Spain Hotels reservations

If you are coming to Spain for the first time, be warned: this is a country that fast becomes an addiction. You might intend to come just for a beach holiday, or a tour of the major cities, but before you know it you'll find yourself hooked by something quite different - by the celebration of some local fiesta, perhaps, or the amazing nightlife in Madrid, by the Moorish monuments of Andalucia, by Basque cooking, or the wild landscapes and birds of prey of Estremadura. And by then, of course, you will have noticed that there is not just one Spain but many. Indeed, Spaniards often speak of Las Españas (the Spains) and they even talk of the capital in the plural - Los Madriles , the Madrids.

Alicante, and it's wonderful boulevard with palm trees and shopping streets, is one of the most well-known towns along the Costa Blanca. Known for its miles of sandy beaches, Alicante is starting point for thousands of tourists every year.

This regionalism is an obsession and perhaps the most significant change to the country over recent decades has been the creation of seventeen autonomías - autonomous regions - with their own governments, budgets and cultural ministries. The old days of a unified nation, governed with a firm hand from Madrid seem to have gone forever, as the separate kingdoms which made up the original Spanish state reassert themselves. And the differences are evident wherever you look: in language, culture and artistic traditions, in landscapes and cityscapes, and attitudes and politics.

The cities - above all - are compellingly individual. Barcelona, for many, has the edge: for Gaudí's splendid modernista architecture, the lively promenade of Las Ramblas, designer clubs par excellence , and, not least, for Barça - the city's football team. But Madrid, although not as pretty, claims as many devotees. The city and its people, immortalized in the movies of Pedro Almodóvar, have a vibrancy and style that is revealed in a thousand bars and summer terrazas. Not to mention three of the world's finest art museums. Then there's Sevilla, home of flamenco and all the clichés of southern Spain; Valencia, the vibrant Levantine city with an arts scene and nightlife to equal any European rival; and Bilbao, a new entry on Spain's cultural circuit, due to Frank Gehry's astonishing Guggenheim museum.

Monuments range just as widely from one region to another, dependent on their history of control and occupation by Romans and Moors, their role in the "golden age" of Imperial Renaissance Spain, or their twentieth-century fortunes. Touring Castile and León, you confront the classic Spanish images of vast cathedrals and reconsquista castles - literally hundreds of the latter; in the northern mountains of Asturias and the Pyrenees, tiny, almost organic Romanesque churches dot the hillsides and villages; Andalucía has the great mosques and Moorish palaces of Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba; Castile has the superbly preserved medieval capital, Toledo, and the gorgeous Renaissance university city of Salamanca; while the harsh landscape of Estremadura cradles the ornate conquistador towns built with riches from the "New World". Offshore, the Balearic islands have some superb sands and, if you're up for it, Ibiza offers one of the most hedonistic backdrops to beachlife in the Mediterranean.

Wherever you are in Spain, you can't help but notice the Spaniards' infectious enthusiasm for life. In the cities there is always something happening - in bars and clubs, on the streets, and especially at fiesta times. Even in out of the way places there's a surprising range of nightlife and entertainment, not to mention the daily pleasures of a round of tapas, moving from bar to bar, having a beer, a glass of wine or a fino (dry sherry) and a bite of the house speciality.

The identity and appeal of each of the regions is explored in the introductions, where you'll find a rundown on their highlights.

Featured Hotels

Holiday Inn ALICANTE-PLAYA DE SAN JUAN

Chain Name: Holiday Inn
JULBAL TURISMO Y HOSTELERIA SA AVENIDA CATALUNA 20 , ALICANTE , 3540

The Holiday Inn-Playa de San Juan is located in a quiet area, just 500 meters from the spectacular San Juan beach and only 5km from the centre of Alicante. It is an ideal location for business, travelers and holidaymakers alike. The hotel includes free parking, swimming pool, gardens, childrens playground, gym, sauna and a paddle tennis court(at a charge with special rates for guests).

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Holiday Inn MADRID

Chain Name: Holiday Inn
HOLIDAY INNS ESPANA SA PLAZA CARLOS TRIAS BERTRAN 4 , MADRID , 28020

The Hotel Holiday Inn Madrid is unequalled in its strategic location in the heart of the city`s business and financial area, in front of the City Congress Center.200 meters from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the hotel is surrounded by the best known shops and restaurants and only a few minutes away from the "old" Madrid.Twenty minutes is all you take to arrive at the hotel from the airport.This excellent hotel has an impressive reputation for outstanding individual service making it is a first choice for the business or leisure traveller.

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Holiday Inn VALENCIA

Chain Name: Holiday Inn
SOLHER ALAMEDA SL PASEO DE LA ALAMEDA 38 , VALENCIA , 46023

The hotel is situated next to the new Valencia ( City of Arts and Science ) and close to the old city centre of the town on the Turia. The Airport, the Congress Palace , the exhibition Centre " Feria Valencia" can be reached within 15 minuts and the Port, where the American Cup`s 2007 will take place is only 5 minutes by car.

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Express by Holiday Inn ALICANTE

Chain Name: Express by Holiday Inn
HOLIDAY INNS DE ESPAGNA S.A. , ALICANTE , 3008

Excellent location 10 minutes by car from Alicante city centre and easy to reach from the airport. Situated near the IFA Exhibition Centre, the hotel is just in front of the European Patent Office (OHIM) and less of 1 km away from the new complex Ci

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Express by Holiday Inn MONTMELO

Chain Name: Express by Holiday Inn
CAMI DE CAN GORDI 15 , BARCELONA , 8400

The Hotel is located next to the Catalonia Race Track (Circuit de Catalunya). The Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix and the World Motorcycling Championship amongst other competitions, are both held here. Short distance to the cities of Barcelona, Girona and a few minutes to the Mediterranean Sea.

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Express by Holiday Inn MADRID-RIVAS

Chain Name: Express by Holiday Inn
AVENIDA DE LA TECNICA 8 RIVAS , MADRID , 28529

Newly opened in December 2003, the hotel is located to the South East of Madrid, only 20 minutes from Barajas Airport, Warner Bros.Park and IFEMA fairground. Adjacent to Santa Ana Ind.estate and Rivas Futura.

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Express by Holiday Inn VALENCIA-CIUDAD DELAS CIENCIA

Chain Name: Express by Holiday Inn
ESCRITOR RAFAEL FERRERES 22 , VALENCIA , 46013

Our Hotel is located behind the "El Saler" Mall and close to the biggest recreational & cultural project in the European Community:"La Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias", (L` Hemisferic, Principe Felipe Museum, Oceanographic Park and the Opera). The hotel is nearby the most important Harbour trade mark in the whole of Spain.The healthy Malvarrosa Beach is just 5 minutes by car, Golf Club "El Saler" (12 KM), Leisure Port (1 KM), "El Saler" Mall where you can go shopping, go to the cinema and find a wide range of Restaurants (50 mts).Oceanographic Park, Science Museum Principe Felipe, L`Hemispheric (150mts).Quick accesses by V-30 to the Airport "Manises" (12KM), Madrid (350 KM), Alicante (180 KM) and Barcelona ( 350 KM).Walk to Downtown, it will only take you 15 minutes.

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