The Parque Hotel is conveniently located near the bus and train stations. The area is hardly Valladolid’s prettiest, but convenient for those travelling by public transport (the World Heritage cities of Leon, Salamanca, Avila, Segovia and Burgos are all easy day trips from Valladolid). The old part of town is a straightforward 15 to 20 minute walk, mostly through the city’s main park.

The hotel occupies a modern 9 storey building on a busy thoroughfare, rather monstrous from outside, but pleasant enough once inside. My room, looking onto some sort of inner courtyard, was quite a decent size, if somewhat plain, and rather dark, even when the midday sun was hitting strong outside. Rooms looking onto the street are surely brighter, probably noisier too. The bathroom was nice and well appointed, despite the ridiculously tiny bathtub, better used as a shower. The room came with air-con, and satellite TV with plenty of local and international channels.

Buffet breakfast was fantastic, I thought, while I was helping myself to some delicious peach juice and trying to decide what to have next. That is, until a waitress asked for my room number and kindly explained that my rate (booked through a discount website) only included continental breakfast. I was then shown to another hall where I was served one croissant, two bread rolls, one glass of orange juice and some coffee. Still, pretty decent.

Service was correct at all times.

All in all, I found the Parque Hotel not a bad place to stay, if hardly fancy. Good value for money if booked online through a discount website.