Parador de Nerja

We’ve always wanted to stay at the Nerja Parador with its great food, manicured lawns and magnificent views over sea & beach. So for our first holiday for over a year and possibly our last ever to the south of Spain, we decided to treat ourselves by staying here for...

We’ve always wanted to stay at the Nerja Parador with its great food, manicured lawns and magnificent views over sea & beach. So for our first holiday for over a year and possibly our last ever to the south of Spain, we decided to treat ourselves by staying here for a week Due to health problems over the last year we were booking in June and so had limited choices on dates and rooms. We normally have gone for a suite/superior room but only standard was available for any 7 nights in September. The room was fine, a bit on the small side and it’s a bit faded. However the bed was very comfortable and after all our trials and tribulations we looked forward to sleeping deeply and well for our stay. We could hear the crashing of the waves on the beach as we were going to sleep. Lovely. Equally the bathroom is well appointed but faded. The shower over the bath was difficult for me to get and out and wasn’t ideal. Water pressure wasn’t great and it ran from the taps and the shower head simultaneously. I had to hunch, twist and turn in order to use it but I managed. The hotel is distinctive in style. A mix of 60’s clean lines & block colours but with a Spanish touch. Hockney’s swimming pool crossed with Hacienda. It!s all quite lovely. Our fellow residents were a very mixed bunch. We had visitors from all over the world. Mostly but not exclusively European. The age range was also varied but generally slightly older. There were a few families with infants. The hotel is very accessible. The whole hotel and it's entrances are all wheelchair friendly with ramps and lifts. You can even get to the beach level using the ramps and lifts. There's no official dress code here but it's generally smart. We like that. The hotel is in an L shape. The Superior rooms are the Garden rooms and the rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors of long side of the L. The Standard rooms are the short side of the L and the 1st floor of the L. The basic rooms face over Nerja town. There’s a row of Garden Rooms on the ground floor with direct access to the top level garden and pool. I think these are the best rooms in the hotel. They are classed as Superior rooms but in order to book them you must call the hotel directly. In July and August they are only available to families as they have the space for an extra bed. There was complimentary water every day and tea making facilities. No iron unfortunately which we’d have used if there had been one. You have to put your key card in a slot by the door to get the electrics up and running but it also turned the TV on everytime so I unplugged it. There’s also a safe and a mini-fridge. Air-conditioning is excellent! This is not always the case and in some hotels on the Costa del Sol they even turn it off during the day. Not here thankfully, it blows out cold air on demand which is terrific We’d taken the half board option which I know is considered unusual when there is such a wide variety of excellent restaurants in the vicinity but we felt it allowed us to relax and not be constantly trying to figure out which restaurants to visit, whether they needed reservations, walking there etc. Hardly onerous decisions but there it is. You can choose whether to have your half board for lunch or dinner and we did about 50/50. We walked into town occasionally and boy was it busy, sometimes incredibly so. I don’t handle jostling crowds terribly well so in all honesty we preferred staying around the hotel rather than venturing into Nerja’s pretty but crowded warren of streets. We visited Burriana beach for food several times and we enjoyed the paella at Ayo very much. The food at the hotel’s restaurant is excellent, really very good indeed. The slow cooked food was better than anything short order like steaks. The portions are enormous! easily big enough for 2, so we shared starters and asked for half portions. The views are terrific, especially at sunset. The staff at the restaurant were all very nice. They tolerated my rusty Spanish with grace and humour. When checking in we got a chit to exchange for 2 towels at the pool. This is returned to you when the towels are returned and it must be handed back to reception when you checkout. Otherwise there’s a €18 charge per towel. Sadly there was a huge party on Burriana one night, it started at 8pm and went on until 3am. The NOISE was unbelievable. We didn’t sleep very much and spent the next day in a fog of exhaustion. I talked to the manager but he was unsympathetic. Shrugging your shoulders and going “meh!” is not an appropriate response to a customer. They should have known and could have advised residents there was going to be a loud event that would keep the whole hotel awake. We might have fled to a quieter hotel for the night if informed but that choice was not granted to us. This is what happens when a business doesn’t have to fight for customers, - service walks out the door. With this exception all the reception staff were absolutely lovely, charming and helpful. Normally I wrap up with a definitive answer as to whether I recommend this hotel. It’s a tricky one as we enjoyed our stay very much. If we’d not had that disrupted night and not encountered a hostile duty manager then I would have said yes without reservation. However, Burriana Beach is clearly setup to host random loud parties that go into the small hours and the hotel staff were indifferent so I would never risk staying here again.

There is not much that I can say that all the other reviews stated. We loved this hotel and couldn’t fault anything. This was our first time in Nerja and although we have stayed in Posadas in Portugal this was our first time in.Parador. When we we given a ground...

There is not much that I can say that all the other reviews stated. We loved this hotel and couldn’t fault anything. This was our first time in Nerja and although we have stayed in Posadas in Portugal this was our first time in.Parador. When we we given a ground floor room my immediate thought was that a higher one would be better but we loved the one we had. We had a nice terrace and were close to the beautiful gardens with sun beds dotted around the large grassed area. The grounds are so well maintained with ramps for wheelchairs so a wonderful place for anyone who is disabled. We are disappointed to find out that the hotel will be closed for 2 years from October for some structural maintenance .

We had heard a lot about the Paradores in Spain and when we had the opportunity to try the one on Nerja we were not disappointed. On arrival we were efficiently and quickly checked in and found our way to the room which was well presented and beautifully clean. The...

We had heard a lot about the Paradores in Spain and when we had the opportunity to try the one on Nerja we were not disappointed. On arrival we were efficiently and quickly checked in and found our way to the room which was well presented and beautifully clean. The best aspect was the view from the balcony across the garden towards the Mediterranean Sea, stunning. We enjoyed a half board package and chose to eat dinner. The restaurant was not too busy and the service was excellent. Some of the dishes were not available but the choice was good. The portions are very large, so make sure you have worked up a good hunger before dining! Breakfast was highlight, both the food selection and the ability to sit on the terrace, worth staying just for that! The grounds are immaculate and we enjoyed sitting in the garden. Access to the beach is with a lift and it is easy to use. It is an easy walk into town and we spent a great day exploring on foot and enjoying what Nerja has to offer. The stay certainly. Exceeded expectations and we will definitely try out other Paradores in the future.