PARADOR DE ALCALA DE HENARES

Booked for some sunshine while my husband worked - chose on purpose to use the pool and sun loungers. Arrived to be told the best pool is to be closed after two nights of our stay meaning we only have access for one day. I would never have booked this hotel if I had known this to be the case. 33oC this week and the pool area and loungers all closed off. Hotel states ‘we are a convention centre and no one is using the pool.’ This is clearly rubbish as plenty of people at the pool today. The hotel offered us the use of the indoor spa pool - missing the point entirely. Also stated it’s on their website. I didn’t book through the website and NOWHERE closes the pool mid September it’s usually the end of. Really angry with the complete lack of regard and penny pinching ruining peoples enjoyment.

We really love our stay here. The staff was lovely and the accommodations were wonderful. The location is great for exploring the town. We usually stay in Madrid for a few days before driving down to La Costa del Sol, but we decided to pick up the Rent-A-Car right after our arrival. The drive was only about 25 minutes to this Parador. We plan to stay here again our next trip;-).

Me and my son stayed here for four nights. The hotel is beautiful and the staff were very polite and accommodating. Our room was nice and well maintained however the air con seemed to be hidden away under a wooden ceiling panel inside of the wardrobe which meant the benefits of it weren’t available. The separate toilet room also had a very strong smell of cigarettes continuously, I think it was coming out through the ceiling vent from what I can imagine was a designated staff smoking area. The breakfast buffet was very nice with a wide selection, the fresh juices were delicious! The swimming pool was very nice, exceptionally clean and cool. There is a water machine at the pool and in the gym. Access to the spa was an additional cost which I think should have been included minus the cost of any treatments. The man area of Alcala was a five minute walk and the train station with trains into the city taking around 40 mins was only a 15 minute walk away.

Was there on a short couple getaway. Rooms were modern and spacious but not very cosy. They had an open bathroom and I prefer some privacy even if you are on a romantic getaway. The outdoor swimming pool was great. We also tried the spa but that was not really worth it. It’s very small with only one jacuzzi. I was happy to see a hygienic breakfast buffet where everyone was given their own bamboo pinch to pick from the buffet. That should be the standard in all hotels.

Beautiful hotel in a lovely historical town. The room was clean and modern. The only issue is that the lights dont really make sense (you turn the w/c light on and it turns 2 other lights on) which is annoying in the night. We did lose hot water one night, the staff were very kind with their apology. We weren't told the spa was an extra cost and had to be booked. We wanted to visit the pool the evening of my partner's birthday but it wouldve been 40€ which I think is a bit steep. The outside pool is good with lots of seating and free drinking water, but there's a bit of a wasp problem and my partner got stung by one hiding in the grass. The breakfast was nice but not worth the price (IMO). The bar was reasonably priced and the seating area is lovely. Good location for restaurants, shops and the train station (40mins into Madrid city centre).