Parador de Santo Domingo de La Calzada

We spent two nights at this Parador on a half-board basis. It's a good base from which to explore the region of La Rioja. Santo Domingo de la Calzada is a nice, bustling little town with many interesting old buildings. We liked it very much. This Parador is located right in the centre of the town, opposite the cathedral,, so it's very convenient. Our room was comfortable and well sized. We found the staff helpful and welcoming The restaurant offers an appetising dinner menu and even though the restaurant was busy on both evenings the staff were very efficient and service was very prompt. On the ground floor there's a very spacious and impressive lounge area, handy for the bar and the restaurant, with lots of comfortable seating. There is ample parking (for which a charge is made). There's a garage at the hotel itself but about 200 metres away there's a secure car park, owned by the hotel, with ample parking; this costs less than the garage. Although there are a good number of road signs for the Parador we didn't find them ideally clear - and you have to be careful because, unusually for such a small town, there are two Paradores. To add to the 'fun' the signs direct you to use Calle Mayor to access the hotel but just a couple of days before we arrived someone had decided it would be a good idea to put a flower planter across the street, effectively blocking it off to vehicles. Over the years we have stayed at many Paradores and we rate this one highly. The half-board deal is good value.

We were originally booked in for two nights here but had to reschedule due to an injury to my wife. One night is enough IMO. The Cathedral is the main reason for a stay - the town itself is vanilla as is the hotel. Luckily we got a space in the hotel garage - parking nearby is tricky. The room was fine but the hotel restaurant was booked out the night we were there which was disappointing - it was booked by tour parties - the town is on the pilgrimage route. breakfast was fine and overall the hotel is comfortable but with a minute bar and nowhere to sit out. Glad we were only there one night.

Excellent location and service. Menu could be more interesting. Service was very good as always at Paradors.

We had an excellent stop here for two nights. This gave us time to enjoy the history of the town. The Parador was full which meant we were unable to book dinner in the restaurant, the times offered being after 9pm and sadly too late for us. We enjoyed a snack in the caféteria.

Super hotel right in the middle of a lovely town. Staff helpful and hotel spacious and characterful. Breakfast was one of the best for a Parador. Underground car park is good and takes low clearance vehicles with ease. Take care to follow directions to the hotel carefully as access to the old town is bollard controlled.