"Generally I am a fan of Paradores but I got a bit irritated with this one, which happens to have a great location. Firstly, the parking instructions that they send you by email are not correct or precise. They should just write “Phone ahead a book your parking space in the nearby underground garage. Drive to Plaza Santa Clara, then up Calle Ancha 30m (ignoring the “no entry” sign) and park in one of the 2 spaces on the left in front of the small Parador courtyard. Unpack your bags and notify the desk of your car registration number to avoid the fines, and pick up the key to garage and directions on how to get there. Return to the car and go back down Calle Ancha past Plaza Santa Clara to the parking garage”. Simple.

What is NOT simple (this is just a warning, not really a criticism of Parador) is getting in and out of the underground parking garage on Calle del Cmo Llano. I have been using Spanish underground parking garages for over 2 decades but this one was a real challenge even in an Audi A3 - forget anything larger. Good luck! It’s about an 8 min walk back to the Parador from the parking garage.

Second up after the “driving instructors frustration” - the room. Based on another review, I had booked the top category room and requested Room 103 which is huge. But it’s on the ground floor across the courtyard and not in the original palace, and has no privacy (windows give onto patio). I can’t complain because it was my request. However, there were no coffee capsules (or tea or sugar or anything) next to the nespresso machine. There was a bottle of water. I don’t think that the coffee is stocked in that room, no idea about the other rooms.

Third - the bathroom. Huge jacuzzi. I thought I would give it a try. Got in but I could not get it to operate. Found out at breakfast from the teenagers with us staying in the second room that they also could not get the jacuzzi to work. Mentioned this fact to the manager at reception on check out. He said that it’s a bit difficult to find but it has to be turned on outside. I said it would have been good to have instructions posted in the 2 rooms. He said normally there were instructions. I said, “well just like the coffee there were no instructions and perhaps these details should be looked into”. To which he responded that the last option is always to call reception. I said “naked and wet? I don’t think so” - I can think of better ways for a hotel manager to deal with a guest complaint to be honest… when I went to fetch my bag from the room I then searched all over for the switch outside the bathroom but I could not find it so now I am doubting that the jacuzzi is functional. As I had done my interaction with the manager to be annoying I did not return to find out where the “secret switch” was.

If a hotel is going to have a jacuzzi and a coffee machine in the room, they should be usable is my message to Paradores.

Finally, the breakfast - at EUR20 per person they can do better. If you are going to offer eggs, then there should be salt and pepper (in a pepper grinder, ideally) readily available. Eggs were delivered (that was fine), but then I wasted time looking for the salt and pepper, and as there was only one waiter who was in the kitchen a lot of the time, I had to go and request the salt and pepper, he returned with 2 small sachets of salt and 1 sachet of pepper (for 3 plates of eggs).

A competitor to Paradores has a slogan “es una cuestion de detailles”. So true.

A positive is that I actually did have a good night’s sleep - bed was fine and a/c very quiet in room 103."

Christopher Le Jeune

"Our room was a bit worn down from age. Closet doors didn't close properly. The bathtub had scratch marks inside. There are no drawers in the room to store folded clothing. One of the entryway lights was burned out. We could have stayed in a nicer hotel or an upscale Airbnb for the same price. However, the hotel staff were very nice and professional. The restaurant food and service were excellent."

Antonio Panaccione

"Beautifully restored parador right in the historic centre. I felt like I was in a medieval movie while staying here. The room itself is fully modernized though. Staff were very friendly and helpful."

A.L.