PARADORS AND POUSADAS

Do as the Spanish and Portuguese do, treat yourself to a holiday with a difference and live like a king at a parador or pousada in wonderful surroundings!

Already 100 years ago the Spanish started thinking about what to do with all the great castles, palaces and monasteries which nobody could really afford to restore. Should they be left to decay or could they be salvaged for posterity?

In the 1920’s the royal commander of tourism, the Marques of Vega-Inclán, had the bright idea to establish a series of state-owned inns all over Spain, a project eagerly backed by King Alfonso XIII. And what could be better than to house them in old, historical buildings?

GOLDEN STOP-OVERS

They were to be called paradores or “golden stop-overs” and offer board and lodging to travellers. They would be located all over the country at a one day journey’s distance of each other, thus easily accessible by “automobile” as it was then called. Another condition was that they provide over-night accommodation without profit interest in areas where private initiatives would not be profitable. And so the first parador was opened to the public by the King in 1928 in the inaccessible Gredos mountains.

As time went by, more were set up, and today there are around 100 of them. They have developed into regular luxury hotels which offer all mod cons while retaining much of their inestimable, original atmosphere. Sleeping Beauty-castles have been woken from their slumber, dilapidated old palaces rise again in all their glory and deserted monasteries have been granted a new lease of life. There are also a number of paradors built in recent times, but always in spectacular locations with wonderful views.

A TRAVEL IN TIME

Inspired by their neighbouring country, the Portuguese introduced a similar scheme in the 1930’s and called their hotels pousadas. The concept is the same, although the pousadas don’t always reach the same standard as the paradors. But they, too, are to be found in marvellous surroundings, inside thick castle walls where time has stood still, and as a guest you feel magically transported to a bygone era.

Glorious great halls and parlours have been turned into welcoming restaurants and comfortable lounges. There is a definite sense of tranquillity under the beautifully vaulted ceilings, classical music is playing in the background and the fountain in the quadrangle is babbling contentedly. Who would not want to partake of a meal in such serene surroundings? And it is not just any old meal, either! The kitchen staff take pride in presenting excellent, regional dishes with locally grown, ecologically friendly ingredients, such as mushrooms, berries and game from the nearby forests and fish from the brooks in the area. The wine list comprises wines from all over the world, but it is of course more fun to sample the specialities of the district.

GOLDEN DAYS

Last but not least: Treating yourself to a few overnight stays is actually not all that expensive, even in such a princely milieu, especially if you have reached the golden age, i.e. 60+! You can then get a 30-40% discount on certain days of the week or if you stay in several paradors or pousadas in succession, and there are other types of price reductions as well. Normally, the price for one night is ca 130 Euro. Visit www.parador.es or www.pousadas.pt

SOME OF MY FAVOURITES:

My tip: Drive to the parador or the pousada and park there. The hotels are often situated in the centre of towns with parking problems. After parking at your place of accommodation you can then explore the town on foot! There will most certainly be a pedestrian zone in the town centre.