A lovely hotel, but the But in the title says it all. With just the tiniest bit more effort it could be a superb one ,and that's what is so annoying.

The location is perfect. They have performed the seemingly impossible trick of having a hotel bang in the centre of the old city without it being too noisy to sleep.

Full marks, too, for the reception staff, who, seeing we were staying longer than most, put us in the only double room with a separate seating area. Easy enough to do, but how often is it done?

But perfection doesn't last. The room was a good size, carpeted,and very nicely furnished BUT the walls were paper thin ,and the noisy neighbours kept us awake all the first night. The beds were comfortable BUT the pillows seemed to be stuffed with firewood. I woke up one morning with a red blotch on my forehead where I had bumped it on the pillow during the night.

We could only find Spanish channels on the TV - just not good enough for a hotel of this rating.

The bathroom was spacious and well equipped, with more toiletries than one expects these days, including toothbrush and razor sets. BUT where were the paper handkerchiefs which even a Travelodge gives you?

Breakfast was, frankly, annoying. The venue, in a glassed in coutryard is beatiful, and the seats are comfortable, which is more than you can say of most eateries these days. BUT.

For cereals there is only a choice of cornflakes, Special K or Coco Pops. No muesli. No porridge. No bran. No roughage and nothing to soak up the cholesterol of the hot buffet. Said hot buffet is adequate but uninspired with a choice of omelette, fried eggs, and bacon. Plus delicious pancakes BUT no syrup to put on them. How annoying can you get?

Well, you can have a vast choice of delicious rolls, but only strawberry jam or peach jam to put on them. No honey. No marmalade in a country where oranges grow on trees. Are they deliberately setting out to irritate?

On the other hand, if your tastes for breakfast run to chocolate covered doughnuts and 5 different kinds of olive oil, this may be just the place for you.

We didn't try the restaurant, as the hotel is surrounded by restaurants offering the same sort of menus at half the price.

We arrived by train, so can't comment on the parking arrangements. The staion is a good 20 minutes walk away.

All in all, probably the best you'll find in Avila, and worth recommending if you can get it for around 80 euros a night as we did. You'd have to be out of your mind to pay the rack rate of 355 euros.

But it's such a pity they couldn't quite get the breakfast right.

Very nice hotel in the heart of Avila. We stayed in August 2011. We would definitely stay here again. Loved the ambiance. It is clean and comfortable. My only complaint is the front desk staff are a little "cold". that was a turn off.

Delighted with our stay in this historic property....only minor observation was the fact that wifi was not accessible in our upper floor room (walls of the hotel probably too thick!).....also, buffet breakfast at 12 euro is ridiculous....we opted for the continental breakfast at 5 euro which was fine .....outstanding location right next to the Cathedral....would not hesitate to recommend.....furnishings appear a bit dated, but all in all in keeping with the character of the property....very comfortable stay.

We stayed 6 nights to attend a meeting, and from what we saw and heard from other attendees, this is a superior place to stay. Our room was spacious, especially the bathroom, and the breakfast was excellent. The interior courtyard was pleasantly cool and quiet, a perfect escape from the busy warm streets. The one (fairly serious) drawback was the intermittent and slow wireless internet access. When sightseeing, don't miss the Museo de Avila, located just beyond the closest city gate (Puerta de Carnicerias), which has an English language audio tour; it's a nice brisk overview of the cultural history and the artifacts housed in the adjacent former church.