Mirador del Frayle

The rooms were spacious and clean, I’ll give them that, but the stay really let me down. At check-in nobody offered help with my 30 kg suitcase, and my room was as far away as possible for no clear reason when there were only about three other guests. It feels like the kind of place you’d bring a wedding party to and have everyone stay on-site. The hotel is in a rather scrappy area without restaurants or shops. There’s no heating or cooling in the rooms, and on the cool 6-8 degree nights I woke with a sore throat from breathing cold air. On my last night I got locked out of the main gate. Nobody had told me there was a curfew, and I actually had to jump the fence to get back in because the hotel phone was faulty. The restaurant was open only one night during the four days I was in town. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this hotel to anyone.

The town looks great from the far end of the grounds. There’s a pool, a kiosk, green spaces, and a couple of fountains to enjoy. Our Junior Room had two lovely beds, old-style furnishings, and some nice details. The bathroom also had a bathtub, and the TV came with cable and YouTube access.

The sunset view is beautiful, and the rooms have a nice vintage look. They were a little cold at night, but manageable. The Wi-Fi was average, and the hotel is a bit far from centro near Murador. If you like walking through the old city, the location may suit you. Service was the biggest problem. I had a duplicate booking through booking.com because of a website glitch and asked for the cancellation fee to be waived. They refused, which I understood, and fortunately the other hotel refunded the full amount. But when we arrived, staff said our room was canceled and refused to give it to us. They later realized they had misread the booking.com instructions in Spanish. We spent about 15 minutes being hassled while they hadn't even read them properly. We were eventually given rooms 18 and 19. Room 18 smelled very bad from the bathroom, but staff neither understood the issue nor came to check it. Both rooms lacked basic things like towels, and we were told the hotel didn't have any. The two women at reception couldn't sort out a single problem and just repeated their original answers. The receptionists spoke only Spanish. For international visitors, the language barrier is tough unless you're ready to use translation for every little conversation. I wish the hotel would change its reception staff. SMA gets international tourists, and staff should understand a little English to help guests, even when we're trying to speak rough Spanish ourselves.

The large garden has lots of trees, and the excellent view and good weather made this a worthwhile stay for our family. The room was spacious too. Downtown is far away, and getting back uphill is very steep. We had a car, so it wasn't an issue for us, but it's worth knowing if you're planning to get into town without one. There aren't any food options nearby.