Gayle and I loved our recent experience at the Parador de Hondarriba. We got upgraded to a Junior…read moreSuite, with loads of room and a stunning view of the Spanish and French waterfront. There's also the very nice Plaza Armas at the entrance, and lots of walking opportunities within the Old Town and beyond. The only challenge was finding the Parador parking lot before we checked in. But as a helpful citizen advised from our lost position - Arriba - Abajo - Derecha! Parador Hondarribia is a 10th century castle built by the King of Navarre in the early days of the Christian re-conquest. The castle was remodeled in the 16th century by Emperor Charles the Fifth. Napoleon stayed here for some time during the wars between Spain and France and many other notable figures in the history of Spain and Europe have stayed here as well. Beneath the castle, there are apparently various tunnels and passageways. One legend is that "many have entered, never to be seen again." A Spanish version of the Hotel California? And to support that point, the walls apparently creak at night, although Gayle and didn't hear anything or experience any haunted sensations. The Parador de Hondarribia Parador is every bit the castle people imagine and Gayle certainly felt like a princess during our stay. We also admired the monolithic stone walls (still pockmarked by cannon-fire from old wars), and interior decorations of medieval armor, weaponry and tapestries. The Parador also contains many charming nooks and common areas for quiet reflection or soft conversation. That included the outdoor room used for breakfast and a river-view deck for guests only. It was a great Parador stay and one of our favorites. There's only a basic café here, but there's great dining right out the door. Staff were helpful and professional and the other clientele were an interesting bunch. Did we already say that our room was fantastic?

This was a super fun experience for us. It was our first stay in a Parador and I'm glad our friends…read morerecommended it. The rooms were ok, very noisy with paper thin walls but the view was so cool that you didn't care. The staff was very nice and we really enjoyed having drinks in the salon and envisioning what this must of been like when it was first built. I would highly recommend this if visiting the area.

Clean, convenient, supper accessible! Great of you're planning on walking the Norte. Walk across…read morethe bridge into France while you're here. ¡Buen Camino!

The paradores in Spain are quite something ... most of them have the WOW factor and this one is…read moremost certainly one of them. A castle dating from the 10th century, beautifully transformed into a hotel. Lots of charm and luxury. Situated in the middle of the medieval part of town with its winding narrow little streets. The rates are quite steep but definitive worth it! Beautiful rooms with a splendid view, as the castle sits on-top of a hill overlooking the see inlet and harbor.

We ended up in room 320. An oddball mix of a few pros and a bunch of cons…read more Pros: They could accommodate a family of 4 and had a room available in June when we booked just a few weeks before. The desk staff is very friendly and speaks English fluently. The staff saved us from a trip to the mountains to find a restaurant that they quickly determined was closed. There's internet service in the rooms. Cons: Our room had an odd lay-out including one very high window in one room and a nearly floor level window in the main bedroom. This provided the unique opportunity to flash people in the parking lot three floors below as you changed clothes. The sofa was broken and even after I fixed it you felt like you were being swallowed. The hair dryer was broken. The air conditioner SUCKED! What did come out of the air conditioner smelled weird. The property is surrounded on all sides by fairly large roads so trying to cool things down by opening the windows makes for a loud night. On the day we arrived they had rented their banquet rooms to a large party so as we were heading out to dinner 10 bus fulls of retired Spaniards were flooding in. For some reason they attached the long side of the bunk beds to the wall but left the head of the bed a full 18 inches from its wall. That means that if your precious little one manages to wiggle forward in the middle of the night they may take a 5 foot dive off the head of the bed. The check-out process was so achingly slow you had time to ponder the world, your place in it, the depth and span of time and still have plenty of opportunity to track the sun's arch through the sky. The prints in the foyer of each floor have been in place so long that the print has separated from the matting and fallen out of place. The fact that no one noticed or bothered to fix it says something about their attention to detail.

Hola? Bonjour? You can forget how to greet people after coming from the French side…read more It's a pain to find this place. After stopping the gas station to fill up, I was told you can enter from the gas station side or it's about 10 meter after taking the 3rd roundabout exit. GPS is not helpful at all. Good thing is there are plenty of parking. This seems to a business hotel and absolutely nothing around. They serve a mean coffee thou. Everything is affordable here so that you don't have to worry. Our room comes with free breakfast which is in the basement and not in the main dining around but you must get a cafe from the bar which is like 1.5 euro. Room is nothing to brag about but it's clean and huge for NYC standard. Our accommodation just kept improving on our 14 days trip :D Service is wonderful and very attentive to all your needs. It's quick drive to a lot of fishing town in the around and skip the toll highway to get a good view.

The hotel is off the beaten path but close to public transportation and has free parking. The rooms…read moreare clean and comfy, the owner and staff are happy and helpful and the restaurant/bar provided a great reason to stay put. Awesome food, creative indoor and outdoor spaces... and did I mention it was really affordable? After spending most of my nights in Albergues it was a great treat for just a little more, having seen how much rooms in town were, I am glad I found this place!