World Country Guide

Accommodation

Hotels & Hostels
A variety of hotel-type accommodation is available including apartment-hotels, hotel-residencias and motels. The term residencia denotes an establishment where dining-room facilities are not provided, although there must be provisions for the serving of breakfast and a cafe. Further information on accommodation in Barcelona and Madrid can be obtained free of charge online (website: www.barcelona-on-line.com or www.madrid-on-line.com). Grading: Most accommodation in Spain is provided in hotels, classified from 1 to 5 stars (the few exceptions have a Gran Lujo, Grande De Luxe category); or hostels and pensiones, classified from 1 to 3 stars. The following is an outline of the facilities available in the hotel and hostel categories. 1-star hotels: Permanently installed heating, lift in buildings of more than four storeys, lounge, 25 per cent of bedrooms with shower, washbasin and WC, 25 per cent with shower and washbasin, the rest have washbasin and hot and cold running water, one common bathroom every seven rooms, laundry and ironing service, telephone on every floor; 2-star hotels: Permanently installed heating or air conditioning according to climate, lounge, lift in buildings of two or more storeys, bar, 15 per cent of rooms with ensuite bathrooms, 45 per cent with shower, washbasin and WC and the rest with shower, washbasin and hot and cold running water, one common bathroom to every six rooms, laundry and ironing service, telephone in every room; 3-star hotels: Permanently installed heating or air conditioning according to climate, lounge, lift, bar, 50 per cent of the bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, 50 per cent with shower, washbasin, WC and hot and cold running water, laundry and ironing service, telephone in every room; 4-star hotels: Air conditioning in every room, unless climatic conditions require central heating or cooling only, a minimum of two hotel lounges, 75 per cent of the bedrooms with ensuite bathroom and the rest with shower, washbasin, WC and hot and cold running water, laundry and ironing service, telephone in every room, garage parking (in towns), lift and bar; 5-star hotels: Air conditioning in all public rooms and bedrooms, central heating, two or more lifts, lounges, bar, garage (within towns), hairdressers, all bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and telephone, some suites with sitting rooms, and laundry and ironing service. 1-star hostels: All rooms with washbasins and cold running water; one bathroom for every 12 rooms; general telephone; 2-star hostels: Permanently installed heating, lift in buildings of five storeys or more, lounge or comfortable lobby, one common bathroom to every 10 rooms, all bedrooms with washbasin and hot and cold water, general telephone; 3-star hostels: Permanently installed heating, lift in buildings of more than four storeys, lounge, 5 per cent of bedrooms with ensuite bathroom, 10 per cent with shower, washbasin and WC, 85 per cent with shower and washbasin and hot and cold running water, one common bathroom to every eight rooms, laundry and ironing service, telephone in every room.
It is always advisable to book accommodation well in advance, particularly during festivals or at popular resorts on the coast from late spring to October. Reservations may be made by writing directly to the hotels, lists of which may be obtained from the Spanish National Tourist Office (see Contact Addresses section), or through travel agents or certain hotel booking services. Further information may be obtained from CEHAT (Confederación Espanola de Hoteles y Alojamientos), Calle Orense 32, 28020 Madrid (tel: (91) 556 7112 or (90) 201 2141; fax: (91) 556 7361; e-mail: cehat@cehat.com; website: www.cehat.com).
Letters to 5-, 4- or 3-star hotels may be written in English, but it is advisable to write in Spanish to lower categories.

Government lodges
A chain of lodging places has been set up by the Ministry of Tourism in places of special interest or remote locations. These include attractive modern buildings and ancient monuments of historic interest, such as monasteries, convents, old palaces and castles. Standards are uniformly high, but not at the expense of individual charm and character. Below is a brief description of each type of lodging:

Paradores
National Tourist Inns, Paradores, are hotels with all modern amenities including rooms with private bathroom, hot and cold running water, central heating, telephone in every room, public sitting rooms, garages and complementary services. Advance booking is advised. For further information, contact Paradores de Turismo, Calle Requena 3, Madrid 28013 (tel: (91) 516 6666; fax: (91) 516 6657/8; e-mail: reservas@parador.es; website: www.parador.es); or contact the UK representative, Keytel International, 402 Edgware Road, London W2 1ED (tel: (020) 7616 0300; fax: (020) 7616 0317; e-mail: paradors@keytel.co.uk; website: www.keytel.co.uk).

Hosterias
These are traditional restaurants, decorated in the style of the region in which they are situated and serving excellent meals.

Guest houses
Pensiones are common throughout Spain and vary in quality from austere to relatively luxurious. They are usually run by the family on the premises and provide bed and board only.

Camping/Caravanning
There are around 350 campsites throughout the country, covering a wide quality and price range. Permission from the local police and landowner is essential for off-site camping and there may be no more than three tents/caravans or 10 campers in any one place. Regulations demand that off-site camping is in isolated areas only. For further information, contact ANCE (Federación Espanola de Empresarios de Cámpings y Ciudades de Vacaciones), San Bernardo 97-99, 28015 Madrid (tel: (91) 448 1234; fax: (91) 448 1267; e-mail: fedcamping@hotmail.com; website: www.fedcamping.com).

Youth Hostels
The Spanish Youth Hostel Network (REAJ) (e-mail: info@reaj.com; website: www.reaj.com) is the representative in Spain for the International Youth Hostel Federation and there are currently over 200 registered youth hostels throughout the whole of Spain. Most must be booked in Spain, but a couple can be booked from the UK. For further information, contact the REAJ central booking network in Barcelona, Turisme Juvenil de Catalunya, C/Rocafort 116-122, 08015 Barcelona (tel: (934) 838 363; fax: (934) 838 350); or in Madrid, C/Barquillo 15A, 1G, 28004 Madrid (tel: (91) 522 7007; fax: (91) 522 8067); there is a booking and cancellation charge. The YHA international booking office in England (tel: (01629) 592 600; website: www.yha.org) can offer further advice if required.