Hotel Convento Aracena & Spa

Would have given a 5 but a few shortcomings. No wash clothes. They give you some tissues in a packet but no tissue boxes. No shampoo or conditioner in the shower. No soap but yes small plastic bidder if body wash. No grilled vegetables at breakfast. My gluten free gf was not happy. No omelets at breakfast. Earliest dinner reservation at 8:30. Took forever to get our dinner since short staffed. Reception was great. Helped with our luggage. Parking inside the hotel is extra.

The hotel is very nice. Unique experience staying in a converted convent. The rooms are very spacious and open courtyard lovely. The spa is a gem. Turkish bath, sauna, steam room. The restaurant offerings were limited without many restaurants in walking. Parking was safe and easy.

Our room was great except for the lighting which could be improved. In particular there is a desk and tea making area in a dark corner under the stairs and there is no light over the desk. I would have liked more power sockets near the bed, The bathroom was good except that there was a lot of space wasted on having two sinks and yet there was no flat surface to put anything on. We moved a bedside table from upstairs to use. We liked the secure parking and enjoyed the breakfast. the restaurant doesn't open until 8.30 pm which I know is not unusual in Spain but it would have been nice to be able to get something to eat in the bar. The hotel is convenient for the town and for going out walking which was our reason for being there.

I visited this restaurant in February on a Thursday evening with my partner and some friends. Perhaps we were unlucky but it was overall a poor experience. The waiting staff were initially excellent but once the orders were taken and wine served they seemed to disappear. The wine was good but the food was sub- standard. My dish of "Carilleras" was tepid at one end freezing cold at the other - they did reheat it presumably in the microwave but serving a dish half ice-cold tells you all you need to know about the kitchen. The sauce was slipped on and had no vibrancy but rather just that Matt cap of colour when it has sat for a long time. We ordered some "Croquetas" which were also cold - didn't bother to return these as it was getting embarrassing. Given it was a Thursday perhaps they didn't have sufficient clientele to justify cooking fresh food but poorly defrosted dishes is the worst of all worlds. The Convent itself is beautiful and the interior of the restaurant is OK. There are some excellent restaurants in Aracena where you pay on average 20% to 30% prevent less that this one and eat much better. Serving up cold food in a "premium" restaurant is inexcusable. Not recommended.

We booked a SPA hotel but Spa was not operational. The hotel did not inform us before arrival despite knowing about that for several days. When we asked at check-in the person at reception effectively said ‘it’s not our problem’ and was really quite rude and unwelcoming. That was a shame because it created a very poor impression and made us feel unwelcome when there was no need. Simple caring customer service could have handled it. Hats off to ******* who helped to make amends. As for the hotel, it’s really very nice, but I think it cares more about itself than its customers