Parador Merida
The Parador in Merida retains the structure of the former 18th century convent, built over the remains of a temple to the Concord of Augustus. 
It offers guests an opportunity to enjoy the rich heritage of the lovely city of Merida and the landscape around it.
Some of the most outstanding spaces are the hotel lounge in the former convent refectory, the interior courtyard and the beautiful gardens, including the “Garden of Antiquities”, an archaeological collection consisting of Mudejar, Roman and Visigoth elements.
Highlights of the extensive and imaginative menu offered by the restaurant are truffles, caldereta (Extremadura stew), an assortment of gazpachos and figs from Almoharin.
We stayed in July 2010. We found the staff to be very pleasant and helpful.
The restuarant was good, breakfast excellent.
The room was comforfable with a view over the garden & pool.
We would happily stay there again.
I stayed at this hotel the first time over 50 years ago. I remembered the decor and the good food. I can state that this has not changed at all. Wonderful atmosphere/decor and very good food. However like other comments made, i also did not find the staff particulally friendly or helpful with directions or possible sites to visit. A map was given but after asking for it.But having said this the hotel is wonderful as is Merida, well worth a visit.
We spent 2 nights in Merida. The reception was adequate but unenthusiastic. The room was fine and the view over the entrance and pool was good. The building is old but cosy and comfortable – very pleasant. The staff were generally sad, lacking any spark and apparently finding the work tedious – it seemed to be an effort to serve anyone. The tourist information in Merida is poor and I felt the hotel could have had some simple sheets telling visitors about Merida, why the Romans came here and a brief synopsis of events up to the present day. It would certainly have been nice to have some history of the Hotel. We found the restaurant expensive and poor, certainly not the place for a birthday celebration. At the end of our stay I was surprised at the addition of parking charges, I think these should have been declared at the time of booking. In summary, a nice building with lots of potential which is not being exploited by the staff – a great shame.
This is a typical parador, with the special atmosphere of a very old building. The staff were welcoming and professional, the room very large and overlooking the courtyard. We had dinner in the restaurant, which offers nice service and a bit old fashioned menu. The breakfast buffet is large, with both the standard fare and traditional Spanish dishes. From the parador is a nice walk to the amazing Roman theatre. All in all a nice stop-over on the way from Lisbon to Madrid.
We loved the historic town of Merida and the Parador Merida (although somewhat difficult to find) was in a perfect situation to visit all the sights.
The reception was not the most welcoming, but other than that we could not fault it. A delightful bedroom and delicious dinner. Thank you.
We did enjoy ourselves, but would make the following comments:
Reception on arrival: correct
The bedroom: fine
The view from our room: there was no view. It is an in town parador
and we looked directly into another hotel room.
The public rooms: fine
The restaurant: the food was extremely dull and rather expensive. the
restaurant lacked any atmosphere whatsoever. If we visit again we will
not eat at the parador.
Noise: none.
The location of the hotel: slightly difficult to find, but excellent
location.
Proximity to a town: located in town centre, excellent.
Any places visited: we visited the excellent Merida museum of ancient
roman remains. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the other
roman remains since we were en route to another destination. We hope to visit again.
There was confusion at Reception as to whether it was possible to change
pounds sterling into euro currency. Initially my husband was told no
and he then wasted a great deal of time checking the banks in town, who
were not able to help. He checked again at the parador and was told
that it was possible to change at the hotel. He did so.
We have enjoyed staying in paradors in the past and will certainly stay
again.
A very nice historic building with pleasent surroundings and very helpful staff. Will definately try to stay in Paradors more often.
Truly enjoyable experience in a historic and lovely hotel. It was one of the nicest, warmest places we stayed on our travels in Spain. Merida is a wonderful place to visit and the parador is a great place to stay. Breakfast was wonderful as well.