Recommended Hotels

The following hotels and other types of accommodation in towns, cities and resorts throughout Spain are listed alphabetically. It is best to reserve well in advance, particularly if you will be visiting in the high season – which can vary from destination to destination and often coincides with important fiestas.

Prices do not normally include breakfast or IVA, the 10 percent value added tax. The symbols are an approximate guide to indicate the price for a double room with bath or shower in the high season. Low season rates can be considerably lower. It is sometimes possible to negotiate special deals or weekend rates.

€€€€€ over 300 euros

€€€€ 180–300 euros

€€€ 120–180 euros

€€ 90–120 euros

€ 50–90 euros

Avila

Palacio de los Velada €€ Plaza de la Catedral, 10, tel: 920 255 100, www.hotelpalaciodelosvelada.com. In the heart of the city, just a few metres from the cathedral, this 16th-century palace has been carefully restored and converted into a beautiful hotel. Each of the 144 rooms is individually decorated. The restaurant boasts a spectacular courtyard.

Barcelona

Astoria €€€€ París 203, tel: 932 098 311, www.hotelastoria.es. A member of the Derby hotel chain, this is a sophisticated and quiet establishment a few paces from prime shopping territory on Diagonal. Built in the 1950s, the Astoria has been refurbished and is very elegant. Some of the 144 rooms have small sitting rooms or garden terraces. Restaurant, bar and rooftop pool and terrace.

Condes de Barcelona €€€€€ Passeig de Gracia 73, tel: 934 450 000, www.condesdebarcelona.com. Just a block away from Gaudí’s La Pedrera, this popular hotel occupies two former palaces. The 235 rooms are large, modern and elegant – ask for one with a Jacuzzi. A favourite of architects, designers, and European and Japanese tourists.

Mesón Castilla Atiram €€€ Valldonzella 5, tel: 933 182 182, www.atiramhotels.com. A quiet, dignified hotel with 60 rooms, located on the Plaça Castilla just 100m/yards or so from the Plaça Catalunya. Elegant public rooms and a private garage.

Sant Agustí €€ Plaça Sant Agustí 3, tel: 933 181 658, www.hotelsa.com. Supposedly the oldest hotel in the city, founded in 1840, in a pretty little square near La Rambla. 75 rooms.

Serhs Rivoli Ramblas €€€€ La Rambla 128, tel: 933 481 7676, www.hotelserhsrivolirambla.com. A busy townhouse hotel on La Rambla, with the never-ending parade just beyond the front door. Smallish, well-equipped, sound-proofed rooms have a combination of art deco and avant-garde style. Great views from the terrace, where there is also a fitness centre, sauna and solarium. 125 rooms.

Silken Gran Hotel Havana €€€€€ Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 647, tel: 933 417 000, www.granhotelhavana.com. Founded in a charming house that dates from 1882, this was enlarged and turned into a deluxe hotel. It has an unusually shaped central atrium and a panoramic terrace with outdoor pool. The rooms and suites are modern and well-furnished. There is also 24-hour room service. 145 rooms.

Bilbao

López de Haro €€€€ Obispo Orueta 2, tel: 944 235 500, www.hotellopezdeharo.com. One of Bilbao’s top hotels, located in a renovated 19th-century structure, combines a classical style with every latest facility. The hotel has 53 rooms, a champagne bar and a fine restaurant, and is situated in the city centre, close to the Guggenheim Museum.

Carmona

Casa Palacio de Carmona €€€€ Plaza de Lasso, tel: 954 191 000, www.casadecarmona.com. A 16th-century palace lovingly renovated into a beautiful, hospitable, luxurious hotel. Every room is unique, and filled with handpicked antiques from Madrid, London and Paris. 33 rooms.

Córdoba

NH Colection Amistad Córdoba €€€ Plaza Maimónides 3, tel: 957 420 335, www.nh-hotels.com. Located in the Jewish quarter close to the Mezquita, two 18th-century mansions, next to the old Moorish wall, have been combined and restored to form a fully modernised hotel in harmony with this historic city. 84 rooms.

Costa del Sol

Kempinski Resort Hotel €€€€€ Carretera de Cádiz Km 159, Playa El Padrón, Estepona, tel: 952 809 500, www.kempinski.com. Most rooms in this architecturally interesting hotel have a sea view. Guests enjoy a marvellous subtropical garden, a 1km (0.6 mile) -long beach, several pools, watersports and horse-riding facilities, an haute-cuisine restaurant and the Spa and Wellness centre. 149 rooms.

Roc Lago Rojo €€€ Miami 5, La Carihuela, Torremolinos, tel: 952 387 666, www.roc-hotels.com. Just 2km (1 mile) from the centre of Torremolinos and 25m from La Carihuela beach, this is a charming modern hotel with 144 rooms and good facilities.

Granada

Alhambra Palace €€€ Plaza Arquitecto García de Paredes 1, tel: 958 221 468, www.h-alhambrapalace.es. Impressive Moorish-style palace on the edge of the hill on which stands the Alhambra (five minutes’ walk away), with stunning views across the city to the Sierra Nevada. 126 rooms.

Palacio de Santa Inés €€ Cuesta de Santa Inés 9, tel: 958 222 362, www.palaciosantaines.com. The 16th-century palace known as the House of the Eternal Father has been beautifully converted into a hotel of considerable charm. It is located in the historic Albaicín area, on the opposite bank of the Darro from the towering Alhambra fortress. 35 rooms.

León

Parador de León €€€€ Plaza de San Marcos 7, tel: 987 237 300, www.parador.es. Housed in an amazingly decorative 16th-century former convent, with an impressive Spanish Renaissance facade, this is one of Spain’s finest and most luxurious paradores, as well as being a national monument. Ask for a room in the atmospheric old part, with its tapestry-lined walls. 226 rooms.

Madrid

Hesperia Madrid €€€€ Paseo de la Castellana 57, tel: 912 108 800, www.hesperia.com. A modern contemporary-style hotel, the first of its kind in Madrid. Expect to find distinguished rooms and public areas, exemplary service and fine restaurants. 170 rooms.

Room Mate Mario €€€ Campomanes 4, tel: 915 488 548, www.room-matehotels.com. Situated in the historic centre of the city, close to the Opera, the Royal Palace, and the Gran Vía, this is a modern hotel decorated in a strikingly minimalist style with beautiful lighting and original bathrooms. 54 rooms.

Santo Domingo €€€€ San Bernardo 1, tel: 915 479 800, www.hotelsantodomingo.com. A hotel museum in a quiet location not far from the Puerta del Sol with its own collection of antiques, paintings and works of art. Each of the 120 rooms is different in style and decor from the others.

URSO Hotel & Spa €€€ Mejía Lequerica 8, tel: 914 444 458, www.hotelurso.com. Centrally located, within easy walking distance of all the city’s major art galleries. The hotel itself is housed inside a former 20th-century palace. Rooms are rather lavish, and so too are the spa and sauna. 78 rooms.

Wellington €€€€€ Velázquez 8, tel: 915 754 400, www.hotel-wellington.com. Stylish hotel close to the Prado and the Puerta de Alcála. All rooms have a classical decor combined with the latest in facilities. Fine restaurant and nice bar, too. 262 rooms.

Mérida

Parador de Mérida €€€ Plaza de la Constitución 3, tel: 924 313 800, www.parador.es. Located in what was once an 18th-century convent that, itself, was on the site of a Roman Praetorian Guard palace. An elegant mix of history and style. 81 rooms.

Pamplona

Avenida €€ Avenida de Zaragoza 5, tel: 948 245 454, www.avenidahotel.es. Has an unusual wedge-shaped facade, and the balconies of this restored building overlook the fountain on Plaza Príncipe de Viana. The 24 rooms are comfortable but small. Prices increase significantly for two weeks in July during San Fermin.

Salamanca

Rector €€€€ Paseo del Rector Esperabe 10, tel: 923 218 482, www.hotelrector.com. This magnificent building, once home to one of Salamanca’s most aristocratic families, has been tastefully converted into a delightful small hotel. 13 rooms.

San Sebastián

La Galería €€€ Infanta Cristina 1–3, tel: 943 317 559, www.hotellagaleria.com. Handsome French-style 1890s house with individually decorated rooms. Situated not far from Ondarreta beach and the Palacio de Miramar, and close to San Sebastián’s shops and tapas bars. 23 rooms. Special offers with golf packages.

María Cristina €€€€€ Paseo República Argentina, 4, tel: 943 437 600, www.marriott.com. A grand belle époque building dating from 1912 that used to be King Alfonso XIII’s winter headquarters. Modern facilities and extra luxuries make it the finest hotel in San Sebastián. 139 rooms with views of either the city or the river.

Santiago de Compostela

Hostal Dos Reis Católicos €€€€€ Plaza do Obradoiro 1, tel: 981 582 200, www.parador.es. Built by the Catholic Monarchs in the late 15th century, and expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries, this is Spain’s most famous parador and reputedly the world’s oldest hotel. Located on a magnificent square, the parador combines history with modern facilities. 136 rooms.

Segovia

Exe casa de Los Linajes €€ Dr Velasco 9, tel: 921 460 475, www.exehotels.com. Just a two-minute walk from the Plaza Mayor, the hotel occupies a 17th-century building located on the edge of the old city, overlooking the countryside. Most of the 55 rooms have a terrace.

Seville

Alfonso XIII €€€€€ San Fernando 2, tel: 954 917 000, www.hotel-alfonsoxiii-sevilla.com. Opened by King Alfonso XIII in 1929, this imposing hotel in the city centre is set in its own lovely gardens and epitomises Sevillian style and luxury. The spacious rooms are classically decorated and the lobby bar is a meeting point for Seville’s high society. 147 rooms.

Doña Maria €€€ Don Remondo 19, tel: 954 224 990, www.hdmaria.com. A charming hotel with an interesting mix of antiques and modern facilities, plus a rooftop pool and bar. Excellent central location, almost within touching distance of the Giralda and cathedral. 70 rooms.

Fontecruz Sevilla Seises €€€€ Segovias 6, tel: 954 229 495, www.fontecruzhoteles.com. A 16th-century palace where historic surroundings combine with modern facilities to create an intriguing ambiance. Located in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, it has a rooftop pool overlooking the nearby cathedral and Giralda. 42 rooms.

Simón €€ García de Vinuesa 19, tel: 954 226 660, www.hotelsimonsevilla.com. A handsome hotel with 31 rooms in a renovated 18th-century townhouse, across from the cathedral. It has a lovely central courtyard around a small fountain.

Toledo

Parador de Toledo €€€ Cerro del Emperador s/n, tel: 925 221 850, www.parador.es. Seventy-seven comfortable rooms, a fine restaurant, traditional service and a pool – plus magnificent views over Toledo.

Pintor El Greco €€ Alamillos del Tránsito 13, tel: 925 215 819, www.hotelpintorelgreco.com. Delightful 17th-century house, with 33 pleasant rooms, modern comforts and car parking. Located in a charming section of the old Jewish quarter close to most monuments.

Valencia

Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace €€€€ Plaza de Rodrigo Botet 5, tel: 963 981 000, www.ayrehoteles.com. Located in the city centre, the Astoria Palace is a big, luxurious and impeccably renovated hotel with a range of English-style decorated rooms. Facilities include a fitness centre, a restaurant and a bar. 172 rooms. 

The Balearic Islands

Ibiza

Cas Plá €€€€ San Miguel de Balanzat, tel: 971 334 587, www.caspla-ibiza.com. Listed as a ‘Hotel Rural’ this is at least as good as any 5-star hotel. Large and eclectically decorated rooms (some even with a private pool) are set in luxuriant grounds with wooden-beamed patios overlooking the pool. 16 rooms.

Hacienda Na Xamena €€€€€ Urb. Na Xamena s/n, San Miguel de Balanzat, tel: 971 334 500, www.haciendanaxamena-ibiza.com. Perched dramatically on high cliffs, overlooking the Mediterranean, this luxury hotel has the finest location on Ibiza. The decor is an intriguing mix of traditional Ibicenco style and art deco. 65 rooms.

Hostal Cala Moli €€ Apartado 105, San Josep, tel: 971 806 002, www.calamoli.com. Located in the quieter southeastern part of the island, this is a charming hostal with attractive views from the pool and patio out over the Mediterranean. 10 rooms.

Mallorca

Barceló Formentor €€€€€ Playa de Formentor, Port de Pollença, tel: 971 899 100, www.barcelo.com. In a fantastic location, possibly the best in the Balearics, surrounded by forests and with sculpted gardens leading onto a beautiful bay surrounded by mountains. A classical, formal hotel often frequented by famous personalities. Four restaurants and a health and beauty centre. 250 rooms.

Convent de la Missió €€€€ Carrer de la Missió 7a, Palma de Mallorca, tel: 971 227 347, www.conventdelamissio.com. This stylish hotel, in a converted 17th-century convent in the old quarter, has light, airy rooms, a roof terrace, sauna and an excellent restaurant. There is an art gallery in the refectory. 14 rooms.

Es Molí €€€€€ Carretera Valldemossa-Deià s/n, Deià, tel: 971 639 000, www.esmoli.com. An elegant hotel in a converted 19th-century manor house on a hill just outside Deià, with incomparable views of the village and sea. The pool is spring-fed, and the hotel is set in 15,000 sq m (18,000 sq yd) of gardens. The service is splendid. Breakfast on the terrace. The highly recommended restaurant, Ca’n Quet (open only for private functions), has its own garden. Closed November to mid-April. 87 rooms.

Menorca

Del Almirante €€ Carretera Maó-Es Castell, Es Castells, tel: 971 362 700, www.hoteldelalmirante.com. Family-run hotel in an 18th-century English mansion overlooking Mahon harbour. It used to be the house of the Admiral Collingwood, Nelson’s right-hand man and it is beautifully decorated with antiques and period pictures. 39 rooms.

Port Mahón €€€€ Av. Port de Maó, s/n, Mahón, tel: 971 362 600, www.sethotels.com. A charming hotel with an attractive facade, and gardens with a pool, overlooking the wide expanse of the Mahón harbour. Good size rooms, especially those with balconies overlooking the water. Swimming pool. 82 rooms.

The Canary Islands

Fuerteventura

Riu Palace Tres Islas €€€ Grandes Playas, Corralejo, tel: 928 535 700. Perfectly located on the magnificent beach, with a view of the dunes and Lanzarote. Very well appointed rooms, attractive pool and terrace, and nightly entertainment in the piano bar and Betancuria lounge. 401 rooms.

Gran Canaria

Las Calas €€ El Arenal, 36 La Lechuza, Vega de San Mateo, tel: 928 661 436, www.hotelrurallascalas.com. A friendly old farmhouse converted into a small, relaxed boutique hotel high in the Gran Canaria countryside. Typical home-cooked Canarian food is served in the intimate dining room. 9 rooms.

Puerto de Mogán €€€ Urbanización Puerto de Mogán s/n, Playa de Mogán, tel: 928 099 396, www.hotelpuertodemogan.com. Enjoys a wonderful location at the end of the harbour in this delightful marina. Pleasant rooms with all the expected facilities, plus pool and bar, and swimming in the harbour. 56 rooms.

La Gomera

Jardín Tecina €€€€ Lomada de Tecina, Playa de Santiago, tel: 922 245 101, www.jardin-tecina.com. A stylish complex set in its own extensive gardens on the cliffs. The hotel has an array of restaurants, bars, pools, sports facilities and its own beach club. 434 rooms.

La Palma

Parador de la Palma €€€ El Zumacal, Breña Baja, tel: 922 435 828, www.parador.es. A parador located on the cliffs just to the south of, and overlooking, Santa Cruz. Traditionally Canarian in style and decor, it has 76 rooms.

Lanzarote

Meliá Salinas €€€€€ Avenida Islas Canarias, Costa Teguise, tel: 928 590 040, www.melia.com. The island’s largest and most luxurious hotel, and an integral part of the cultural heritage of Lanzarote. The stunning double atrium is filled with magnificent indoor gardens and waterfalls – the creations, as is the pool, of César Manrique. 309 rooms. For adults only.

Tenerife

Bahia del Duque €€€€€ Avenida de Bruselas s/n, Playa de las Americas, Costa Adeje, tel: 922 746 932, www.bahia-duque.com. An eclectic array of buildings set around a sub-tropical garden with pools, restaurants and bars that descend, over several levels, down to the beach. Traditionally dressed staff and peacocks roaming free. 362 rooms.

San Roque €€€€ Carretera Esteban de Ponte 32, Garachico, Isla Baja, tel: 922 133 435, www.hotelsanroque.com. A beguiling and eclectic mix of a traditional 17th-century palace with wooden beamed ceilings and balconies, and modern art deco. The pool is set in a charming patio. 20 rooms.