Parador de Alarcón

The restaurant at the hotel was great. The surrounding area is excellent; nice walking paths and amazing vistas. My only mistake was booking a room and not realizing I did not get the option for a non-smoking room. The room smelled of cigarette smoke, especially the bedding and pillows. It was so bad that I slept on the bathroom floor, because the odor had not saturated that area of the room. The hotel has complaint forms, of which I filled one out. After handing it to the front desk staff, I turned around, and left, but before exiting I heard a quick rip, and new the form was in the trash, probably unread.

Situated in an old castle, this is a small parador (only 14 rooms) with lots of character. All the rooms are individually named and we were given information on the history of both the castle and the naming of our room. Standard and comfort was of the highest level. Dinner was accompanied by a small booklet explaining each course and giving the receipe. Breakfast was cooked to order and like dinner was excellent. Views from our room and from the castle turret were stunning. Alarcon is a small town but there are a few bars and the one opposite the Parador is good value for both food and drink.