Parador Alcala de Henares
The Parador Alcala de Henares occupies a magnificent 17th century building, the ancient Dominican Collegiate-Convent of Santo Tomas de Aquino. The original building of the Parador of Alcala de Henares was built in the seventeenth-century, but all the building has been restored in a modern way, although some parts preserve the ancient look.
The Hosteria del Estudiante is located in the ancient Colegio Menor de San Jeronimo, founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1510, and has marvellous views of the Patio Trilingue of the Universidad de Alcala de Henares. Together they form part of the monumental collection of the city of Alcala de Henares, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.
Information and reservations at Parador of Alcala de Henares
The parador is fantastic. Almost hi tech rooms, spacious, beautifully decorated, excellent beds. Reception was efficient and friendly, but a little cool. Álcala is beautiful, quite a discovery. The restaurant Hosteria del Estudiante was, however, a deception. Good (but certainly not excellent) foor, bad service.
I can only reiterate the most positive comments seen on other reviews. Absolutely fantastic.Last night in a tour of 5 Paradors. My wife is disabled, and the front desk staff couldn’t be more helpful. We were escorted to our room (via a short cut) and the intruiging controls explained to us. None of the rooms are that near to the front desk, so the disabled room was a bit of a trek, but provided a conventional shower, a bath and a wetroom area – suitable for all. Fantastic design. Only stayed one night so ate at the hotel. Wonderful food and service, well worth the extra for the superior service, rather anonymous surroundings. Breakfast also good. A very interesting town. Parking is in a secure underground car park. My only minor gripe was signage. Apparently, according to the staff, because it is relatively new they have not got the approval of the local authority for proper signage. No obvious signs from the main road, but just follow signs to town centre and you’ll get there eventually! Will definitely stay again if in the area. Wi-fi good by the way.
First stay at a Parador, but it won’t be our last. Gorgeous interior. Great service and good value for money. Very accommodating for families… ask for the family room. Just wish the pool was open earlier in the day. Thanks
This Parador was a big surprise to me. It was the final Parador in our round trip covering five Paradors and it was the most surprising in many ways.
Visually the whole experience was stunning, both architecturally and in the subtle decor, sliding walls, windows within windows, wet-room style shower. There was plenty of light in the bedroom and the lighting had mood settings so you could dim the lights and change the balance at the press of a button, pure genius in its application in a Parador, which is often accused of being old fashioned in some respects. The only slight complaint was the TV was undergoing some changes, so the non-Spanish channels were not there when we stayed. Nevertheless gentle music played from the toilet and the window blinds and views were mesmerising, the only negative was our room didn’t have a bidet.
The staff were without doubt the most polite and friendly I have ever seen in any Parador. Full marks for the staff-training team; I would suggest the trainers visit Siguenza and Cuenca next, as those Paradors need to have their public relations improving somewhat.
The food was also something to be marvelled. I stayed with some friends who are regular visitors to high-class restaurants and they expressed particular surprise at this Parador and said it was in a class of its own.
The Sauna and wet areas were well worth a visit; you need to pay extra for this. I had one of the best massages ever and the large jakuzzi-style indoor pool was the only swim that we managed in the week round trip, so full marks again Alcala.
The town was also worth a visit as it had the most roosting storks I have ever seen. In fact I have never seen a stork flying around a city before and there must have been dozens nesting in tall buildings in large nests and swooping around the tops of buildings like superman. Wonderous in its extreme!
One word of caution, the water pressure was so high that you could almost cut holes in your flesh. It puts a whole new meaning to power shower. The simple solution is to not turn it up fully. There were also a few building snags like missing grout in some of the tiled areas in the bathroom but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the whole experience.
Great Parador in a very convenient location within an easy walk of all the local bars and restaurants.
LIked the modern rooms with super bathroom and walk in wardrobe.
FPound the reception staff very helpful ,did not eat in either of the hotel restaurants as there are a plethora of bars and restaurants in the area.
Great pool for a quick dip after a days sight seeing
I would highly recommend this Parador. A fantastic mix of the old and very modern. The location was perfect for walking around the old town and university area. I was also able to make a short drive to the airport to meet someone and return to still have breakfast. The staff was as professional as I have seen at any hotel anywhere.
A stunningly different parador. High tech and modern. A beautiful combination of old and new. The restaurant was perfect with very efficient service. Of the 7 we visited, the best service and facilities.
Just an overnight stop on our way back north from Cadiz. Apart from the Madrid ring road – which was a nightmare – the Parador was terrific. Not particularly well signposted, the building itself had typical Spanish bravado as modern adaptions of glass and steel were used rather than attempting a stucco reproduction of the original building. Brilliant. The staff were welcoming and helped with our stuttering Spanish. Restaruant over the road was good with a nice chouce of local produce. Room was spacious and comfortable once you’d worked out how to turn the lights on without shutting the blinds or turning the telly off. The front desk staff were really helpful on checking out and printed of google maps to get us to the Madrid /Burgos autopista.
My sister and I stayed at this hotel and had a very nice time. The staff was very nice and helpful, The accommodations were nice-great shower and the rooms were spacious. We also liked the restaurant.
Very different; very beautiful. Excellent location. The staff were welcoming and helpful. A lesson on the use of the remote controls for blinds and lights would have been helpful!
We ate in both restaurants on different evenings and would recommend them both for imaginative, local menus.
Don’t get me wrong – I like modern architecture very much but this hotel is very clinical and cold. Far too corporate for a holiday stay, more like a conference centre. Mini bar policy of only having cold drinks and beer is very odd!. Hated the restaurant – like eating in a corridor, the old restaurant opposite is much more atmospheric. On a positive note, the rooms are very comfortable and the walk-in wardrobe is a nice touch.
Very nice. we stayed as a family group of 9 and had the family room and two standard rooms. They put us all in one hallway which made it easy. the breakfast buffet was excellent.
We had several problems with the card locks mine kept losing its programming and the staff made me feel as if it was me not the card.
Our first stay in a Parador and we loved it! Fantastic rooms and we also had some laughs with the lights and blinds. Loved the walk in shower. The service was excellent and we would definately recommend it!
A different hotel style to the previous Parador (Lerma) we stayed at – very high tech, so much we had lots of laughs trying to operate the lights and curtains using the remote controls.
A bit pricey.
A lovely place to stay – rooms just fabulous.
Only sour note – even as residents we had to pay an extra charge for drinks on the terrace!