Very convenient, so plus points are:-
no distance to travel away from autovia del Norte
plenty of free parking space
Free Wi Fi reaches all rooms well
Good cafeteira
Pleasant gardens
Negative points:-
greeting & efficiency of receptionist - only 5 out of 10
noisy & this stretch of autovia has bad road surface, and the Parador had not made any real attempt to insulate itself from the noise - eg a wall or Lelandii hedge
not a particularly historical building
room a bit small & dark & only rather small double bed (although comfortable)
Restaurant expensive (as usual) & mediocre. Yes you can help yourself to as much starter from the buffet & some of the options were OK, but nothing special.
main course was poor/ lukewarm & in my wife's case the hake very poor & not well cooked
desserts - probably the best course - but too late to redeem itself
all in all NOT worth £80!
They close the swimming pool on September 11th which was a pity as we would love to have swum (early Oct) - it was sunny & warm weather.
The actual place of Manzanares 2 miles away & rather an ordinary place except for the cathedral - but it was locked & surrounded by rubbish that they had not even swept up.
Next time we will give this Parador a miss - try Almagro - only about 20 miles away.

The staff is very friendly. The hotel is not recent but very well maintained and very clean. Pool looks nice but we came in a bit too late, weather was changing. The 5 stars go to the restaurant with its menu of all local food. Bravo to the chef. it was worth the stay...We recommend this hotel for it price, commodity and food...

The Parador at Manzanares is a welcome sight indeed at the end of a long day's drive. It is rather gloomy, but in the intense summer heat of the area, this is not a bad thing. The pool is something which motorway hotels tend not to have and the buffet Dinner in the adjoining Restaurant is very impressive. Only the starters and desserts are on the buffet as the main course is brought to the table, but the choice and quality of the food is impressive. An excellent and convenient hotel an hour South of Madrid and right on the edge of the motorway. Incidentally, despite it's proximity to the motorway, there is no noise inside the rooms.

The hotel and restaurant are broadly up to the Paradores standards. But the location (near the motorway) and the architecture (modern construction) have little appeal. This is OK for a stopover, but if possible it's best to move ahead to a more attractive location...