What People are saying
Historic is fine, but bit dated is less good!
Turista-Inglesa on 29/10/2017 21:19
The first point is where it is. Its official address is Calle Santa Beatriz de Silva, its pedestrian entrance is in the Calle Paredones de Santa Clara, and to reach the carpark and garage, which are in the Calle Santa Beatriz de Silva, you need to go up the Calle de la Atalaya and turn right at the top.
It is very well located, being just a hop and a skip from the Plaza Mayor and the Centro Historico Old Town.
A former convent dating from the 16th century, it is rather grim and forbidding from the outside, but gorgeous inside. If you first come in via the pedestrian entrance in the Calle paredones de Santa Clara (where there is a red wall plaque giving details of its history as a convent) you come first to a delightful little courtyard with a fountain in the middle, then turn left into the Reception and an impressive hallway.
Actually what most impressed me here, and all around the Parador, were the long wooden benches liberally provided with cushions for your comfort. Look more carefully - the cushions are all chained together and chained to the bench! Is this a 16th century conventual tradition or a 21st century anti-theft device?
The public areas are all splendid, well furnished and with a beautiful central cloister with two storeys of colonnades, with in the middle a bar that served snacks as well as drinks.
As well as that garage (not very suitable if your car is very long - use instead the closed carpark), there is a pleasant swimming pool set among grassy gardens.
There are two sections to the hotel - the Old section (converted from the nuns' cells) and the New section, built when the building was converted into a hotel. we were in the old section. Because there are two sections, two separate but joined buildings, the lifts don't serve all the floors. by this I mean that each floor has a lift, but you sometimes needed to get out of one lift, walk along a corridor and round a corner, and catch another lift to continue your journey.
Our room was very spacious, and there was a great view of the castle and the town from the (smallish - a former cell, remember?) window. Well equipped and comfortable with almost sufficient sockets for re-charging everything. The decor was rather dated, however, and a bit gloomy - the small window didn't help here.
The bathroom too was spacious but horribly dated, having claustrophobic brown and beige mosaic tiles on the walls. it was, however, clean and did its job.
One disadvantage - unique to our room - was that to reach it you went up in the lift, then walked around the cloister on the upper floor until you got to a corner area. At this point you went down half a dozen steps through an archway to an open seating area where nobody ever sat - too gloomy - and then up a flight of 8 or 9 steps to the door of the room. Look at my photo of this personal flight of stairs.
I felt that this was a H&S hazard, because as you left the room, and locked the door, you could easily take a step backwards and as the top step was only about 15" deep, fall down and injure yourself badly. Unless you are particularly agile I suggest that you reject this room.
Another problem was breakfast - again something that presumably will not happen every day. We went down to breakfast at 8.30 to discover three or four tables occupied with guests either busy eating or waiting for their tea and coffee, and every other table full of dirty cups and plates. There was nowhere for us to sit down.
A very harassed waitress finally appeared, bringing coffee for another table, and told us that she would clear a table for us directly. Another two couple of guests turned up too, and the poor waitress was trying to serve those already waiting while clearing tables for we newcomers. At 9.00 another waitress turned up, and told us that there had been 2 busloads of Japanese tourists and not enough waiting staff on duty early in the morning to deal with them all.
Well sited, but could do with an overhaul - including the staff rotas when they have large numbers of guests all leaving at the same time.
Loved the Parador
Susan P on 28/10/2017 16:25
We stayed at the Paradores in Trujillo and had a lovely corner room (205) which had a separate seating area from the bedroom and two balconies. I lovely sitting on the balcony, reading and listening to the birds in the evening. The house staff that cares for the rooms was very nice. We didn't interact much with the staff at the desk. Be prepared to bring your own bags into the hotel. They do have bell service, but they were not very visible. The restaurant was fabulous for both breakfast and dinner. We ate in the restaurant daily around 3 p.m. and loved the food. Thanks to the chef. Try the roasted suckling pig. The wait staff was polite, but don't be in a hurry. This is Spanish style, which is leisurely. If you drive, it's worth paying for a parking spot because it's hard to park in Trujillo. The trick to get into the parking area is to push the button for the receptionist (small box near the gate). To get into the hotel from there you have to push the separate receptionist button by the "garage" door and ask them to open up. Getting out is trickier, although if you ask reception they'll tell you it's easy. To exit and go into the outside parking area, you have to push the garage door button until the ceiling light by the garage door illuminates, then walk towards the garage door to trigger the sensor. This hotel is really beautiful and we're glad we stayed there.
Luxury of space poverty of service
Przeglad on 26/10/2017 15:31
The location is magnificent. You may not dream about a better space to feel the splendor of an old Spain. Once you arrive you get a room you have dreamed about: spacious, two balconies, nice bed,,, space bathroom with all amenities you might need for the night and bath. But the problem is with service. You shall drag your luggage through long hallways, you will get lost despite of leading arrow, you may struggle with narrow space in the parking lot, you hope for help and it never comes.So be prepared to struggle and if you are over 55 and , as we are, over 80 you may find it more than challenging. Still a very nice experience overall.
lovely parador
beijaflor_mwh on 26/10/2017 14:55
Lovely old parador in interesting medieval town with lots of history and beautiful buildings. Birthplace of Pissarro, conqueror of Peru. good base for visiting Extramadura. Go and see the countryside too.
Overnight Visit
Faro_PortugalNorman on 23/10/2017 19:21
Return visit to this very interesting hotel, in a good location. Very enjoyable again, and will stay on our list of stops on our journey through to Portugal. Dinner was very acceptable, plainly presented but tasty. A very good choice of items on the breakfast buffet.