The rooms were acceptable, nothing grand or fancy, but still nice. (They are renovating, supposedly, but we saw no sign of it.) Public areas are nice, especially the bar, terrace, and restaurant. We ate at the restaurant, and while it was a good meal, was not the best of our trip. Service was better than the food, I would have to say. Again, not a bad meal, just not the best of the vacation, although it was the most expensive (about $100 US for two, including appetizers, entrees, dessert--it was a prixe-fixe--and drinks). There are a few other restaurants within walking distance, but I'm not sure whether they are open at night, or just in the daytime when most people are visiting the Generalife.
With all that said, I WOULD spend the money to stay here again, because you just can't put a price on the location (however, had we NOT been able to pick up our tickets the night before, it would have meant traipsing all the way around the gardens to the ticket office and COST us time in addition to money). As everyone says, DO order the tickets ahead of time on the Internet to get the exact slot that you want. The lines were unbelievable! The Parador can also get you tickets, but I still think you must pick them up, and I was worried that they couldn't secure my first choice of time (but I never asked).
My stay at the Parador was
well worth the cost (the basic room with tax but without breakfast ended up
being more than $325). It was the most expensive room of our vacation, but
certainly not our favorite, although the furnishings/size/etc were just what we
expected. (We loved our deluxe room at the Alfonso XIII in Seville, our 2-story
duplex suite at the Villa Real in Madrid, and our executive suite in the AC
Hotel in Algeciras better than the Parador). However, regarding the Parador,
you just can't beat the location, particularly if you can pick up your Alhambra
tickets the night before your visit and/or if you choose the 8:30 am time slot.
It could give you an uninterrupted 20 to 30 minutes in the Nazrid Palaces
without many other guests--great for taking pictures. We even popped back into
our room during our visit between the Nazrid, Alcazaba, and Generalife to rest
and refresh.
The rooms at the Parador
were adequate--not overlarge large, and ours had two twin beds pushed together
to make a king. Not much other space in the bedroom area, although there was a
tiny table and two tiny chairs--one with arms that neither my husband nor I
could fit between (maybe it was for a child?) There was a decent-size closet,
minibar, large window that opened onto the courtyard area. (Please note that I
am certain that we were a bit prejudiced after having suites or HUGE rooms at
the other hotels. Also, keep in mind that the Parador is renovating right now,
so perhaps the room decor will improve a bit. We did happen to see into a room
that had a double bed and an additional twin, and that seemed much larger than
ours.) The bathroom was big, as the previous poster stated, with a
double-marble vanity sink, and there were a selection of toiletry items and
hairdryer.
