Parador de Jaén

As you approach the Parador, you can’t be anything but wowed by the drive up the winding road, the views and the fabulous building, however upon arriving the initial wow started to fade. Hotel parking was restricted with many bays blocked off (for no apparent reason) so parking was in the general car park for castle visitors making it pot luck for availability. Reception staff was lacking any customer warmth. Breakfast, what can I say other than very disappointing, and not free (like some of the blurb and feedback says). We were shown a table and then left to wait 25 mins for any type of service despite staff having seated us, seeing that we were waiting and us getting their attention. When we were served almost 40 mins after arriving (at the time we’d “reserved”) the ham omelette arrived with no ham, no flavour and as will be seen from the photo thrown on to the plate after it (would appear) had been picked up off the counter after missing the plate. Whilst the meats, cheeses, fruit, danish’s and assorted cakes all looked very appetising and laid out beautifully, there was barely any taste in the few that I tried. We’re not demanding people and generally go with the flow but sadly the service at breakfast left a bad taste to the end of a fantastic road trip around Gaudix, Cordoba, Sevilla and Jaén staying at some beautiful boutique hotels with quality foods and lovely friendly staff.

All very good,hotel is excellent.

Super

Room was very clean and the bed was very comfortable.

I booked D,BnB as a birthday treat for my husband. The location is stunning ,main reception rooms are impressive.Bedroom had a balcony with superb view ,otherwise,purely functional- nothing welcoming.Staff -generally friendly and efficient.Breakfast buffet -huge and freshly cooked omelettes were superb( if rather hurriedly served- I was still eating fruit). Sadly,dinner was a HUGE disappointment .We were seated at 9.00 pm ( very early for Spain) but the restaurant very quickly emptied except for another couple and one lone diner.Staff seemed to consider this the end of the evening and spent our entire time setting up for breakfast all around us.Our starters were OK(MASSIVE) pate- very good,black pudding in rather thick choux pastry- far too much pastry for the delicious filling. My main had clearly been kept warm somewhere was a little burnt around the edges,lukewarm in the middle.My husband’s octopus was ,literally,burnt black and pretty much inedible.When the waitress came to collect our plates and offer dessert,we quietly said as much.She shrugged.We waited to see whether anyone would come to apologise,then gave up and went to leave.Our original waiter and head waiter spoke to us as we left and we repeated how disappointed we’d been Our waiter said sorry. On checkout we’d been charged a supplement for the inedible octopus.Told I should have discussed this with the waiter- I did! Supplement removed’there!Everythingis now good’.NO- absolutely NOT GOOD.

In one word EXCELLENT

Everything was amazing. Dinner and breakfast were delicious and service was great. I loved everything about our stay.

The hotel setting is fantastic, with beautiful view overlooking the city of Jaen. This was our second stay at this hotel, the first was fantastic, but this stay was disappointing. The service was average, slow and not very friendly. The bar tender did not know how to prepare basic mixed drinks. The breakfast was fine with some decent options and ala carte menu for hot dishes, but the service was very slow. The room was fine, comfortable and clean. But the toilet was not working during our stay and they could not fix it and had no other room for us as the hotel was full. We had to use the restaurent toilet. Not acceptable considering this was a premium hotel. Overall disappointed in our stay.

Beautiful

Lovely hotel in a spectacular location. Enjoyed our meal in the restaurant.

Breathtaking tranquility. Balcony view from the room was gorgeous, high above the city. Pool was a plus for some exercise. Room was functional and cozy. Not much to do other than dining room and walk to the castle. You need a car or taxi to go up the steep hill to the Parador.

Beautiful hotel in a stunning location

Stunning building in a spectacular hilltop location.

Unique setting. Excellent clean comfortable room. Professional staff and a lovely buffet breakfast .

this is a luxurious parador in an absolutely stunning setting attached to a castle on a craggy mountain over Jaen. still cannot get over the views from anywhere within the hotel. Sunset to dinner on Terrace a fitting end to the day. You should consider it essential to stay here if you visit Eastern Andalucia.

Stunning setting. Smallish room but large comfortable bed and excellent bathroom facilities. Very good options for breakfast.

Unbelievable views from the property with an amazing swimming pool. probably the most tranquil place we have ever stayed. staff were friendly and professional

Beautiful property with an amazing restaurant. Pool was just ok and the lower level rooms have air blowing but not really air conditioning. We would go back though!

This is a unique hotel that offers some majestic views as it sits high above the city. It is also next to a castle that is worth visiting. Common areas and hallways are very nicely arranged. Our room was a bit cold and there was no way to warm it up as I was told that the A/C unit can only cool. This was a bit unexpected. Given the overall experience though, we had no regrets!

The views are amazing. Usual high standard of parador.