La Aurora Hotel Colonial

This was my second stay here, and I'd come back again. The rooms are a little rough around the edges, but it's good value, with a great location and good housekeeping. The hotel is nicely decorated, the courtyard pool was fabulous, and the roof has two small pools and a restaurant. We stayed during hurricane Beryl and still had a pleasant experience. The shower setup and upkeep could be better. Water got all over the floor, and the tile was slippery under bare feet, so some non-slip tape would help. My kids said the water pressure was low in their room, although ours was fine. The mattress was comfortable enough, but the linens could use an upgrade.

We booked 13 rooms well in advance for our group of 26, but only 10 were ready when we arrived. The hotel sent the other three rooms to another property, which caused a lot of unnecessary hassle and confusion. Most of the rooms didn't have towels, even though the hotel knew when we were arriving. We were told towels would come soon, then waited over an hour. When they finally arrived, they were still wet from the dryer. The manager was indifferent and dismissive when I tried to sort things out. Instead of taking responsibility, he told me to “talk to Booking.” That level of unprofessionalism is unacceptable. We'd paid extra for breakfast, but it was mediocre and nowhere near enough for 26 people. The portions were small, and the hotel clearly wasn't prepared for a group booking this size. Avoid La Aurora Hotel Colonial in Valladolid.

We only planned to stay three days, but ended up staying eight. The place was spotless, and its downtown location made it easy to walk to the colectivo, the town square, the church, and the convent. Calle de Faissel is about five minutes away. There’s a bigger pool in the courtyard, plus two rooftop spa pools and a rooftop restaurant. The pools aren’t heated, but the sun warms them nicely. One block away, right behind Subway, we found a restaurant with amazing Al pastor tacos.

The rooftop restaurant was nice, and the staff were really friendly. They also gave me as much bottled water as I needed. I didn’t get around to using the pool, but I slept well after switching on the AC in my room. It’s an open-air hotel, and I had a good stay while visiting Valladolid.