Calahorra is a bustling, prosperous town set in the middle of the Riojan wine country. The parador is a newbuild, with comfortable, spacious rooms, offers the standard parador amenities, but is otherwise unremarkable. It is host to a good many functions: a word of warning, if your stay there coincides with an evening wedding, the dreaded Spanish boda, you may as well reconcile yourself to a sleepless night. There will be a large band which will play at top volume, continuous dancing that all seems to concentrate on stomping and, above all, the cacaphony of several hundred voices all trying to make themselves heard over the din. All of this is likely to go on until after four in the morning. The best thing to to in a case like that is to capitulate, get dressed and go down to join in the fun. The Spanish are a hospitable people and will certainly welcome you. The food in the comedor (main dining room) is good but not exceptional. There is however a superb restaurant nearby, nestled in the old town, Las Quatros Esquinas, The Four Corners, which serves the best food that I've encountered in Spain. If you should be there in Spring I highly recommend the plate of white asparagus, followed by a rack of lamb. along with a bottle of red Marques de Caceres Crianza. A meal there is, at least for me, ample reason for staying in Calahorra. If one isn't averse to night driving, one can also stay at the parador in Olite (to be reviewed later), an easy twenty minute drive away.
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