I have to start by saying that the Hotel Giral is one of the reasons that my wife and I went to Spain. Not because it's that life-changing, but because it sports my family name... and I wanted to track down my ancestry.
That said, am I glad we went! The hotel itself is well worn, but comfortable. The rooms are spacious and clean, with nice amenities (for an older building). The staff is warm and gracious, but again, we share a surname, so I can't be totally impartial there.
The food, however... if you ask for the menú del dia, be sure to get the goat cheese salad with the balsamic reduction. It was SO GOOD that we had it every night of our stay! If your energy is flagging, be sure to get the chicken soup. (Yeah, I know... there isn't any chicken in it, just the stock from what chicken they cooked, but it has an orzo in it and a wonderful flavor.) ...and while my wife varied her dessert nightly, I did not - their natilla tasted just like my grandmother's, and I couldn't get enough!
Tucked away in the Spanish Pyrenees, roughly 30 km west of the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido, and fewer than 10 km from the French border, Biescas is a picture postcard town. The hiking (and mountain biking) is phenomenal; there is a wonderfully manicured and maintained football pitch, as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, skateboard park and tennis courts - all a few minutes' walk from the Hotel Giral. The people in town are friendly and accommodating to those of us with a limited command of the local language...
By the end of our visit, the owners of the Hotel Giral had suggested that since my grandfather was born 200 km west of there, and that their forebears came from the next valley to the east, that we likely were not related after all. :'-(
It wasn't until a few days later, when we got a copy of my grandfather's birth certificate, that we discovered that was his grandfather's hometown!
Bottom line: Nice accommodations (with a rustic feel), GREAT food, a warm and friendly staff in a picture-perfect part of Spain... we'll be back! read more