My wife Monique, the light of my life, pasted away on the 23rd December 2023 at 17:00. Starting in spring 2024 I drove alone down to the south of Spain, and in the summer I drove back north alone. Always and forever-more alone, I again drove south to Spain in January 2025, but this time also stopping in a couple of Paradores we had visited in the past, namely Aiguablava and Lorca.
We had visited the Parador of Aiguablava in May 2008, July 2009, and March and October 2015. Later the Parador was closed for renovation, and reopened only in 2020. We never managed to visit it again, but now in January 2025 I stayed one night in my roadtrip down to southern Spain.
I have an “Amigos” card, and I booked a standard room, with a special prepaid demi-pension package (dinner-breakfast).
What is a Parador?
Paradores, is a Spanish state-owned chain of luxury hotels that are usually located in historic buildings or in nature areas with a special appeal.
The very first parador was inaugurated in 1928, and as of 2022, it operates 97 paradores in Spain and one in Portugal.
Route planning
My first stopover was just south of Lyon (see review), and the next leg was to Aiguablava, about 585 km.
I picked up the fantastic E15 which runs from Inverness, Scotland, through England and France to Algeciras, Spain.
I then took the C31, one of Catalonia‘s primary highways. I also learned something new, because the first number (C-31) indicates that is a southwest-northeast highway (parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coastline), while the second number (C-31) indicates that is the closest to the Mediterranean Sea.
The next day I left for the Parador in Lorca, a trip of about 760 km.
Parador Aiguablava
The area of Begur and Aiguablava on the Costa Brava, in Catalonia, is known for the stunning landscape, pristine beaches, turquoise waters, and lush greenery.
Begur is better known for its medieval charm, narrow streets, and historic architecture, whereas Aiguablava is known for its picturesque cove and crystal-clear waters. The area has a reputation for luxurious villas designed to maximise the stunning sea views.
Above we can see the Parador perched on a rocky clifftop looking over the Cala d’Aiguablava on the “front” side and the Cala de Ses Herbes at the “back”. We can see the beach and cove fully occupied during the summer months, but in the winter, tourism is almost non-existent.
The GPS took me right up to the private road leading to the Parador. Arriving in the early afternoon, parking was not at problem, but in the summer it used to be quite difficult. I’m not sure how popular this Parador is today, but I suspect it is still very popular in the summer months.
The room
My room was on the 2nd floor overlooking the Aiguablava Cove. There was plenty of wardrobe space in the entrance corridor, along with a decent sized wall-safe and a mini-bar. There was a useful space of the suitcase, but no coffee machine, complimentary water, etc.
The bathroom was very modern, with a big walk-in shower, and a separate area with WC and bidet.
I found the room a little cold, because despite the sunshine, the outside temperature was around 10°C, with a light, but chilly wind. Initially the forced-air heating system didn’t do much. Only in the evening, when I had closed the night curtains, did it start to warm up the room. Over-night it managed to go from 20°C to 21.5°C. The large windows and metal frames were freezing cold, despite the double-glazing. Some Paradores have heated towel-rails, but I’ve never found one that worked. True-to-form it didn’t work here.
The quality may not be perfect, but the key feature of the hotel room, and more or less all the facilities in the Parador are dominated by the view over Aiguablave Cove.
Just across the Aiguablava Cove we can see Cala d’en Maleret and its beach located in the Fornells village. It’s only 17 m wide and 10 m deep, and is made up of coarse sand, gravel and pebbles, but it’s surrounded by traditional summer houses. It is the Aiguablava Yacht Club, which manages the 61 summer moorings (the smallest in Catalonia).
It difficult to see, but between Cala d’en Maleret and Port of Fornells (to the right) there is the very small and narrow Cala de Ses Orats. It is said that in the Ses Orats cove, there was the house of Bonaventura Sabater, known as Xiquet, called ‘El Paradís’ and, according to tradition, this was the place from which this coastline was baptised, at the beginning of the 20th century, with the well-known name of ‘Costa Brava‘.
The Restaurant
The restaurant had quite an extensive menu, and I had booked a demi-pension, which included an evening 3-course meal.
Starters included different options of local sausages, cheeses, prawn or ham croquettes, anchovies with bread with tomato, soup, cannelloni, salads, etc.
I took the Jambon ibérique de gland DO Guijuelo au pain à la tomate. Each word has its meaning. This is a Spanish cured ham (jamón) where “gland” (acorn) means that the pigs have been fed a diet largely consisting of acorns, which is a hallmark of high-quality Iberian ham. “DO” stands for Denominación de Origen, a designation of origin that guarantees the product’s quality and geographic authenticity. Guijuelo is a town in the province of Salamanca, known for producing some of the finest Iberian ham. What was not mentioned was the % (e.g. 100% or 75%) meaning that the ham came from a pig that was 100% or 75% Iberian breed.
According to tradition, the ham should be served with some thick slices of bread lightly toasted, and still warm. The tomato should be ripe and cut in half. The idea is to rub the cut side of the tomato directly onto the toasted bread, squeezing gently so the tomato pulp coats the surface. The bread shown above was perfect, because there were some closed cavities in the slices, and the toasting was just enough to create a “grating” effect. It possible to drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Then lay the thin slices of jamón ibérico over the tomato-topped bread. It’s accepted to add optional garlic, rubbing a clove of raw garlic on the toasted bread before adding the tomato.
It was very good, not melt-in-your-mouth, but very tasty.
The main courses were rice with prawns, clams and mussels, cuttlefish, cod fish gratin, saffron rice with asparagus, garlic and mushroom, sea bream, turbot, or veal sirloin.
I took the Empordà duck leg confit with pears and fig sauce. It was a mistake.
The Empordà duck was roasted, and often includes sweet elements such as dried fruits (like raisins, prunes, or apricots) and nuts (like pine nuts or almonds). The combination of sweetness with the savoury richness of the duck is a signature of Catalan cuisine. In this case it was with pears and figs. The mistake was that the duck was both tough, and not sufficiently “confit”.
Dessert was a white chocolate, cocoa and yogurt semifreddo. It was fine, but the damage had been done with the duck.
Breakfast
The Spa
The Spa was a bit of a joke. I think the Spa was added during the renovation of the Parador, because I don’t remember seeing it previously.
In principle it looked nice, even if it cost an extra 40€. There was a smallish indoor pool, a kind of balneotherapy pool with water jets, a sauna and a hammam.
They did inform me that the hammam was not working. My target was the sauna, and it was set at 80°C, which was acceptable. The key attraction of the sauna was the full-height panoramic window overlooking the Aiguablava Cove.
The joke was the balneotherapy pool with water jets. The view is spectacular over the Aiguablava Cove, but the pool is just a set of beds with water jets, in 30 cm of water. They have installed a handrail, but for any elderly person it is hell to try to sit down in the pool, and even more difficult to get up again. And it’s just a set of beds with water jets, nothing more.
Warning, some of the photos of Aiguablava Spa on the Web are totally incorrect, and show pools and spa facilities in other Paradores.
Conclusion
The rooms are very nice, the views are magnificent, the food is average, and the Spa rubbish.
If it fits with my roadtrip plans going back and forth to southern Spain, then I will certain go back.
