Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022.

Our first proper stay of the trip would be in Córdoba, where we selected the Eurostars Palace. We had stayed at Eurostars properties before, together in Regensburg and Timothy on his previous Spain trip.

Knowing that we were pleased with them we selected their brand again for this stay. The Eurostars Palace in Córdoba is located at the end of a big park stretching all the way from the railway station, providing us with a nice shaded walk and right in front of one of the main gates to enter the historic walled city.

The big modern building with pierced steel plates to shelter from the sunshine was quite a contrast to the surroundings, yet also fitted in nicely.

Despite our relatively early arrival our room was already ready when we arrived. After having to sign some strange documents asking us to promise not inviting guests or having a party in the room (this was a first, I never had to explicitly sign such documents at a hotel before) we could go off to explore our park view room on the 5^th floor.

The room had a somewhat strange design, as you entered the room you entered through the bathroom. To the right there was a walled of section containing the toilet and the bidet.

To the left you had a glass partition behind which was a double rain head shower and a gigantic Jacuzzi bath tub.

The next space was an open wardrobe with double sinks at the opposite side. Just like in the Barcelo Sants, the hotel provided all amenities you could think of, including the toothbrushes. They also had some multiple use dispensers for soaps that looked to be from an upscale brand.

After the bathroom part of the room there was a big sliding door, offering you the possibility of having an open or closed bathroom. The bedroom itself provided with a big comfortable bed, a chaise-lounge against the window and a big desk with a TV mounted above on the opposite side of the bed.

There where tea and coffee facilities and a complimentary bottle of water in the room and a fully stocked minibar which of course was payable.

The strange design of the room somewhat explained the waiver that we were asked to sign at check-in as it truly invited for extra-curricular activities, which obviously the hotel didn’t want and/or had problems with before.

On the top floor of the hotel there was a nice open air swimming pool with lots of sun loungers scattered around. The water was not heated which made it cold but refreshing to take a plunge after a hot day out exploring the city.

Tokens for the towels had to be requested at the reception downstairs, as the pool bar was closed Timothy managed to find some on a storage cart. It was unfortunate that the pool bar was closed as it would be a fantastic place to have a cocktail, overlooking the old city or relaxing by the pool. On the rooftop there was also a small building housing some further treatment rooms for massages etc.

In the morning Timothy went to the basement of the hotel to get his daily dose of fitness. He was very pleased that it was opened 24/7 as sometimes hotel gyms can have restricting hours. The equipment offered was good but nothing special.

The Eurostars Palace Córdoba offered us a very sharply priced half-board package, which even we couldn’t turn down. Thus in the evening we had dinner at the hotel. As there weren’t a lot of people dining they just set up some dining tables in the big hotel bar instead of opening up the huge restaurant. The half-board package came with a limited card from which we could choose a starter, a main and a dessert.

While I choose the safe option of some croquettes for my starter, Timothy went for the local cold soup as recommended by the very pleasant waiter. While my croquettes where very nice and tasty, Timothy’s soup was very special and interesting.

For the main we both went with the local version of the Cordon Bleu, which was nice and maybe a bit heavy on the stomach.

The dessert was the local pastry for both of us, presented on a huge plate with some ice-cream on the side.

In the morning the hotel had a buffet set up in the huge main restaurant. The size of the restaurant was needed to just put the enormous buffet. This was one of the largest breakfast spreads I have seen recently. You could find almost everything you could wish for, from a glass of sparkling wine to start the day to your cold cuts and bread or hot items, even offering an a la carte menu.

We also liked very much that they incorporated a lot of typical Spanish breakfast items and even a proper regional corner highlighting the Córdoba Region staples.

All in all we had a delightful stay at Eurostars Palaca Córdoba. The hotel clearly is one of the pearls of the Eurostars chain. We certainly would stay here again in the future.  

2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour

1. PRELUDE | Visiting Gibraltar in 2013.
2. REVIEW | Eurostar Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris in 2023.
3. PARIS | Restaurant Le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon.
4. REVIEW | SNCF TGV inOui from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Barcelona-Sants.
5. REVIEW | Hotel Barcelo Sants.
6. INTERMEZZO | Spain saw a surge of Belgians visiting in the first quarter of 2024.
7. SPAIN | Renfe Sala Club or Club Lounge at Adif stations.
8. REVIEW | Renfe AVE in Premium from Barcelona-Sants to Córdoba.
9. SPAIN | The Mezquita or Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
10. CÓRDOBA | The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos or Castle of the Christian Monarchs.