66 Reviews
Parador de Zamora
Zamora|0.07km from Museo Etnografico de Castilla y Leon
This was my third and last experience of a Paradores Hotel. The Paradores' reputation is based on the façade (in every sense) of the beautiful old buildings in which they are set. It is only when you have spent a night trying to sleep inside one of these buildings that one realises that these old buildings are far from ideal for what any customer has a right to expect from a 21st century hotel; such was the case with Zamora. I will start with the positive, the view from our room was nice (even if the enchantment was completely destroyed by the presence of a tacky swimming pool, although I can appreciate that some guests might like that). Our breakfast was very good and the lady in charge of the breakfast was an example of courtesy, efficiency and professionalism. We asked for a quiet room. We were given a room with other guests on either side of us. As the people next door were shouting at each other until well after midnight and as the total lack of soundproofing meant we could hear absolutely everything (ncluding their names) I had to bang on the wall several times in an attempt to try and get some sleep. Mercifully we had nobody above us but I feel very sorry if we had anyone below us as our floor was made of the most inappropriate material you could possibly imagine for a hotel: creaky wooden planks that made an incredible amount of noise even if you walked on tiptoe. Our bathroom stank of a thousand previous occupants which made having to use it very unpleasant. While my wife was having a shower I tried to read which was also impossible because the two chairs provided were perversely uncomfortable and impossible to use. I spoke of the professionalism of the lady in charge of the breakfast service, well as an example of the sublime to the ridiculous when I went to the public bathroom during dinner while I was standing there doing what a man does in a bathroom, a member of staff came into the bathroom to change the rubbish. Did she wait til I was finished? No. Did she excuse her presence? No. Did she even try to make as little noise as possible? No. Also for a four star hotel many of the products they use from the toilet paper and tissues to the teabags are of very poor quality. In short, beautiful building, very poor hotel.
