Our next stop was the little town of Guadeloupe near Caceres in Extremadura and wow what a surprise as it turned out to be a spectacular Gothic architecture monastery right in the centre of the little town. We thought we had come to the wrong place as it did not look like a hotel but more like church. In front was a long sweeping staircase and we wondered how we would carry our cases up such a large flight of stairs as the car park was at the bottom. I decided to leave the car to go and investigate if there was another car park and sure enough there was but we had to negotiate a narrow side road before we reached it. Again we were lucky as the car park was just outside reception which meant that the car was secure.
We were shown to our rooms which were wonderfully atmospheric and decorated with religious icons but with all modern conveniences and large comfortable beds. There was even a small adjoining bedroom for children perhaps or it could be used as a boudoir.
The bedrooms were all situated around an inner courtyard which was open to the sky. Swallows darted in and out of the cloisters and during the heat of the day, a special canopy was unfolded forming a roof over the diners in the restaurant. As there was a lot of activity down below, we thought it might be noisy but in fact the night proved to be quiet due to the thick walls of our room and the cork backed doors which soaked up any sounds. The windows looked out onto the street but we closed the heavy shutters and had very quiet night. The room with its high ornate ceiling, had air conditioning, a flat screen TV and a very spacious bathroom. There are views of the Sierra de Guadalupe Mountain range from some rooms.
The restaurant serves Extremaduran dishes, including (‘migas’ day old bread soaked in water,garlic and paprika,) lamb and roast kid. There is a bar in the cloisters and this is where the hotel restaurant is to be found.
In the village of Guadeloupe there is a good selection of restaurants to choose from but we decided to eat inside the hotel to savour the atmosphere of this beautiful building.
The rooms were €130 for two and the dinners €15 per person for a set three course meal with some choice so we all managed to find something we liked.Breakfast was €7 each and the grand total for the four of us was €260 euros including taxes.
We were sorry to leave such a beautiful place and promised ourselves that we would return one day and take things at a slower pace.
