PARADOR

This is the second worst Parador I have stayed in. I would demolish it and start again. The car park has two charging points for electric vehicles, both were out of service. The public areas are a crazy mix, lots of half floors and big spaces with crazy uncomfortable furniture. There is only one room with a balcony, the Junior Suite. Inside our room all the woodwork was black, when you opened the wardrobe you couldn’t see anything. The rooms are not generously proportioned, two people could not occupy the same space. One night I woke to find that all the electricity was off, no lights and no charging for phones and watches etc. I went to reception and spoke to the night porter. He said there was at least one switch in the room that turned the electricity off. He came with me and identified the switch. I’ve never come across this in a hotel before and the switch was not labeled to say what it did. The bar/cafeteria near the swimming pool was a joke. I think the waiters were playing hide and seek with the guests. One night I asked for some olives with our aperitif. The waiter said they had none. I pointed out that they were in the middle of millions of olive trees and it was ridiculous that they had no olives. He gave us nuts AND crisps to assuage our disappointment then he turned up a few minutes later with some black olives he had obviously scrounged up from the kitchen. The management of this Parador need a boot up the backside, it’s failing in many ways which is a shame because I genuinely love Paradors but not when they are run like this.

Cigarette butts on the lawn, an ice bucket turned into an ashtray, and a set of rules that seems written not to be applied: chronicle of a stay at the Parador de Antequera There are objects that summarize by themselves a way of understanding coexistence. At the Parador de Antequera I found one: an elegant metal stand, placed next to a white wall and in front of a carefully maintained garden, whose top container was full of cigarette butts, ash, and tobacco remnants. At first glance it could have seemed like an ashtray. It was not. It was an ice bucket stand, the support on which an ice bucket should be placed to keep wine or champagne cold. An object conceived to serve a bottle had been transformed, through a curious combination of ignorance and inconsideration, into the collective rotting place for a dozen cigarettes. The scene was as absurd as it was revealing. In the background, the lawn, the hedges, and the Antequera valley. In the foreground, the liturgy of the uncivil smoker: consuming pleasure in private and leaving the smoke, the smell, and the waste to others. I do not intend to turn this episode into an indiscriminate accusation against all people who smoke. Nicotine is addictive, and quitting tobacco may require professional help. The criticism is directed at a specific behavior: that of someone who considers that their immediate desire to smoke exempts them from respecting the rules, the shared space, and the health of those around them. The hedonism of secondhand smoke: During my stay, I observed several guests smoking in the pool area, the gardens, and other common outdoor spaces. I was also able to verify the presence of cigarette butts left on the grass and in containers that were not intended to function as ashtrays. It was not simply a matter of someone stepping away discreetly to smoke. The smoke reached the rest areas and forced other guests to breathe it. It is a peculiar form of hedonism: the pleasure is enjoyed by one; the consequences are socialized. The Ministry of Health reminds us that air contaminated by tobacco smoke contains harmful substances and that its inhalation increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, in addition to aggravating problems such as asthma, coronary heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The World Health Organization maintains that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that even brief exposure can cause harm. Naturally, the concentration of smoke outdoors depends on proximity, wind, and the duration of exposure. But "being outdoors" does not make smoke harmless and, above all, it does not make it voluntary. Someone occupying a lounge chair by a pool has not agreed to participate in the tobacco consumption of the person sitting next to them. A common space ceases to be common when one of its users imposes on others a combustion product that they have not chosen to breathe. The smoker can decide to light the cigarette; the person nearby cannot decide to stop breathing. The sophistication of the imaginary ashtray: The conversion of ice bucket stands into improvised ashtrays adds an almost comical component to the scene, were it not for the fact that it expresses a considerable lack of respect for the facilities. The comparison between the photograph taken at the establishment and the commercial image of the product eliminates any doubt about its original function. It is not a large ashtray or an item placed to invite smoking. It is an ice bucket stand. Your container is intended to hold an ice bucket, not to receive cigarette butts, ash, and soaked filters. One could speak of functional ignorance: the inclination to consider any concave object that does not defend itself a ashtray. But ignorance does not explain everything. Even if someone were unaware of the support's function, it is hard to believe that they were also unaware of the existence of trash cans or the elementary obligation not to leave waste on the furniture. A cigarette butt is not a trifle. It is the material trace of an attitude: I enjoy now; someone else will clean later. I smoke; you breathe. I abandon the waste; the garden, the staff, and the rest of the guests will assume the cost. The Paradores Internal Regulations also establish that guests must deposit waste generated in the bathing area in the trash cans intended for that purpose. It does not seem like a revolutionary requirement: it is limited to transferring to the regulations what is normally learned before reaching the age necessary to buy tobacco. (Paradores, internal regulations) What the law says and what Paradores says: State legislation does not automatically prohibit smoking in all outdoor spaces of a hotel. Law 28/2005 (it goes without saying that the Law that replaces this one is even more protectionist) prohibits smoking in hotels, hostels, and similar establishments, but generally exempts their outdoor spaces (the new regulation prohibits it categorically). Therefore, it would not be correct to state that any cigarette smoked in any garden or outdoor pool of a hotel is directly prohibited by that state provision, the one from 2005; but it is by the one from 2026. (Official State Gazette, 2005), but I will rely on the current one, to be honest. Even so, this same law includes among the places where smoking is prohibited those where the prohibition has been established "by decision of its owner." That is to say: a hotel can expand the protection and declare outdoor areas smoke-free where state law does not by itself impose a general prohibition. (Official State Gazette). And it is something that, personally, I take very much into account when staying somewhere. It is a contract to which I submit (especially due to my respiratory condition) and which the staff does not require to be fulfilled. And regarding the fact that the owner of the establishment can prohibit it, that is precisely what Paradores has done. Its Internal Regulations state unambiguously: "Smoking is not permitted throughout the establishment except in areas that have been designated for it." The wording does not say "inside the buildings" or "in the rooms." It says "throughout the establishment," with a single exception: the areas that Paradores has expressly designated for smoking. (Paradores). The aforementioned Parador does not define a smoking area. There is none. But there are tobacco vending machines. Andalusian tourism regulations reinforce the binding nature of that rule. Hotel establishments must have internal regulations with mandatory rules; these must be available to users, displayed in Spanish and English, and published on the establishment's website. Users, for their part, have the obligation to respect the internal regulations, the rules of coexistence and hygiene, the facilities, and the environmental surroundings. (Official State Gazette) The official website of the Parador de Antequera presents the pool, the terrace, and the gardens as elements of the experience and rest offered by the establishment. However, I have not found on that page or in the general regulations published by Paradores a public identification of the specific area that, if applicable, has been designated for smoking in Antequera. This does not allow one to state that it does not physically exist, but it does mean that it does not appear clearly identified in the public information consulted. (Parador de Antequera) The regulations are not administrative decoration. It is also appropriate to clarify the relationship between the reservation, the contract, and the regulations. The booking confirmation is considered a tourist accommodation contract. Subsequently, the admission document is delivered at the reception, which identifies the establishment, the room, the dates, the contracted plan, and, when applicable, the price. At that moment, the guest must be informed of their rights, obligations, and the existence of the internal regulations (well, this did not happen). Therefore, it is not accurate to say that each clause of the regulations is necessarily reproduced in the initial contract; it is accurate to state that the regulations constitute a separate, mandatory rule that must be made known to the client. After informing the staff of the disturbances caused by the incessant activity of the smokers, I did not see any effective measures being taken nor the behavior ceasing. This is an observation about what happened during my stay, not a statement about the habitual operation of all Paradores. But: what is the use of a prohibition that the company publishes and then does not enforce? A prohibition that implies a contract to which Paradores submits when the client makes a reservation. Andalusian tourism legislation obliges companies to ensure the safety, privacy, tranquility, and comfort of their users, as well as to take care of the proper functioning of services and the maintenance of facilities. It also allows for the removal of those who fail to comply with their duties or the internal regulations and, in serious cases, to request the assistance of the Security Forces and Corps. It does not mean that the police must be called at the first cigarette, but it does show that the establishment has instruments to intervene and that passivity is not the only possible response. (Official State Gazette) Hotel regulations themselves allow for the denial of stay for failing to comply with the conditions of the regulations or for adopting behaviors that cause annoyance to other people. The measure must be applied with proportionality, normally starting by informing, warning, and demanding the cessation. What is difficult to justify is doing nothing after receiving a specific complaint. (Official State Gazette) Law 28/2005 considers smoking in a place where there is a prohibition a minor infraction and classifies allowing smoking where it is not permitted as a serious one. The isolated act of smoking can be sanctioned with up to thirty euros; the remaining minor infractions range between thirty and six hundred euros, while serious ones range between 601 and 10,000 euros. The specific liability would depend on the proven facts and the assessment of the competent authority. (Official State Gazette) Smoking is prohibited; tobacco is sold in the back. Inside the Parador, they maintain what appears to be a tobacco vending machine. The image produces an irony that is difficult to ignore: the company prohibits smoking throughout the establishment, except in designated areas, but apparently facilitates the acquisition of the product within its facilities. The contradiction is communicative, not necessarily legal. Legislation allows for the installation of tobacco machines in hotels, provided that the establishment has the corresponding authorization and legal conditions are met: indoor location, direct and permanent surveillance, mechanisms that prevent access by minors, visible health warnings, and registration of the machine in the corresponding registry. The law also contains an express exception that allows these machines in hotels even if smoking is not permitted in their interior spaces. (Official State Gazette, exceptional case) even so, the paradox is worth noting: the establishment obtains or facilitates a commercial activity linked to tobacco, but during my stay it did not seem to demonstrate the same diligence in enforcing the restrictions on its consumption. I understand perfectly that the machine may be perfectly legal. Indifference to smoke does not become reasonable because of that. True luxury is being able to breathe. A Parador does not just sell a room. It sells rest, scenery, tranquility, gastronomy, and care. The Parador de Antequera itself invites you in its advertising to enjoy a lounge chair by the pool, a drink on the terrace, and the scent of its gardens. The scent, yes, but not from the gardens. (Parador de Antequera) Exemplary punishments or humiliation campaigns against those who smoke are not needed. Management is needed. And commitment to what is promised. If it is specified that smoking is allowed, then I will not go. If it is specified that there is a smoking area, then I will go. If it is specified that smoking is strictly prohibited, then I will go. I fulfill my part of the (stay) contract and the Parador must do the same (which is exactly what I am demanding). There is unequivocal signage at the pool, the gardens, and the terraces; the only area where smoking is permitted, if it exists, must be clearly identified (there is no area); information during booking (there was none) and check-in; staff intervention when the rule is broken (there was none); removal of objects that could be confused "with a particularly fertile imagination" with ashtrays; immediate cleaning of cigarette butts (there was some, a girl picked up all of them from the grass); staff training (they have it, but they did not act); and visible availability of official complaint forms (which they inform about on a small screen they have at the reception desk), which the company is obligated to provide. (Official State Gazette) Above all, it is necessary for Paradores to decide what it wants its own regulations to mean. If "smoking is not permitted throughout the establishment" means exactly that, you must enforce it. If there are exceptions, you must post them. And if the ban only exists on a website, while people smoke at the pool, cigarette butts are left on the lawn, and ice buckets are turned into ashtrays, then we are not dealing with a rule. We are dealing with institutional props. Documents: Law 28/2005, of December 26, on health measures against smoking, consolidated text: articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, 21, and 22. State Agency Official State Gazette. Consultation: August 2, 2026. (Official State Gazette) Internal Regulations of Paradores, sections related to the smoking ban, coexistence, and use of the pool. Paradores de Turismo de España. Consultation: August 2, 2026. (Paradores) Decree-Law 13/2020, of May 18, on the regulation of hotel establishments in Andalusia: articles 4, 19, 20, and 25. Regional Government of Andalusia. Consultation: August 2, 2026. Law 13/2011, of December 23, on Tourism in Andalusia: articles 21, 22, 24, and 36. Consultation: August 2, 2026. (Official State Gazette) Secondhand smoke, Ministry of Health. Consultation: August 2, 2026. (Ministry of Health) Protecting people from tobacco smoke and Tobacco and nicotine, World Health Organization. Consultation: August 2, 2026. (World Health Organization)

The restaurant is exceptional, the pool is very comfortable; it is one of our favorite Paradores. It is worth noting that they have fast chargers, phenomenal.