Parador de Hondarribia

Royal stay at a historic parador with great charm and enormous cultural value. Very well restored and maintained. The superior room we stayed in had wonderful views of the Bidasoa estuary with very photogenic polychromatic sunrises and sunsets. Everything quite new and clean. Spacious bathroom with a bidet. Very decent breakfast in the semi-covered interior patio or in the closed dining room. Very pleasant and relaxing. The professionals are proper and efficient. The town of Hondarribia is a marvel for exploring its historic district and has highly recommended hiking possibilities. Regarding suggestions for improvement, I would like to highlight the need for two armchairs in the room and a multipurpose small table. The bathtub is very slippery and should be replaced by comfortable and safe showers or, failing that, with anti-slip treatments. We thank all the professionals for the attention received and we will surely repeat our stay because both the parador and the town deserve it. See you soon.

Our second visit to Hondarribia, but our first stay in the Parador. We booked a junior suite as the hotel was almost fully booked and all that was available, which was a normal sized room with an extra small sitting area, overlooking the river – a fabulous view. Despite being almost full, the service was excellent, the staff friendly, efficient and available, the hotel pristine, and the room comfortable, and quiet, so we had an excellent night’s sleep. Due to the number of guests the breakfast was by sitting, but not rushed, and up to the usual high Parador standard, with more than adequate selection of cold and hot items. The hotel has private, payable parking, which is small so if required it should be pre-booked, and is an “interesting” drive to access, with a 5 minute deviation through the old town to get round a 50m one-way block, and a very tight final bend. A recommendation is to take a look on Google Earth before trying! One downside is that the hotel does not have a restaurant, not normally a problem, as there are numerous good restaurants in Hondarribia, but most are not open on a Sunday evening, when we were there. The hotel reception staff did give us several recommendations, so we did get to eat. In summary, an excellent stay, well up to the high Parador standards.

Fabulous place from the reign of Charles V. We had a room facing the bay. Breakfasts are in this semi-enclosed Renaissance interior. The staff and facilities are what one expects from Paradors. One can order drinks and sit outside on a terrace facing the bay. The small plaza outside is quiet and scenic, with walks to great places to eat. We got a taxi to take us to the nearby train station just a few kilometers over the Spanish border.