April 26, 2012 at 6:57 am (4* Hotels, Badajoz, Small Hotels, Wifi)
Not far from the Portuguese border in the town of Olivenza in the province of Badajoz is a small 19th century palace that has been converted into a luxury 4* hotel offering 24 rooms.
In the heart of the old district the hotel is a beauty before you step through its doors, then be delighed inside with its interior patio, Patio Señorial, with Portuguese touches .
Not only does it have all the four star sevices but free internet and individually designed rooms as well as fine traditional dining.
Hotel Palacio Artega webiste.
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March 22, 2012 at 9:06 am (4* Hotels, Family, Gastronomy, Honeymoon, Hotels, Ibiza, Luxury Hotels, Resorts, Spas, Wedding)
The Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa is just the spot for an ideal and unforgettable holiday right next to the Mediterranean Sea and on the famous beach Playa d’en Bossa. This 4* resort is in a privileged position for beach, views and first class water sports and not forgetting unlimited entertainment for all age groups.
Take in live music shows, relax on Balinese loungers around either of the two large pools or explore this delightful small island. Ibiza, the nearest Balearic Island to mainland Spain, is just 45km long and 25km wide ideal for beach loungers and water-sport lovers.
The Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa is thoroughly modern with all the services you´ll need for a throughly spoilt and enoyable stay. There´s free Wifi in the public rooms. meeting rooms, internet zone, airport transfers, secure parking, air conditioning and much more.
It´s main features include:
- 411 large luxurious and elegant rooms with all mod cons
- 3 themed restaurants
- 2 large swimming pools & 2 for children
- 6 enormous salons for every type of meeting or celebration
- Clubs for young children and adolescents
Visit the website
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March 12, 2012 at 8:02 am (Andalucia, Exclusive Weekends, Historic Hotels, Hotels, Luxury Hotels, Romantic Hotel, Seville, Small Hotels, Unique)
Corral del Rey in the heart of Seville´s wonderful old quarter Barrio Alfalfa is just a short walk from the Santa Maria Cathedral. The original 17th Century Casa Palacio has been beautifully restored and into the small private luxury hotel it is today.
With lovely architectural details such as the atrium patio, Roman marble columns and the original wooden carved beams this makes a great base for exploring the wonders of Seville. It´s a particular favourite of the chef Rick Stein who recommends Casa Matias near Plaza de Toros an authentic Flamenco bar and the El Pes Quero, a fish restaurant in the Mercado del Arenal district.
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February 29, 2012 at 7:41 am (5* Hotels, Castle Hotel, Choice of restaurants, Gastronomy, Historic Hotels, Luxury Hotels, Oviedo, Private, Private pool, Romantic Hotel, Rural, Small Hotels, Spa tub)
This delightfully small castle hotel is also known as the “Sela Palace”. It´s in Zoreda forest just 4 kilometers from the city of Oviedo in a private and discrete spot making it an ideal escape for those looking for some luxurious privacy.
The Castillo del Bosque La Zoreda has 25 luxury rooms and suites in 13.000sq m of private grounds, two restaurants for a fine dining experience and an English-style pub.
The spa, which is open daily, has a large pool with nine hydrotherapy jets, as well as massage and beauty treatments cabins, a Vichy shower, relaxation area and a steam bath.
The forest of La Zoreda, the green lung of Oviedo, includes oaks, maples, chestnuts, beeches, hazel and has an impressive diversity of fauna, with wild boars, roe deer, foxes, badgers, squirrels, owls and several forest reptiles yet is close to the city.
With non-smoking rooms, wifi and direct-dial lines you´ll be well connected in the heart of nature.
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February 15, 2012 at 10:47 pm (Canary Islands, Destinations, Mallorca, Rural, Unique)
Hotel Bon Sol in Illetas in Mallorca has always taken its environmental policy seriously, even from its beginnings in 1953, long before the ozone layer scare stories.
Antonio Xamena, the original owner, loved nature and respected the natural world so began offering traditional Mediterranean hospitality that caused no damage. Hotel Bon Sol, a former manor house on the old Bendinat Castle estate on a pine-clad hillside in Illetas, just west of Palma was originally the Xamena family home.
The house was sympathetically restored and later developed into a hotel business and expanded. Antonio Xamena showed incredible foresight and as his son Martin Xamena said “We were an environmentally-friendly concern, before the phrase was even invented!”
Belonging to The Association of Sustainable Hotels in Mallorca Bon Sol is committed to green practices in all areas of hotel management from being the first building on the island to use solar panels in 1968 to recycled shower water being used to flush the toilets.
Being concerned with how much CO2 the hotel was producing annually the Xamena family bought land equivalent to 240 football grounds and started to plant trees: half teak and half local rainforest trees. In 2009 more land was bought and tree planting is now in process. The total amount of land under development is now approximately the size of 520 football fields with 230,000 trees.
See www.hotelbonsol.es for details and bookings or call 00 34 971 402 111.
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February 8, 2012 at 7:49 am (5* Hotels, Choice of restaurants, Historic Hotels, Madrid, Spas, Urban)
For a truly luxurious stay in the heart of Spain´s capital city it has to be The Hospes Madrid. A beautifully restored 41- bedroomed building from 1833 that is right next to Madrid´s green lung the Parque del Retiro and in front of the Puerta de Alcalá.
A more peaceful location right in the city is hard to find bringing you both urban life and green space in one unique location. The 5* Hospes Madrid in the Barrio de Salamanca offers the best local cuisine in its Senzone Restaurant Puerta de Alcalá and the Bodyna Spa offers natural products mixed together to create a feeling of well-being and relaxation during your stay in this major European city.
The Hospes Madrid is part of the Hospes Infinite Places Collection.
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November 17, 2011 at 7:56 am (Car Hire, Luxury Hotels, Mallorca, Spanish Island)
Palma Airport is one of the busiest airport in Europe, around 20 million passengers pass through the airport terminals, which only confirms Majorca´s popularity as a holiday destination.
Majorca, or Mallorca which is the Spanish spelling, has only one airport – Palma which is set to expand its capacity to over 30 million passengers by 2015.
As a winter sun destination with a 2.5 hour flight from the UK it´s an ideal base with summer temperatures in the high 20s C and the nights are long and warm. In winter the daytime temperatures can reach the lower 20s with cold mornings and evenings. Inland is of course colder than on the coast.
But where to stay on Majorca?
The 5* Son Brull Hotel & Spa is the one that ticks all my boxes for luxury, quality and service. The hotel will arrange any activity from horse riding to hot air ballooning and hiking to flying a helicopter flying. Or a sedate spot of golf on one of the two nearby courses, which a discount for guests of course.
Wherever you choose to stay a car will be indispensible to make the most of your visit to this unique island where charm and uniqueness, simplicity and luxury, relaxation and activity go hand in hand. For car hire at Palma airport there´s no need to look further than Blue Valley Car Hire.
For more on Majorca see Search Majorca
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July 29, 2011 at 3:33 pm (4* Hotels, Andalucia, Exclusive Weekends, Gastronomy, Historic Hotels, Luxury Hotels, Paradors, Seville)
This Parador on the edge of the picturesque and monument-rich town of Carmona in the province of Sevilla, Andalucia has a fine heritage. The 14th century Arabic fortress has been restored, modernised and added to creating the luxurious feel with its modern amenities it offers today.
Carmona Parador Parking
The original fortress build by the Moors was on the site of an earlier fortress built by the Iberians and Carthaginians later to be altered and increased in size by Rey Don Pedro.
Dining Room at the Parador de Carmona
Stuffed with leather work, wood, ancient rugs and antiques means a huge choice of seating areas, the lovely terrace overlooking the plains beyond, the colonnaded cloister, gardens complete with a Mudejar fountain and swimming pool or the welcoming lounge.
I visited in June 2011 and this is definitely in my top five list of Paradors in Andalucia.
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May 2, 2011 at 1:33 pm (Andalucia, Designer Goodies, Family, Gastronomy, Historic Hotels, Honeymoon, Luxury Gifts, Luxury Hotels, Private, Private pool, Rental Accommodation, Romantic Hotel, Rural, Seville, Small Hotels, Unique, Wine)
Bring a touch of Spain in the UK with these classy hampers from George Scott. The best Jamon Iberico de bellota is chosen by George himself a born in Spain of English parents bilingual guy who travels regularly between the exquisite family-run hotel Trasierra and London.
There´s a range of jamons and smaller hampers available in gorgeous hand weaved picnic baskets via the families hotel website.
Visit the Trasierra hotel website and feel the pull from the touches of pure Englishness in a historic 16th century house in the heart of the mountains of the Sierra Morena to the north of Seville.
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March 29, 2011 at 10:38 am (4* Hotels, 5* Hotels, Hotels, Spas)
Tripadvisor´s most recent list of the top 10 hotels in Europe contains two in Spain the La Villa Marbella in the south and Can Furios Hotel in Palma de Mallorca.
- Golden Well (U Zlate Studne), Prague, Czech Republic
- Anastasis Apartments, Imerovigli, Greece
- Al Ponte Antico Hotel, Venice, Italy
- La Villa Marbella – Charming Hotel, Marbella, Spain
- Hotel Prinsenhof Bruges, Bruges, Belgium
- Britania Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal
- Hotel Albergaria Dias, Funchal, Portugal
- Hotel Davanzati, Florence, Italy
- Hotel Palazzo Zichy, Budapest, Hungary
- Can Furios Hotel, Binibona, Spain
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