This is the original parador, built in 1928 but refurbished several times since, in an isolated location the midst of the Sierra de Gredos, a little more than an hour's drive west of Madrid, half an hour southwest of Avila. This is a place to rest up from the heat of a Castillian summer, you're up in the mountains here, I've encountered snow in May. The parador experience itself is standard, the rooms comfortable, the food very palatable. As is the case in all paradors, if you don't want to have the huge buffet breakfasts or the big lunches or dinners, it's always possible to order a sandwich or just a croissant and coffee in the bar. There are numerous hiking trails nearby and the parador has tennis courts but no pool. If you're travelling with kids there's a special play area for little ones and a nearby game park called Safari Madrid.
Jarandilla is a sleepy little town still within sight of the Sierra de Gredos, across the line in the province of Estremadura, home to the great majority of the conquistadores who conquered and settled Spanish America. The parador is a Renaissance palace in which the Emperor Charles V (who also ruled in Spain as King Carlos I) stayed for a year after his abdication in 1556 while awaiting the completion of his country retreat in nearby Yuste. This is well worth a visit. Idylically situated in hilly, rural surroundings with a duck pond belows it, it is a unique combination of monastery and mini palace. The emperor in his last days sought religious solace but had no intention of living in monastic abstinance. The parador has a beautifully proportioned interior courtyard, an outdoor pool and a children's play area. Within easy driving distance is the little town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain's leading producer of hand made pottery. There are dozens of workshops offering the delicately painted Talavera ware.
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