Hotel terbaik di Ubeda

Picture this: you've been wanting to go and see Úbeda for years. Then your friends regale you with a voucher to stay in any parador in Spain. Where do you choose to go? To Úbeda at last! You make a reservation for a nights' stay and are so happy that you finally can go and enjoy some precious time off, which is a rarity in your life because you work 7 days a week for months on end. Then, through no fault of your own, you see yourself obliged to cancel the very last minute. You immediately inform the parador and ask to change the date (any date). The answer is a firm no, because of their rigid cancellation/modification policy, annulling your friends' gift in the process. When after several emails to and from the parador with no satisfactory answer at all as to why it is so difficult to change a reservation, you vent your thoughts on a platform, and to add insult to injury you get an answer from the director stating that they DO make exceptions but that yours is not a valid reason for changing a reservation. It makes you literally sick to the stomach to be treated like that. Would you ever stay in a parador again? A firm no is the answer. Never ever have I encountered this kind of non-customer service, this lack of empathy and this complete rigidness. You then try to contact Paradores on Facebook and they don't even answer at all. Customer service? Zero!! Complete loss of faith in this probably otherwise fantastic institution, but I will never set foot in a Parador again.

First the positives: good location; on a quiet street; nice staff; fast WiFi which worked on the terrace; nice seating area downstairs. The hotel sent me a text, before arrival, with 4 parking options. But: I was surprised that a four star hotel would not have a safe nor a fridge in the room. There is quite a bit of black mould in the shower. Like a lot of Spanish hotels, it advertises that it has air-conditioning, but it doesn’t really mean that. Not in early/mid April anyway. The room was at 25 degrees when we arrived. Reception adjusted something but it only brought the temperature down to 22 degrees and that seemed to take hours.

This was really memorable stay at this great palace. Which stayed for two nights and it was just right amount of time for Ubeda. November is a quiet time, but we loved it. It was still warm, both the weather and the service of the hotel. I highly recommend.

We were given a room on the second floor overlooking the swimming pool and garden where a bouncy castle is situated for parties. Unfortunately for us we had a very disturbed night with guitar playing and out of tune singing from below which went on till 2.00am. The room is fine though the shower is temperamental and can soak the bathroom as it spins out of its wall attachment! It is advertised that English is spoken but it isn't and trying to navigate the menu for dinner is a nightmare. I would suggest that an English translation is obtained. Google translate is helpful but not always accurate. Ubeda is an interesting city with many beautiful buildings and is well worth a visit though the hotel is about a thirty minute walk to the old town centre. The museum of St John of the Cross is particularly interesting as is a tour of the small mediaeval synagogue.

Reúne todos los requisitos para calificarlo de excelente: muy céntrico (en la plaza del Ayuntamiento), en un precioso edificio renacentista con un patio interior magnífico sobre el que se accede a las dos plantas, habitaciones amplias, muy limpio, decorado con gusto a juego con el edificio, dos inmensas camas muy cómodas, desayuno surtido y variado... y el personal. Te facilitan por correo previo dónde aparcar (al lado, en Santa Clara) hay un aparcamiento público gratuito y los coches quedan recogidos de 12 noche a 7 mañana). Ah, un hotel con muy buenos precios.