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Granada: Parador de San Francisco

Granada, Spain
www.parador.es

Reviewed by: Stacey from CT, review #281

When: Easter 2003

Beautiful and immaculate Parador on the Alhambra grounds

The Paradors in Spain are run by the country's department of tourism. The Parador de San Francisco is on the grounds of the Alhambra in Granada. It is a beautiful old building which used to be a Franciscan monastery. For a time, la Reina Isabella was buried here. We stayed in a family suite for four nights. We had two connecting bedrooms and one bathroom. Each bedroom had a balcony which looked over the Generalife (gardens). The rooms and hotel sported Moorish architecture. There were plenty of bubbling fountains offering soothing sounds, as well as inviting sunny courtyards with delightful flowers and rocking chairs. Moorish tiles and arches were evident throughout the property. The atmosphere was relaxed and elegant.

The entire staff was wonderful. Everyone was very friendly and free with information about the rest of Granada. We were quite happy to be staying up on the Alhambra hill, as we found the downhill area to be quite crowded. The whole Parador experience was tranquil and comforting - just what a vacation should be.

I must mention the food as well. We ate tapas in the bar area, along with dinner in the dining room. The food was phenomenal. I was completely blown away by the quality and taste of food in Spain overall (I thought nothing could possibly compare with Italy), and the Parador's food was delicious. If you bring children, they receive this fantastic booklet menus unlike anything I have ever seen anywhere. All of the food we ordered, along with the sumptuous breakfast buffet, was extremely tasty. If I ever find myself in Granada again, I will definitely stay at the Parador.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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