This hotel is converetd monastery with a new addition tagged on the back. It is just inside one of the main gates to the old town and easy to find.

The hotel parking is very limited and street parking may be diffcult. We were lucky to find a suitable place in view from our bedroom window.

The old town is delightful to walk through and I would recommend taking a stroll for a pre-dinner drink at one of the many cafes.

The restaurant in the hotel is a little old fashioned but the service was excellent. Dinner for four with wine came to EUR 175.

The rooms in the modern part of the hotel are very comfortable and reasonable at EUR 125 each. Breakfast is EUR 13 per person.

The one slight downside is that in order to preserve the character of the building there is not a route where one does not need to move suitcases up flights of stairs before you get to the lifts, so be warned.

A delightful hotel which is well worth stopping at.

The Paradores are government run Spanish B&B/Hotels which are generally historic buildings and/or located on historic sites.

Avila is WNW of Madrid between Gredos and Segovia and it's parador is a 16th Century palace built over the former Piedras Avila palace and backing onto the city walls which are the highlight of a trip to Avila.

Sounds great......but it's actually a little disappointing. The rooms were adequate but bland, compared to other paradores we have used, and the bathroom drains were 'fragrant'. The staff were polite but unhelpful, particularly in relation to parking. The Parador has VERY limited spaces and on-road parking nearby is pretty non-existant. I managed to get a space after 30mins by accosting passers by until I found a couple on their way back to their car and following them in mine.

The restaurant was mediocre and expensive compared to other Paradores, although they still offered the local dishes we had come to enjoy elsewhere. We had lunch but ate dinner at another hotel nearby. The bar staff (singular) was surly - he obviously wanted to close up. He told a group arriving at 11:15 that the bar was closed - until I politely reminded him that the posted bar opening was until 12. Although the group were grateful and bought me a drink, needless to say I was not popular with the barman who made every effort to spill my drink over me.

Overall the experience was mediocre, particularly in comparison to the excellence of some of the other nearby Paradores.

Avila itself has a few places of interest and the City Wall is stunning. It is a great place to see, but spend a morning and walk the wall, see the sights.... then move on and stay elsewhere.

This property has the makings of a stunning hotel unfortunately spoilt by firstly the staff and secondly the need for some refurbishment.
Good points are a great location inside the amazing city walls and pleasant, spacious rooms.
Bad points are the staff who, almost universally, exhibit an indifference bordering on rudeness. This may be because, being state owned, they are presumably answerable to a civil servant in Madrid rather than the guests they are supposed to serve.
Acceptable for a one night stopover but it is really a shame that such a potentially great hotel is so poorly staffed.

Very good location just inside the walls of Avila and easy to find. Parking restricted and cannot be booked in advance. Reception surly and hotel very tired with threadbare carpets and unwelcoming on a very cold and wet day. Several flights of steps up to reception desk and only access for disabled we could see was from garage. Similarly several lots of steps inside before lift is accessible. Room good size but with wooden floors, a bit cold, bathroom OK but nothing special and rather narrow. Food was terrible both for dinner and very poor buffet breakfast the following morning.