Very remote typically Spanish hunting lodge set in a beautiful part of Northern Andalucia, don't be fooled it is 23kms from Cazorla itself. Ideal for getting away from it all, nothing much to do but relax, watch the wildlife and marvel at the scenery. Rooms vary and would recommend requesting ones at the front of the building with views as opposed to the back onto a bland courtyard . Professional staff, food and drink better than some Paradors and prices you would expect from this class of hotel (average main meal 16-18 Euros, bottle house wine 14 Euros).

The only negative was would have liked to have been informed about the renovations, due to finish July 2010 and would benefit from a Spa.

Our first visit to a Parador. As we expected, a cut above your average hotel with excellent staff and facilities. Best of all were the views from the verandah and garden. The location IS remote which means that you invariably eat and drink at the hotel which works out as much more expensive than in Cazorla town. And why do Spanish hotels - especially of this calibre - not have irons and ironing boards for their guests? When you're travelling for several weeks this is really a necessity. They do charge an exhorbitant 5 Euros for washing and ironing a single shirt which may explain why... An excellent location for (reasonably well-laid out) walking and the hotel welcomes walkers with open arms, even supplying sticks. The room was very pleasant, even if ours looked out onto a nondescript courtyard but no air conditioning which really should have been provided. Being in the mountains can get chilly at night (even if the rooms retain the heat) so bring a jumper. The hotel was built as a fascist retreat by Franco for his chums which gives it a novelty value although interestingly the hotel omits this from its literature. It may explain the elderly, well-dressed old gentlemen in tinted-glasses floating around the corridors, however.

We have just completed our 7th stay at the Parador de Cazorla for a few more days hiking. Its central remote location in the Parque Natural de Cazorla, provides many hiking trails several of them straight out of the front door. The quietness, comfortable rooms, relaxed atmosphere, welcoming staff and of course the excellent traditional cooking and ample breakfast buffets all add to the pleasure of our visits.

It is situated a good half hours drive from the village of Cazorla up an asphalted but bumpy winding road, and being some 400m higher it is at least 4degC cooler, a real plus in the summer, but a little chilly on spring & autumn mornings. It has the good basic facilities expected of a traditional mountain lodge, pleasant, quiet comfortable well appointed rooms, (provided you take the ones with a view of the Parque and not the basic ones at the back), and depending on the season there is an open air pool to cool off in, or a residents lounge with log fire to warm up in. There is no air conditioning but that has never been a problem to us because of the altitude, at least we know the heating is effective!

As there are no shops within half an hours drive we found that the best plan is to buy hiking provisions at the Mercadona in the center of Cazorla village before settling down for a week. For hiking (or touring) a map such as the one from Alpina sold in the Parador is essential, as well as a compass or GPS along with water, waterproof gear (we have encountered storms with hail when the rest of Spain is basking at 30deg with clear sunny skies!) and a mobile phone to get you out of any serious difficulties. In the last year, at long last, the more popular trails have been sign posted with fairly accurate times (the ‘Authorities’ even removed a lot of posts a few years back).

Most of the customers are Spanish, particularly at the weekends, and they are there to commune with nature, eat and catch up on family news. The dress code is very casual; some seem to wear the same gear for 5 days dawn to dusk. There is no wild social life, and none expected by the usual clientele, so a good book or a game of cards and a glass of wine at the end of the day is as much as you can hope for. There is as yet no WIFI and even the front desk computer only runs at a snails pace …so just forget the world, relax and enjoy the scenery, hiking trails and wildlife!

Our eighth visit is being planned!

This is a hunting lodge built for the fascist elite in the 1960s, so it has a uniquely priveleged position isolated in the limestone sierra at the end of a narrow, sinuous road about 45 minutes drive from Cazorla. There is nothing else around, so expect to eat and drink in the Parador, although it is a good idea to bring your picnic lunch food and water up from the village of Arroyo Frio about 20mins drive east. This place is for relaxing and exploring the Sierra de Cazorla by car or better on foot. There is an excellent outdoor pool, and a good, typically Parador-style restaurant and bar with outdoor balcony. The rooms lack a/c, only one has a balcony, and most have small windows and are therefore rather dark. This is only a Grade 1 parador (they have 6 grades) so don´t expect luxury. However, it is the majestic surrounding scenery and sense of isolation that make this hotel unique in mainland Spain (in this sense it is rather like the parador on Tenerife). The walking is challenging: the Parador lies at 1300m above sea level but the surrounding mountains can exceed 1800m. The Parador provides some information on local walks, but they could do better and the staff seemed fairly clueless (the girl at the desk, for example, had never heard of Gilillo - a locally well known high peak about 3 hours walk to the SW and well worth it). For an invigorating 5hr circular walk from the Parador, follow the yellow and white painted markers. Take plenty of water, food, a compass and the Alpine Sierra de Cazorla map (buy in Arroyo Frio). Start by walking N from the Parador to locate the signposted track to Puerto del Tejo (55mins). The initial climb is steep (the hardest part of the walk) but levels off before the Puerto (where a track runs down right towards Cazorla) from where the main track continues south, descending through the pine forest for 2.5km to a hairpin bend left (below Picon del Rey). In another 1km you reach a signposted junction: the steeply descending rough track to the left is the shorter route back to the Parador (under 2 hours - ignore the signposting here: it seems a bit confused). A gentler, longer route is to go right and descend to the Guadalquivir river valley road which you follow downstream for 2.5km to locate the track (left) back up to the Parador. The final climb is tiring, but a shower and cold drink await you on arrival.