Parador Cuenca
Parador Cuenca is in the former San Pablo convent which sits in a privileged location on the Hoz del Huecar gorge, comprising steep walls and luxuriant vegetation outside Cuenca, facing the hanging houses. 
The glazed cloister and old chapel – today a cosy cafe – are the perfect complement to the interior combining traditional features with more contemporary touches such as wicker, leather and upholstery.
The cosy, comfortable hotel rooms – some with splendid views of the hanging houses – are a highlight as are the conference rooms, the bar and marvellous dining room decorated with exquisite taste.
Well-spiced seasonal fare makes up the base of traditional Cuenca cuisine.
Information and reservations at Parador of Cuenca
We have only fond memories of our stay at your beautiful parador and town. Will tell everyone about you. We also will be staying in a parador in the future. Thank you for excellent service, food, room, etc., etc.
My husband and I stayed at the Parador in Cuenca in October, and I would certainly second all the positive comments made by the other guests. It is truly a magical place. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bridge over the gorge was in fact not scary at all, and I am one not fond of heights. But it is wide and substantial. Our one disappointment was that the chapel at the end of the building, which apparently houses an art collection, was not open.
We stayed in the parador in October 2011 and we enjoyed every minute of it! The building is spectacular, the room was huge, beds were excellent (for someone with back problems), service excellent. If I have to mention a minor: we couldn’t turn the heater next to the toilet off. It was warm there….
Cuenca is lovely, quite a discovery.
Parador Cuenca, on the gorge facing the dramatically beautiful UNESCO-protected old town, is perfectly poised to welcome and entertain visitors to Cuenca’s “Las Casas Colgadas”. With spectacular views from our suite, we were encouraged to explore and relax around the resplendent restored monastery as well as to wander the winding 15th century streets across the bridge. There we enjoyed the pristine modern art gallery and dining in a view-enhanced restaurant. A visit to this uniquely dramatic Parador Cuenca is highly recommended.
From your website to the promotions you offer, will keep me recommending the paradore experience when visiting Spain. I hope to return and explore more of them in the future! We absolutely loved Cuenca. It was well worth the drive from Valencia! Thanks again.
This is an absolutely magical place. The location is wonderful with breathtaking views It has a wonderful swimming pool with another view. The friendly greeting, great food and wonderful outdoor courtyard with fountain made this a great place to relax. We loved being able to walk into the town. It also has wonderful close locations to visit. This is a great break from the larger city experiences in Spain. We cannot say enough positive things about our experience. Have fun and feel blessed to be in Cuenca.
This was our first stay in a Parador and a treat for my husband´s birthday. We were not dissappointed. The reception staff were very welcoming and helpful with booking a trip to the Ciudad Encantada. The room was fully equiped with a lovely bathroom and separate w.c. and the beds were very comfortable. The views from the room overlooked the mountains and were spectacular. If there had been a balcony we would have been able to sit out with our ” sundowners “and enjoy the view more. The room was surprisingly very quiet as we were at the join of two corridors. All the public rooms were very well kept and preserved. Breakfast was a banquet!
The hotel overlooks the Casas colgadas which are easily accessed by crossing the very scarey bridge!! From here you can visit the beautiful old town with some very good resteraunts. Try the Alaju cake and the Resoli liquir, typical of Cuenca. Can´t wait to go back for another visit.
Very good location with nice view at the old town and hanging houses, superb establishment, very nicely decorated
Very near to the town. Very good food
parking place nearby
We were very pleasantly surprised, first, by the astounding town of Cuenca, and then as we ensconced ourselves into the delightful parador, the delights compounded; the amiability of the front desk, especially in referring us to suitable other venues in Cuenca, the ability to freely wander around the hotel, cross the bridge, walk on and around the town is so substantial that we have offered our two unmarried daughters three or four nights of honeymoon delights in the Parador Cuenca
Your reception on arrival: absolutely easy.
The bedroom: beautiful, overlooking an internal courtyard.
The view from your room: lovely courtyard that had evidently once been the centrepoint of a cloistered walk that is now glassed in.
The public rooms: elegant and very well maintained.
The restaurant: very competitive priced compared with other restaurants in Cuenca and we felt to be of a better standard.
Any noise: nothing intrusive. There was a medical conference one evening in the courtyard and a wedding elsewhere in the hotel the following day; neither of which interfered with our enjoyment of the hotel.
The location of the hotel: superb.
Proximity to a town: we enjoyed everything about Cuenca old and new – we walked over the bridge and caught the local buses from the square.
Any places visited near the hotel: used the buses to visit old and new Cuenca as well as local viewing points.
The hotel has a really good location for visiting the old town. Although there is a small problem connected with the San Pablo Convent. As we arrived, we could get no location in the driveway to get rid of our luggage because of the many cars, which where parking there. So we had to put out one of the poles of the barrier at the front door to find a place, where we could park our car for a few minutes getting out the luggage. This wasn´t commented well by the staff naturally. There should be a wiser solution for arriving guests, I think. Otherwise everything was fine at the hotel.
E’ stato un piacere, struttura splendida, assolutamente confortevole e con un’accoglienza sicuramente all’altezza.
If you like walking up and down steps, Cuenca is a must, with its narrow footpath, following along the side of the gorge. On the other hand if you just like sitting with a drink and taking in the view, then it is a little disappointing. If you have a standard bedroom facing away from the gorge then it is a little frustrating, unlike some of the better Paradors like Toledo with its large public balconies. Even the tennis courts and outdoor swimming pool were closed when I was there.
I had originally booked two nights and although staying in a dark and slightly spooky convent has its charm, I decided to cancel the second night and stay an extra night in Siguenza, which I did not regret. Siguenza’s castle Parador in my opinion was far more beautiful.
The old town of Cuenca is the most astonishing place and its Parador sets it off beautifully. The scenery is spectacular , you need time to take it all in!
This was our first stay in a Parador and it fulfilled all our expectations and more!
The room was very spacious, the beds ( twin) very comfortable and the bathroom luxurious.
Everyone was most helpful, we spent a couple of hours in the bar and were made to feel completely at ease by the very courteous staff. Wi-Fi reception was patchy in our room but worked well on the ground floor where there is no shortage of beautiful and comfortable sitting areas.
Breakfast was divine and I can honestly say I had the nicest kiwi in my life!
Enjoy!
Magnificent hotel and views, scary bridge across to the main town, just do not look down.
The reception was warm and friendly and no problem with the english, had a great room at the front. decided to eat at the hotel and had the special which was different types of tapas from the local area, very good and also good value. Room very comfortable. Breakfast was a delight with such a choice. also used the underground car park, a little expensive but very secure.
would definately recommend
stayed August 2010
We drive through Spain fairly often and always stay at Paradores. They all so far have been beautiful and Cuenca is no exception. Our rooms were excellent as was the service. We choose to eat in the hotel and have to say that it was a bit of an adventure but we really enjoyed it. Breakfast the next morning was lovely. The old town is a must to visit We will go back and take the time to explore the area.
This was our first stay at a Parador and we really enjoyed it. The location of the hotel is stunning as it is up a narrow (ish) road overlooking the gorge and the old city. It is really lovely. It is not the easiest place to find as the signposts are not clear in the town and when we got to the access road the entry part was closed. The reception staff were friendly and helpful. We had booked a superior room and a standard room at young persons rate for our daughters. However the receptionist gave the keys out incorrectly and we ended up with the standard room. The superior room was a little bigger, with a door between the toilet and the bathroom and a view of the gorge. However everythng else was the same. The air conditioning didn’t work well and our daughters were kept awake by a noisy wedding party as they had to keep the window open. Our standard room was comfortable and quiet and overlooked an smll courtyard. However the furniture was a little tired for the quality of hotel.
However the public rooms were very atmospheric. There is a lovely courtyard with a fountain where you can have a drink. The bar area is very colourful with large religious paintings over the ceiling. The resturant was excellent – there was a good 4 course menu featuring local dishes at a reasonable price. THe wine list was good and service was very good. The breakfast buffet was included in our room rate and had everything you would want.
The pool area is very nice – there are sunbeds, shades and pool towels available. It is a very relaxing spot.
It’s a great location for exploring the old town as you just have to walk across the foot bridge.
Since we had a big group, we decided to try 2 standard rooms and 2 superior rooms (with view). In the booking for us, the superior rooms were twice the price of the standard rooms. While the view from the superior room was pleasant, it was not spectacular. You can get better views from the bridge. The size of both types of rooms were the same (surprise!), the difference being the standard room looked into the courtyard which was actually very pleasant as well.
We were quite happy with the rooms and the parking except that my room had a power trip in the late evening. When I called, the reception requested me to call back in 20min as “he was alone and could not leave the frontdesk”. I spent 10 minutes fretting in the darkening room before I called again aqnd finally get the expected service. It took 2 trips to fix the problem and the parador refused to provide a candle or torchlight. Unlike another hotel which provided me scented candles while the power problem was being resolved.
While the wait service at the restaurant was very professional, the quality of food was not up to expectations. In fact, it was the worst meal for our entire 13 days trip. In addition, food was extremely salty even after we requested for less salt. Diners may want to consider requesting for NO salt. Or make a trip across the bridge for a meal in the famous Meson.
Because we booked 2 standard and 2 superior rooms, we decided to pay in 2 checkout bills instead of 1. The staff at the checkout was obviously ill equpped to handle such variations and not only were they confused, they were extremely rude. Yelling at our friends that they had not paid when the bill had already been settled by another party.
This is my 5th visit to a parador (the previous 4 in 2005). And it is sad to see the level of service deteriorate so much. If the paradors do not improve their service and keep up with the times, we would be unlikely to consider them for our future trips.
This Paradore is a beautiful building in a wonderful location but finding it can be problematic as the signs in the town are infrequent and not particularly well-positioned, however the SatNav in the hire-car had no difficulty taking us right to the door. There is a garage for cars but it isn’t very large and I suspect that in the summer it would soon be full.
Check-in was quick and efficient and we were given a room at the front of the hotel; we had a great view but the road outside was surprisingly noisy (they began to empty the rubbish bins about 4.00am!) I think a room at the back would have been a better option (as with all Paradores, if you are a ‘non-smoking’ you will need to book a NS room well in advance, Spain is one of the few countries where smoking still seems to be the norm).
We had dinner in the hotel and I regret to say it was of a very poor quality. We stayed in 5 Paradores on our trip and the standard of food in the restaurants ranged from poor to average; do all the chefs go elsewhere in the winter? Sadly there was no evidence of the ‘high quality food’ that other guests have commented on. I ordered the ‘tuna with ginger and anchovy’… the over-done tuna arrived without either.
That said the room was very comfortable, the staff charming and the breakfast excellent – I would certainly stay at this Paradore again but I’d wait until the summer before I return.
The hotel was beautifully situated and decorated. Furnishings in the room were great – very comfortable and cozy in the cool weather. Service was excellent. I would definitely go back!
Good hotel on a perfect location in a beautiful, authentic building. We had a comfortable room overlooking the courtyard and terrace. Cuenca was very lively during the San Mateo festivities. Dinner and breakfast were good and the dining room in what looks like a former chapel is very special. Reservation, checkin and checkout were efficient and gave no surprises and the service was friendly. This parador was one of the six around Madrid that we visited this year. It is absolutely worth its 4 stars.
My wife and I travelled up to Cuenca from our apartment in the Jalon Valley, Costa Blanca. We stayed one night in the Parador and we were delighted with the building and Cuenca itself. Our room was large with a view out over the Iron bridge, towards the town and the hanging houses. We did not dine in the hotel but in a small place in the main square in Cuenca. The breakfast was very good with a wide range of choices. I enjoyed the Museum of Abstract art which is in the hanging houses, well worth the visit if you are into modern or absract art. As a photographer I am always looking for a visual treat and the town has many small and narrow streets which can be quite photogenic. One place to visit outside the town is the Ciudad Encantada, this is an area of rock formation made by an ancient river millions of years ago, well worth the round trip drive and a nice walk. Lastly, we found both the staff we met in the reception or in the rest of the hotel to be very friendly. Enjoy.
The most beautiful of the four Paradores we stayed in so far.
Great building, superb location (thanks to the former convent), large and beautiful galleries-claustro, patio and room. A smell of classe and style in a magnificient construction of the XVI th century.
We enjoyed the rich breakfast and the lovely dinner we had in the beautiful dining room, we just found the music was a bit too loud.
We would have appreciated too a more friendly personel. Except the people at the reception, they were just doing the minimum, and the problem was not because of the language, I’am, for my part, quite fluent in spanish.
To be honest, I must say we found the same “burocratic” attitude in the other Paradores and not all the hosts are very welcoming either.
We hope we can come back.
We really enjoyed our stay in the Parador at Cuenca. The city is spectacular and the hotel is in prime position. We had a wonderful dinner and excellent local red wine recommended by the sommelier. We will visit again.
Ah this one is stunning. Its location, the actual building and the proximity to a fabulous old town can’t be beaten. The view from the bridge crossing the gorge to access the town is something to behold.
Reception was very helpful. The area immediately off reception feels so grand with all the string instruments on display. Lovely room with comfortable beds.
only wish we had booked for more than one night.
Good room and facilities. Service excellent. Only criticism is that the evening meal did not warrant the high price.
Excellent service and a beautiful room. Loved the breakfast. We felt we were being treated royally!
We stayed as Golden Days guests, and were delighted to find that we had a lovely room, with a view of the gorge – no small, dark viewless room for conessions! – that helped to make our overnight stop in Cuenca so good. Breakfast was the usual Parador feast and all staff that we encountered were charming and hospitable.
Beautiful location. Comfortable hotel. Good service but muzak a little too loud in the dining room. Still, plainsong with the excellent breakfast is an amusing idea. Very convenient for the old town for those with a good head for heights.
Two excellent art galleries.
Raff – a restaurant in the lower town gave us a stunning meal.
We took a sunrise hike on the trail behind the property and it was incredibly beautiful. Nobody told us there was a hiking trail past the convent so it was a wonderful surprise to find such a gem of a hike so close by.
Location,service,accomodation and catering were first class.