News from Little Hotels, Edition 9
Is it really April already? Well, yes, and Easter has come and gone. It’s been a week of lovely weather, and of course every town and village has been celebrating Semana Santa as only the Spanish can. Our own nearest town had an absolutely amazing display of costumes and finery on Easter Sunday.
Recent New Hotels
First one to mention is the Duquesa de Cardona in Barcelona. It’s hardly a “little” hotel, with 44 rooms, but we included it because we like the hotel so much, and it really does have the flavour of a “little hotel”. It’s down at the bottom of the Ramblas overlooking the stunning harbourside of Port Vell, and with views straight out to sea and along the coast in both directions. There is even a roof terrace with swimming pool. Of all the cities we have visited in the world, Barcelona is our favourite.
La Almendra y El Gitano is really special, and not just for its curious name. It’s in a remote area in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, in Almería, and it really is a fantastic location for nature lovers and romantics alike. The name of the hotel, which translates into English as “The Almond and the Gypsy”, is taken from a love poem written by the owner for his wife. Please be patient if we take a little longer than normal to confirm a booking here, as 21st century communications are a bit thin on the ground in the hills of Cabo de Gata, and the carrier pigeon sometimes gets tired.
Font Salada is a family-friendly hotel on the Costa Blanca that is also eco-friendly, utilising solar and wind energy and a maximum of “green” materials in the construction.
Further down the Mediterranean, we have another small hotel ideal for families near Malaga. Hotel Picasso is a bungalow-style hotel just 5 minutes walk from the beach, in a quiet area of mostly private villas, and only a short drive from the city if you’re looking for a bit more “life”. It’s right alongside the mouth of the Guadalhorce river too, which is a magnet for migrating birds at certain times of year.
The clue is in the name with Palacio Ca Sa Galesa. This magnificent old house in the gothic quarter of Palma de Mallorca is the only hotel in the old town with its own swimming pool. And what a pool! A roman-style bath under a vaulted stone ceiling. The service is discrete but utterly complete.
Last but not least, we have a pair of hotels owned by the impressively named Gonzalo del Rio y Gonzalez-Gordon. Bearing in mind that one of these hotels is in Jerez, you may just spot something familiar in that name: “Gonzalez” as in Gonzalez-Byass of Tio Pepe sherry fame, and “Gordon” as in Gordon’s Gin. You can be assured of a very fine aperitif (and much more besides) at Casa Viña de Alcántara near Jerez and Casa Número 7 in Seville.
Book Early or Late?
I blame it on things like lastminute.com and the “deals” they post in travel agent’s windows. There is an idea abroad that booking at the last minute will get you a super deal. Well it might, but more likely it will get you the holiday that no-one else wanted! This year we had a huge number of clients trying to book hotels for Easter during the last couple of weeks, and unfortunately most were disappointed. One lady was even in Spain and phoning us from her mobile, desperate to find a place for that night. We got her a room, but it wasn’t her first choice.We always urge our clients to make their bookings as early as possible. If you haven’t booked your summer holiday yet, then now would be a good time to do it. Some accommodation is already booked up (Son Lladó, for instance, in Mallorca, is booked solid through July, August and into September) but right now there is still plenty of availability in most places. Please help us to help you get the holiday you really want.
Spanish Public Holidays
The Spanish are never ones to miss the chance for a party, so they give themselves
plenty of public holidays, national, regional and local. Many of them are spectacular
events which have become famous throughout the world: the running of the bulls
in Pamplona for example, or the Tomato Festival in Buñol. As well as
our Festivals and Events page, we also have a page
detailing as best we can the national and regional
holidays. We can’t possibly list everything
though, so if you drive into a town or little village and find the streets
closed off and a huge procession passing through, well sorry; you’ll
just have to park up and join in the fun.The Weather
If we were to ask people what is there main reason for choosing Spain (or many other places) for their holiday, I think the number one answer would be the weather. To help you choose the right location and time of year for you, we’ve added weather information to all our websites. From every hotel or villa page, you can click on “What will the weather be like?” to see the average sunshine and temperature statistics for that place. There is also a separate weather page where you can compare different places and find just the right weather to suit you and your type of holiday.While we all like to concentrate on the positive sides of the weather, we
wouldn’t be being honest if we didn’t also consider the possibility
of rain. Therefore our 
weather page will also tell you how many rainy days
(more than 1mm, which isn’t much, during 24 hours) you might expect in
a month. This varies from none-at-all in many areas in July, to “quite
a lot” in Galicia in January. That’s why Galicia is “green
Spain”.
Something Out-Of-The-Ordinary
The hotel Enfrente Arte in Ronda seems more like an antidote to hotels. Conceived from the very beginning as a super-relaxed home-from-home, the decoration is a surprisingly effective eclectic mix of just about any style you care to think of. Breakfast when you want, have a drink when you want. While you’re just moments from the centre of town, you look straight out onto the Sierra de Las Nieves Natural Park. A quick stroll will take you past the Arab Baths, the Fuente de los Ocho Caños and the New Bridge (well, it was new in the 18th century). Ronda is fascinating, and so is Enfrente Arte.Happy holidays!
Paul Melhuish
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