As hotels go the Husa Zurbaran in Badajoz is nothing special. It's tucked away up a side street just inside the old city walls but it's ease of access to the shops and restaurants is pretty good and there's decent secure parking (important as our friends were on a motorcycle) beneath the hotel. We also parked our hire car there as well as there was no available street parking (free) to be had when we arrived, cost was €12 per night. Our room was ok but needed a bit of a spruce up, there was a large crack in the ceiling and the bathroom was looking a bit tired, although it has to be said it was clean. Staff were no worse or no better than many other hotels we've stayed at, were were booked in with no fuss and it was all very efficient. Breakfast here wasn't included in the room price but could be had for a further €11. This would have added an extra €44 to our bill for the 4 of us so we declined to eat here preferring to grab something cheaper and probably more substantial on the way to our next port of call. Not the best hotel we've stayed at but certainly not the worst, for a one night stopover it's fine.

A good location and a lack of hotels in Badajoz make the Zuraban a good choice. It cannot do anything about its horrible 60’s architecture, but it could be a much better hotel if the front desk staff could manage a smile every once in a while. And we communicated to them in native Spanish, no Lost in Translation problem here. There was a Taurine Feria when we were there so the only restaurant offered six specials of Toro de Lidia, (bull meat), for the entire week, therefore the selection was quite repetitive and limited as the normal menu was quite restricted. The beautifully appointed restaurant has one waiter who is quite capable, but sorely understaffed.
However, sandwiches are available at the bar and the waiter, Pepe, is a smiling and pleasant employee as is the porter. Restaurant Los Monteros or Dosca II a couple of blocks away are excellent. Breakfast is quite good and plentiful. The rooms are comfortable and clean, but there is a big noise problem. In order to run cables, there is a large space between rooms (above entry door grills, not seen except if you happen to look up and your light is off and your neighbor’s is on) about 6 inches by six inches, that allows every sound to travel. Speaking of sound- I wanted to kill an animal. A peacock lives in the park across the street and wonders around freely, often in front of the hotel’s breakfast room and it screeches at dawn or dusk. It sounds like a cat is being murdered. Get a room that faces the back or better still, in the wing that faces the river. Another huge problem was the fluctuating water temperature as you shower. It can go from warm to scalding instantly and happens all the time. Internet access was an expensive12 Euros for 24 hours.

We stayed at the hotel for 4 nights, there were 6 of us in 3 rooms. The hotel was very nice, modern and clean. The staff however did not seem very interested in being helpful. Our Spanish is limited but we tried and the staff even though they understood and spoke English seemed annoyed that they had to answer our questions. It was in a great location within walking distance of the historical and shopping sections of town. Overall a nice stay.

We were leaving Toledo and following the River Douro into Portugal. Badajoz was a convenient one-night stopover and this hotel was great. It is situated by a large park with wandering peacocks. They joined us on the terrace in the evening to provide the entertainment. The restaurant is fantastic, overlooking the park and five star attention to detail. There was a wide choice of excellent dishes including fish and the food was either cooked on a barbeque or brought from the kitchen. We paid £51.90 for the room and although the meal was 57 euros, it was memorable. As far as we recall there was no parking on site but we parked opposite the hotel with no problem.