Hotel Monasterio Rocamador — Hotel in Almendral

A disclosure, here, from long ago (1999): I spent a night here, traveling with my then-young daughter, and it was an altogether memorable experience. Enough that I'd check in to see what news was of this spot, and was saddened to hear of its closure for a decade, reopening just a few years ago (pre-covid, but barely). So my wife & I went here at the end of a nine-week stay in southern Spain and as the third leg of a jaunt into Portugal before leaving from Madrid's Adolfo Suarez Airport barely 30 hours later. ||When someplace fine has gotten better still, does it require a cascade of superlatives? Maybe; fill in your own. We slept in complete comfort (despite fighting off head colds), ate better than well, enjoyed the grounds, delighted in conversations with the staff, and quaffed the lovely wines produced by the bodega (Nadir winery) owners who invested considerable effort and funding to bring this site back to life. The room we were issued (#37) included the biggest king-sized bed I've ever seen and despite a Badajoz-level unseasonable warmth, the climate system worked perfectly and was highly responsive. The landscaping and care taken with the rooms and meals are notable; the staff was always polite and quick to answer questions, would volunteer opinions when sought, and after a couple of rustic and even challenging nights in Portugal's Algarve and Alentejo, it was a true pleasure to see how this Spanish locale does it right. It has a long and fascinating history, and what's there is done right. The dehesa (oak woodland) surrounding the Hotel Monasterio Rocamador (there's a French Rocamador also; no relation) is splendid....

This was the most pleasant surprise of my life. Spain got gorgeous places to stay and than there is the transformed monastery Rocamador. I would need to write a book about it so go and check it out. Service is Spanish, English and German. Enjoy like I did and talk to the German receptionist Horst, a gentleman educated in science and technology you are amazed to find in the hotel branch. This is a 180 degree experience you never will forget. Good cleaners, waitress and cooks but difficult to understand the way they speak Spanish from the south literally eating consonants and letters. Included to this is a wine production with own brand and presumably a top quality. I do not drink but the other guests were excited. While my stay I observed big groups going for event celebration, so this does bring a little life to the facility which should invest a bit more in SPA service and night disco or PUB or it's getting...

On first viewing this hotel looked great but you soon realised it needed some tlc. The room we had was large but very plain and dark. The bathrooms all have a bath with some sort of shower over. Our overhead shower had one tap that didn’t work at all so you couldn’t regulate the temperature - we had to use the hand held attachment to shower which isn’t that convenient. There are no toiletries in the rooms - only a couple of soaps which isn’t really acceptable especially if you are travelling light and for the price point. The swimming pool was great and a highlight of our stay. The food we had in the restaurant was awful and we could not recommend eating there. Our table in the chapel was atmospheric but crawling with little ants over the tablecloth. Breakfast was ok. Internet/wifi was very spasmodic and we mainly didn’t have any so couldn’t...