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Tags: Hotel Safety / Historic Spanish Hotels / Spain Hotels / Paradores / → All Tags

Where is The Cleanest Hotel in The World?

Where: Plaza do Obradoiro 1, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 15705

Health and safety not top of the list when you’re deciding on a hotel? Us neither, though spending the past four days laid low with a stomach bug in Egypt has made us think twice.

Luckily for hygiene freaks and the walking wounded, H&S hotel experts Check Safety First have produced a list of the most hygienic hotels in the 10 countries they work in – from the Czech Republic and Germany to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Topping the list is the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos Parador in Santiago de Compostela. Apparently it has “clearly shown its commitment to the well-being of its guests”. Perhaps that’s because it’s had over 500 years to practice customer service.

Hygiene and history will cost you, mind – rooms start at €231 ($345), although if you’re under 35 you can bag a room for a relatively teeny €110 ($164) with the Young Persons Getaway offer.

Tags: Historic Spanish Hotels / Barcelona Hotels / Paradores / Monica Guy / → All Tags

Spanish Hotels with History :: Hostal de los Reyes Católicos

Where: Plaza do Obradoiro 1, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 15705

After spending two weeks recapping the Lisbon Hotel Scene for us, Monica Guy is back with some history lessons. She's chronicling some of Spain's historic hotels this week. Enjoy.

Talking of Spanish Hotels with History, this one boasts to be the oldest 'proper' hotel in the world.

The Hostal de los Reyes Católicos is a 5-star Gran Lujo hotel--better than a 5-star--and it's located superbly right opposite the magnificent cathedral in Santiago de Compostela's central square. It's also known in English as the Royal Hospital or in Spanish as the Parador de Santiago de Compostela.

The hotel's partly funded by the government as a parador, a status awarded only to the best hotels in the most historic of buildings in Spain.

The décor? Use your imagination. Dark wood, dim lighting, high ceilings, exposed stone, the odd suit of armour or oil painting glaring down at you. We stayed there for a night last year and can't remember anything of the room except that it was super-luxury and super-traditional - a bit too traditional for our taste.

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