We’ve just returned from a walking holiday (www.mountainwalks.com) based at Hotel Els Frares. This is our third visit and is becoming an annual retreat.

The hotel is an oasis of calm with spectacular views. The bedrooms are clean and comfortable with amazing tiled floors. There are several cosy lounge areas and a sunny courtyard for relaxing and log fires in the evenings add to the atmosphere. Bliss!

Pat, Brian and son Tom offer a warm welcome and their hospitality is first class. After an excellent day’s walking there’s nothing better than sitting on the balcony with a drink in hand watching the sun go down behind the mountains. The food - a range of of Pat's Spanish home-cooking is delicious and one of the highlights of the holiday.

The local area provides the opportunity for wonderful and varied walks, led by experienced and knowledgeable guides. Thanks Jem - the vulture walk and ridge walks were superb! The company is always good and the chance to return next year is difficult to resist. An excellent holiday.

Hotel Els Frares is the perfect base for exploring this area of Spain. Very comfortable rooms, beautiful lounge (Log fire!) , bar and restaurant serving great food both in terms of quality and quantity. Family run business making you welcome and accommodating individual requirements. You can opt for guided or non guided walks in this area full of unspoilt nature, this is a different Spain to the coast, yet so easily accessible. try it and I bet like me you will want to return again and again. Enjoy.

My wife and I stayed at Hotel Els Frares for four nights over Christmas 2008. We chose this hotel specifically because of it's location, it's size (we didnt want a large, soulless hotel) and the Christmas hospitality package. Our expectations were fulfilled on all fronts!

The hotel is situated amongst absolutely stunning mountainous countryside. We used a car to explore the surrounding area and didnt run out of amazing scenery to enjoy.

The hotel itself is a perfect size with genuine rustic feel and various cosy lounges with open log fires. One of the nicest things was the friendly atmosphere. There was great chat and banter with all the other guests but also enough space if you preferred a quiet spot to relax in front of the fire. Our bedroom was also very cosy with a balcony with great views.

The owners Pat and Brian were genuinely friendly giving us lots of advice on areas to explore and enjoying chat with all the guests at meal times and in the evenings. A particular highlight of our stay was getting to know Mabel, a local woman who works in the hotel. She was incredibly friendly and we had great chat and laughs every day.

For every meal the food was tremendous - fresh and original with great portions. If you're thinking of going at Christmas I would say DO IT! The Christmas Day banquet was wonderful with a great atmosphere and - as usual - amazing food.

We had a wonderful time and definitely plan to return to Hotel Els Frares.

Having just moved house and been busy decorating, we needed a break away from it all over Christmas and New Year. Els Frares proved to be the perfect choice. The hotel is beautifully appointed, with comfortable rooms, roaring log fires and superb food. The walking programme was outstanding with excellent and knowledgeable guides leading us through wonderful countryside. The owners, Pat and Brian, could not have been more welcoming - their commitment to the local area and its culture was truly inspirational.

The Christmas and New Year's parties were great fun with a super mixture of many nationalities dancing the night away.

We hope to return when the almond trees are in bloom or perhaps even sooner if we get fed up again with the decorating !!!