We arrived here tired after a long drive from La Rioja through the Pyreneean foothills and immediately hit the problem that normal access to this pretty hilltop mediaeval village was completely blocked off because it was a festival weekend. Police were guarding the barriers and were unmoved by our attempts to explain that we were staying at Los Siete Reyes. We had to park in a large visitor car park quite some way outside the village itself and drag our luggage (fortunately we had cases with wheels) across a large and difficult gravel enclosure to the main square. OK for us, but would have been impossible for the disabled or even some older people. The next problem was finding the hotel; we knew it was on the main square but could see no sign of it, though there were several other hotels and restaurants there!

We asked various people (no-one spoke any English) and eventually located it in the form of a door next to a gift shop, lying well back under the arches lining the square. We went into the shop and were helped by a lady serving there who spoke a little English. We got the impression the shop and hotel were part of the same business and ownership but were never completely sure about this. There was a door from the shop to the staircase leading to the hotel which was on the upper floors, and the shop lady got a key and showed us to our room (Fortun I).

The room almost took our breath away! The word that first comes to mind is style. Decor was ultra-modern in spite of an exposed stone wall on two sides - behind the bed and the opposite wall. The room was spacious with a double bed almost as wide as it was long, a 2-seater couch (that you wouldn't find in your furniture discount store), a leather armchair, wooden desk, upright chair and small table. The bed featured an enormous leather headboard mounted to the wall, high-quality white linen, a black-and-white bedspread with curvy zebra stripes and a smart stool at the foot. On the opposite stone feature wall hung an extraordinary piece of artwork - a kind of montage of blue-painted sacking strung on an irregular wooden frame that looked like a piece of driftwood. Actually we thought it was superb. Above the desk was an abstract painting, and on the desk a flat/wide screen TV. There were two bedside tables and clever, effective lighting that could be made to suit any mood, including spotlights embedded in the beamed ceiling.

The bathroom was almost as impressive with a full-length bath, separate shower and high-quality fittings. Fortun I (all seven rooms are named after Aragonese kings) is at the back of the building away from the square (fortunate in view of the festival?) and french doors open on to a small balcony with superb views of the mountains. There is one other small window and the room does lack daylight to an extent, but with all that lighting we didn't find that a problem.

The enormous bed was very comfortable and the linen gorgeous. Situated at the back of the hotel everything was very peaceful, but the festival, with live music, generated a lot of noise in the square on the Saturday (we stayed Saturday and Sunday nights) and it would perhaps not have been so good in a room at the front. Probably not a problem on a normal evening in Ainsa, but they have lots of events there (it is an official and major Spanish cultural site) and if there's any chance of that, it would be well worthwhile to get a room at the back, facing the Pyrenees.

The hotel doesn't have a restaurant but there are several good places to eat in Ainsa from swish restaurants to small bars doing food (these are very good value).

Breakfast in the hotel,served in a small area on the first floor, was very good with lots of variety. Apart from at breakfast we saw hardly anyone while we were in the hotel. Although there's a desk with a computer in the breakfast area you rarely see anyone at it! But everything gets serviced just fine.

Ainsa itself is beautiful and most interesting. When we left on the Monday all traces of the festival had gone and we were able to take our car into the square to pack it. So that would be the usual scene unless an event is being staged.

Knowing our room was at the back, away from the noise, we enjoyed the festival enormously, even managing to join in a splendid and entirely free buffet lunch (with wine) on the Sunday. We're sure this was mainly intended for the locals but undeterred my wife joined the hungry throng and I followed her! And we joined in the dancing in the streets and the square on the Saturday evening too.

Two other tips: firstly, although we booked directly with the hotel using e-mail, this all had to be done in Spanish and we're not surprised some find it easier to book through an agent like Inns of Spain, but we prefer to fix holidays independently. Secondly, we found hardly anyone in Ainsa who spoke English - not in shops, restaurants or anywhere else. Even the information office had only one person who spoke just a little English. There were plenty of tourists at the festival, but they were almost all Spanish. So if you don't speak Spanish, take a good phrase book and dictionary, or do a course before you go! Irritatingly too, few of the guide books on sale, including some of the better ones, are available in English. Most are in Spanish only.

Finally Los Siete Reyes was phenomenally good value. I've not exaggerated its advantages in this review and the price we paid for Fortun I was 107 euros per night including breakfast.

The combination of the location and the hotel made this stay a highlight of our holiday.