Fodor's Expert Review Los Mandarinos Boutique Spa and Hotel

This attractive hotel and spa, built in the Tuscan style—stone walls, arched doorways, and barrel-tile roofs—has some of the nicest rooms in El Valle. In a pastoral setting at the foot of Cerro Gaital, the rooms are spacious and nicely decorated, but the architects went overboard on the small Tuscan windows, which shortchange guests on the views. Spring for a superior or deluxe room, which have bigger windows. All rooms have the same amenities as the country's top hotels. The lawns and pool are lovely, and the "Irish Pub," which doubles as a restaurant, has tables outside, though the best restaurant in town—La Casa de Lourdes—is next door. The spa has an array of treatments, and a Jacuzzi and sundeck on the roof. A 2013 expansion included new guest rooms, a second heated swimming pool, and a second restaurant, which serves paella and tapas.