Parador de Bielsa

Go there for its incomparable location in the Aragón Pyrenees, its rustic stone architecture and the relaxation of being in a quiet and peaceful place (and in the autumn/winter for its fireplace). The customer service and restaurant/bar food are all OK and so are the rooms, aligned with its 3 star hotel category. It is a good “base camp” for amazingly beautiful hikes and day trips to many parts of this magical mountain area of Spain.

Lovely location and the reception staff are friendly and helpful. However, the food is terrible - which is a problem as there is no alternative within walking or short driving distance. Bar and restaurant service is poor - unfriendly and surly staff. The food is awful, really dreadful. There is no presentation; food is thrown on the plate - it looks horrible. Burger for lunch was a sad, very rare burger and a few fries - no sauces, no salad. We weren’t offered condiments. Food at other tables seemed equally poor. For dinner the chicken had no colour, looked congealed, like it had been lying around for days and the pepper sauce was mush; the entrecôte was grey, like it was cooked at too low temperature, chewy, with a few slices of potato and a pepper on the plate. We shared our disappointment of the food with the person in charge, who clearly wasn’t surprised and wasn’t interested. The next morning we spoke to the manager but only after we insisted, as he did not want to speak with us initially. We explained how terrible the food had been at dinner. He was not interested, told us “our opinion was just one in a million good reviews”. Eventually he agreed not to charge for the food at dinner. However at prospect of having to eat there again, we checked out immediately (3 days early). We stayed here last year (2023) and the food was acceptable - but it has seriously deteriorated and we will not return in future.

Location is great. Customer service is just absolutely terrible. Accidentally booked our stay for 2025, realized immediately and tried to cancel. I admit we did not book with free cancellation but given the booking is 370 days away you would have thought a hotel could show some goodwill and issue a refund. They have refused to do so.