I can't rave enough about this hidden gem, located only five minutes away from Baqueira, in the…read morecute historic town of Salardú. The rooms will make you feel like you're staying in the middle of the mountains, in a ski chalet. You'll have views on Baqueira's gorgeous mountains, ski slopes and the big Christmas tree located in the center of the main street. The rooms are great, traditional, with wooden floors and angled ceilings. You'll find small Samsung flat screens, extra blankets, equipped bathrooms and a vintage look. Wifi is free and works mostly in the lower floor. Sonia, the owner of the hotel, is the nicest woman you'll ever meet. A local, always smiling, you know she's enjoying her work and hosting people from around the world. Sonia and her husband also manage the hotel's restaurant where they prepare all the food: from the morning croissants to the evening's pintxos and local soups! We tasted so many dishes including the red peppers stuffed pintxos, salmon sandwiches, calamar pintxos, local soup, ham and cheese plates, crema Catalan and Ribera wine... everything was really tasty. Sonia always checked on us to make sure we were having a good time even though she's by herself working the room. I enjoyed staying in Salardú, because of the overall experience at the hotel but also because the town is beautiful, with its tiny streets made of old pavements and the beautiful 13th century church. There is a small supermarket right across the street from the hotel and a parking lot, for easy parking. Stay at Hotel Era Cuma if you're looking for a charming hotel, not a modern one with the latest furniture. I love authentic experiences which are typical of the places we stay in so I can't recommend this place enough!

There are 2 excellent Paradors within the Val d'Aran. Gayle and I stayed at the Parador Hotel…read moreVielha (up the hill towards the Tunnel) and thoroughly enjoyed the stunning Valley views and a delicious Catalonian dinner. Gayle and I were heading out the next morning (towards Andorra) and decided to stop in Arties to see what we missed. Arties is a cute Village that probably doubles as a ski town during the Winter season. We were here in the fall and most things were quiet, including the well-regarded Casa Irene. Also interesting is the Santa Maria de Arties. For skiers, the Baqueira Beret station is four and a half miles away. The Parador Arties (AKA Hotel Don Gaspar de Portola). The property also includes the House of the namesake discoverer of the State of California. The architecture is consistent with that of the Village. The design has a steeply sloping roof so that a heavy weight of snow cannot accumulate. This results in the bedrooms having 'dormer' windows looking out onto the roof. The traditional mountain design is continued in the wooden beams featured in the bedrooms. The 2-level lounge area was comfortable and spacious and it was fun to walk the property and speculate how we would have spent our time here. In hindsight, I think Gayle and I made the right Parador choice during our too-brief stay in the Val d'Aran. However, we're also sure that we would have also had a wonderful time here at the Parador Arties. And if you're lucky enough to come here, you too will have an equally rich choice.