Parador de Arcos de la Frontera

"My wife and I stayed for 3 nights with a couple of friends. We had just stayed for 2 nights at the excellent Parador de Ronda which I have also reviewed. First, The Good - The reception staff were excellent. Very helpful and friendly, as was the barman 'Mr Good'. The buffet breakfast was also good with a nice selection of cereals, cakes and meats. The standard bedrooms were perfectly satisfactory and clean. Second, The not so good - The drive up is treacherously narrow and parking extremely difficult. We actually chose to park safely in El Paseo de Andalusia down in the town which costs 10 Euros for 24 hours if you get the parador to stamp your ticket. From this car park it is uphill all the way to the Parador so most people with luggage should use a taxi at around 7 Euros each way as it's about 750 metres. The Bad - we had dinner in the Parador restaurant on the first night and it was awful. All four of us chose different dishes and all were really disappointing. My pasta was swimming in oil as were the vegetables that came with my wife's fish dish. We all left more than half of the food."

"Excellent value for money, very friendly staff. Spectacular views and very clean. Access is a bit difficult through the narrow streets. Otherwise, a wonder."

"Stayed for one night with our daughter. This is an impressive building in a stunning location. It was our first stay in a parador so we didn’t know what to expect but our room was very comfortable, it was beautifully decorated and the facilities were great. The view from our window (of the church and the square) was highly atmospheric, particularly at sunset, and the views from the terrace and restaurant were breathtaking. We enjoyed a few drinks in the bar and the service was very good. We didn’t eat at the restaurant but it was a beautiful setting. We would definitely return to this parador and are keen to explore others."