2026 Trip
Stayed in a VRBO this time but spent a honeymoon night at the Hospes Palacio…
which has great beds! Plus make sure you get the prestige package with includes a humongous mini bar and a pretty decent breakfast.
Farala was a one star restaurant that acted like a 3 star. All BS proper and no fun.
Negro Carbon was a kinda stupid steakhouse with all of their primary steaks being 1 kilo or more (2.2 pounds). The idea is to share but that’s a ridiculous size. What if you’re a couple!
Magma massage was super hard to find and super so so. X cinema had multiple rooms but with nothing in them, just one main screen so it was pretty dumpy.
La Tabernilla Del Daro was one of the best restaurants we ate at. Broad menu with amazing ingredients. Very cool cave like setting.
The cueva in Rocio flamenco show was cool enough for that sort of thing and a nice walk to la mirador San Nicholas after. I would say it’s a bit isolated otherwise on kind of a residential street, and the shows themselves are tight and there can be 3 or 4 going on at once, so it’s a bit of a racket in this era.
The parque de sciencias was cool but so humongous. It’s hard to know where to go or how to go through it. Plan a whole day if going, and for gods sake do not walk there…we almost died.
We loved plaza bib rambla.
Bodegas Castaneda was rad.
The VRBO was fine but it’s location was perfect, right on a nice square (plaza de trinidad) and walkable to most things.
Previously…
Our spot, though a little far down, was right on the Recogidas road, which if it isn’t the “main” road, it is certainly one of them. There are lots of pedestrian friendly spots shooting off of it, along with squares and such. It basically lets out at the Plaza Nueva which was one of the main spots, and home to the Moorish spa that we went to, which was beyond the jam (we found a sweet lunch spot next to it as well). This area is right along the wall of the Alhambra and along the edge of the Albaicin, which is an amazing old muslim area with tiny cobblestone streets that will make you get lost quickly. The hill it’s on ain’t no joke. Cab up, walk down, though our walk down was excruciating (she will not forget wearing those heals)! At the top of the hill (Plaza San Nicolas) there are some spectacular views and tapa restaurants everywhere, built right along the edge. Pretty perfect for wine and snacks (and hand made shit apparently). Granada can be run down the farther you get away from the Alhambra, but as you get closer it starts to feel better and better, until you realize you maybe can’t do any better in Spain.
Notes to self:
-The Hammam Al Andalus is beyond necessary. Add the massage and stay as long as possible. You’re welcome.
-The “generalife” portion of the Alhambra is stupid and a complete ripoff, even at night when it’s supposedly magical. What a fucking scam. I tried hard to figure out what the right tickets were too.
Hospes Palacio Granada - May 2015
Quite a hotel honestly. Decent location but not awesome. The facade is very grand, and the lobby itself is old world grand to the extreme. Pretty cool. Room service was 24 hours. Room was very modern. Mini bar was great. No pay per view. No balcony (we were in the newer part of the complex). The room was big with glass walls for the vanity and toilet areas.
Had a rough go in the outdoor bar area while we were waiting for our room to be ready…tell me again why we can’t sit at this empty table?
Notes
-Staff in general was super nice, especially the front desk dude. They even gave us a free bottle of champagne.
-Breakfast buffet was honestly pretty good. You get both a standard European buffet and you can order hot stuff off an included a la carte menu. 22 bucks a person.
-Valet parking was 24…and worth every penny.
-Spa is unisex and had a great little pool, and hammam, and sauna.
Casa Del Capitel Nazari Granada - Apr 2006
Cool place. Good location. Old Moorish style. Rooms were bare bones but we had a nice view of the Alhambra. Like sleeping in an old castle keep or something. Just off Plaza Nueva.