Hotel Hospes Palacio del Bailío
Córdoba
We’ve seen a lot of hotels but every now and then you come across one of those top hotels that are so beautiful you have to catch your breath around every corner.
Hospes Palacio del Bailío is such a hotel.
This is no pearl; it’s an entire treasure trove in an old district in the historic city of Córdoba. It’s a hotel with a story.
The hotel is housed in an old palace built between the 16th and 18th century. The renovation work took years to complete especially as the building is on the list of protected buildings. History comes to life here. We return to a time when Arabs, Jews and Christians lived together peacefully. A time during which Córdoba gained its fame. The hotel has welcomed guests since 2007. And what a hotel it is. Great care has been taken to create a stimulating balance between past and present. The old stables, the Roman remains, the restored priceless wall paintings and the beautiful patios and gardens are graciously combined with modern design, space and the latest use of lighting.
The 53 rooms are, without exception, impressive and of course equipped with all the facilities you would expect. The Senzone restaurant only serves the very best dishes. Once you enter the Bodyna spa it’s hard to leave.
This hotel is not just a place to sleep; it’s a place to experience.
We are creating high expectations, but we know that Hospes Palacio del Bailío will live up to every one of them easily.
Cons:
• We’d like to spend a week looking, we haven’t found any yet.
Pros:
• The ambiance and special character
• The well planned combination of past and present
• The breathtaking glass floor in the lounge through which you can view the Roman excavations
• The car can be parked by a hotel employee in a nearby parking garage
Hotel Hospes Palacio del Bailío
facilities
Hotel
- There is a restaurant where you can have lunch or dinner. Price for lunch or dinner approx. € 45,-- pp.
- Lounge bar.
- Tapas bar.
- Swimming pool.
- Garden.
- Relaxing in the hotels´s Bodyna Spa, including beauty treatments and massages.
- Internet connection (ADSL) in every room (free).
- Hotel has a no-children policy.
- No rooms with wheelchair access.
- Lift.
- Pets are not welcome.
- Bike rental.
- The hotel offers a range of different excursions/activities.
- Hotel does not have its own parking facilities. Parking in a nearby public car park (€ 17,-- per day).
- Hotel is located in the centre of Córdoba.
Rooms
Every room has air conditioning, heating, LCD-TV, Telephone, internet connection, mini-bar and safe.
Fully equipped bathrooms including bathrobes, slippers and hairdryer.
Hotel has 53 rooms including 34 superior double rooms, 11 deluxe double rooms, 4 junior suites and 1 Gran Suite Loft.
Hotel Hospes Palacio del Bailío
surrounding area
Córdoba
Don’t miss the Mezquita, Córdoba's huge mosque, which has seen various different developments throughout the years to become a fascinating blend of styles and religions.
But also make sure to visit the old centre, with its alleyways, squares and patios, as well as Spain’s best-preserved Jewish quarter. For the finest patios, head for the Barrio San Basilio.
Other sights include the palace/fortress Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos with magnificent gardens and fountains; various museums, such as the Museo Arqueológico, Museo Taurino, Museo de Bellas Artes; a string of great squares, such as the Plaza de la Corredera, Plaza del Potro.
Culinary
The Córdoba province is a major olive oil producing area in Andalucía. Baena (see below) produces one of the best olive oils. There are also a range of co-ops where you can taste olive oil.
Typical Córdoba dishes are rabo de toro (stewed oxtail in red pepper sauce) and salmorejo (a kind of gazpacho).
And in the bodegas of Montilla you can taste Montilla’s typical white wine.
Family
Córdoba can be explored by bike. Córdoba la Llana en Bici organises bike tours of the city. Suitable for children from 10 years of age.
Another way of exploring the city is by horse-drawn carriage. This ride will take about three quarters of an hour.
The city’s small zoo has about 200 different animal species for you to marvel at, including tigers, elephants, llamas and reptiles.
And on top of that, there are two water parks that open from the start of July up to mid-September.
Culture and Nature
A tour of the Sierra Morena, starting 70km to the north-west of Córdoba at the village of Bélmez, past Peñarrova-Pueblonuevo, Fuente Ovejuna, Hinojosa del Duque, Belalcázar, Añora, Pedroche up to Pozoblanco is a great option. This tour of the Córdoba province will take you through an area with lush hills, where hunters hunt deer and boar. But also past plains where storks build their nests on church towers. This sparsely populated area is not visited by many people, and the atmosphere is more austere than in other parts of Andalucía.
Another tour you can embark on by car, leading through vast olive groves, is the caliph’s route between Córdoba and Granada, along the old border of the caliphate of the Umayyads. Various Moorish fortresses are reminders of those days. This route unfortunately also follows the busy main road between Granada and Córdoba. The finest landscapes are on the stretch between Pinos Puente and Alcalá la Real, with the villages of Zuheros (70km) and Priego de Córdoba (93km) as the undeniable highlights.
The following villages/towns in the area are definitely worth a visit:
Medina Azahara (12km; 22min):
This once glorious Moorish fairy-tale palace was built for caliph Abd al-Rahman III in the 10th century, and he named it after his favourite harem member. It took 40 years to build this complex of palaces, gardens, houses, kitchens and bastions that housed approximately 20,000 inhabitants. But the glory days did not last long. The palace was sacked and pillaged in 1010, and its ruins are only a vague reminder of its past glory. About a tenth part of the walled city of the caliph has been revealed and partly restored. The highlights are the Salón Rico (throne room), the Dar al-Wuzura (Vizir’s home) and the Pórtico.
Montoro (46km; 40min):
Montoro is spread out over five hills in a curve of the Guadalquivir river. The 16th-century bridge over this river, the Puente de las Donadas, is one of Montoro’s main sights, alongside the impressive buildings on the Plaza de España, the Ayuntamiento and the Iglesia de San Bartolomé. The steep, winding streets give the town a certain charm. Montoro is famous for its leather-working.
Montilla (46km; 45min):
Montilla is the centre of a rich wine area, which is still being overshadowed by sherry from Jerez de la Frontera.
Montilla’s white wine is made in the same way as sherry, and it even tastes alike, but this wine does not require additional alcohol. The bodegas of Alvear and Pérez Barquero are open to the public.
Other sights include the 18th-century castle and the Convento de Santa Clara from 1512.
Baena (60km; 1h):
Baena olive oil’s fine reputation dates back to Roman times. You can visit an olive museum here. The Iglesia Santa María la Mayor towers above this whitewashed village. On the Plaza de la Constitución, next to the town hall, stands the stately Casa del Monta, an 18th-century townhouse.
And you can, of course, head for one of the other 2 world famous cities for a day trip:
Seville (145km; 1h45min):
The capital of Andalucía is a compact city with a rich past. Most of its major sights are in or near the city centre on the Guadalquivir river’s left bank. And they also know how to party and have a good time in this city of flamenco and tapas.
As you wander through the old Jewish quarter, the Barrio Santa Cruz, through a maze of white streets and patios, you should not forget to take in the imposing cathedral, the Moorish bell tower, La Giralda, and the royal palace Real Alcázar.
You can unwind in the María Luisa park, where you can spend the hottest part of the day under orange trees and palm trees.
The museum Museo de Bellas Artes, one of Spain’s best museums of art, is a real must. And then there are its magnificent palaces and other sights, such as the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (bull ring); Casa de Pilatos and the Torre del Oro.
Granada (240km; 2h45min):
The Alhambra was the part of town where princes, nobility and court staff dwelled, on the hill right in the middle of Granada. The Alhambra is a huge complex, 720m in length and 220m wide. Clever use of space, light, water and decorative features are the Alhambra’s defining features.
On the hill opposite the Alhambra, the Albayzín quarter, is where Granada’s Moorish past is still most tangible. Stroll through its narrow streets, past villas with Moorish decoration and gardens, up to the Mirador de San Nicolás. This is where you will have the best views, of the roofs of Granada, with the Alhambra behind them, which makes for a stunning view, especially at sunset!