Parador de Melilla

Wonderful views from the rooftop of Melilla

We took a cab to the Parador hotel, because, despite the hotel being clearly visible perched on top of the hill overlooking the town, we weren't immediately sure of how to get there from the port. We didn't want to be wandering round town with wheely suitcases and the word "tourist" effectively tattoed on our foreheads, so we jumped in a cab from the port. The hill to the hotel is very steep, so in hindsight, I'm quite glad we didn't try to walk it laden with luggage. The hotel looked very grand and isolated in it's own grounds, standing slightly aloof from everything else in Melilla. Although we arrived early we were welcomed warmly to the hotel, and had a drink in the bar whilst they finished making up our room. We found that the bar and restaurant were fairly quiet during our stay. The reception area steps upwards towards the bar and restaurant at the far end, and there are several distinct areas in which to sit. There was occasionally piped music playing in the restaurant, bar and reception, but it had no real personality as a place to spend any significant length of time. However, the Parador served its purpose admirably as a hotel.

Unique Quality: From most places in the hotel the view is good, but from the top floor where we stayed, the view is amazing!! The whole of Melilla spreads out before you from the old town on the left, across the port and beach, the Plaza de Espana and Plaza de Torros, the hills beyond Melilla in Morocco and round to the residential houses which were scattered like colourful building blocks tumbling down the hillside towards the town. The Auditorium Carjaval sits just beyond the trees of Parque Lobera and this plays host to live concerts at the weekends during the summer. We were able to sit out on our balcony in the balmy evenings and listen to the music. At prayer times, the sound of the mosques calling muslims to prayer echoed eerily across the town giving an exotic mysticism to an otherwise Spanish destination. The room was decorated in an unusual style I would liken to a Victorian Prison meeting Habitat. The rooms have a tiled floor, the walls are painted white and the furniture is a kind of green stained bare wood. You'll find a minibar fridge (with a range of reasonably priced drinks), an antiquated wall mounted hairdryer, a safe and a flat screen television but no iron or trouser press. The hotel does offer an efficient laundry and ironing service though and prices for this are on the back of the bathroom door, but I'd recommend taking a travel iron and your own hairdryer if you can! The air conditioning is a little clunky, but highly effective and cools the room down in seconds.

There is also a pool with a lifeguard on duty in the later part of the day.

The food in the restaurant is passable, but not exciting...there seemed to be just one identical side order of vegetables which accompanied the food on each day rather than a side order to complement the dish you had ordered. Service could be a bit slow, as with many places in Melilla, but our waiter, Domingo was very friendly and attentive and made the stay a little more personable.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average

Parador de Melilla Photo: The hotel Parador

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