continental buffet including ham, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and all you can drink brewed coffee! Be sure to take the little bus up to the San Nicolas mirador at sunset for a wonderful view of the Alhambra, and some good people-watching.

Linda

That was 62.5 euros per room-we had two rooms. However, a double with an extra bed is 83.5 euros plus tax.