Hotel Campos de Baeza

Breakfast was excellent value, and underground parking at the hotel cost 8 euro. It’s a short walk into the heart of town and the old town. The hotel is pleasant and has excellent staff, though it’s a bit dated. It must once have been a very fine place, and it’s still good, but could use some brightening up. Our room was average-sized and had an unusual feature: dormer windows. To see the view, we had to go up two or three steps and look over a wall that was clearly there for safety. The bathroom was brand new, with a walk-in shower, as good as any we’ve used in a hotel.

I was there on a business trip, and the bedrooms were clean. Breakfast was ordinary. The part I’ll remember is opening the window in the morning to a huge green sea of olive trees, with birds singing. Just seeing and hearing that made the stay worthwhile.

The setting made it easy to explore. The hotel is on the edge of town, simple to find, and there was no traffic noise at night despite the main road. It’s only a five-minute walk to the start of the old town, with its squares and monuments. There were plenty of restaurants within a ten-minute walk, since the dining room was closed on both nights we stayed. For visiting the Ubeda-Baeza heritage cities, it’s better placed than the parador in Ubeda. This is a new hotel designed to look like an old building, so from outside you might think it dates to around 1650. The rooms are a good size, with excellent bathrooms and quality fittings. Balconies are tiny, but the views on both sides are great. Breakfast and underground parking were included in our special offer, just 55 euros per night for a double room in mid April.

The room was good and parking was easy. The rooftop area was nice, but there was no drink service, and it was closed for holidays. The bar wasn’t really open either, so it was too hot even to enjoy a GnT. At checkout, nobody was there. We waited around for two hours, walked into town, and came back, but reception was still unattended. The cleaner called a number and was told nobody was working at reception. We just left, and I’ll have to check what they charge to my card.