We planned on staying in Tortosa for a day and a night before heading on to Valencia and decided to stay at the Parador. It was our first Parador experience and I basically chose it because the idea of staying in a 10th century castle sounded interesting. The verdict? mainly positive.

You can't beat the location. A 10th century castle at the top of a hill in the middle of Tortosa with stunning views of the city and the Ebro delta is pretty cool. Dinner was good and breakfast was excellent (if, at 15 euros per person, a little pricey). We came in our car and parking was easy, and best of all, free.

In contrast with the stunning exterior of the hotel, the insides were pretty plain. Our room wasn't much different from many three-star hotels we'd stayed in in Spain. The room was functional and clean, but not much more. The staff were efficient but not particularly friendly, except perhaps for the waitstaff during dinner.

Tortosa itself is worth a visit if only once. The cathedral and the castle are the main sights, but there are other things to see if you are willing to walk around town a little. I have an interest in Modernist buildings, and Tortosa has a handful of nice ones. One annoyance is that getting to the city from the Parador and back involves a long convoluted walk down and up the hill on the side of a road. Not a big deal, but not particularly pleasant in hot summer weather.

Location: the location is superb, within a castle on top of a hill in the middle of downtown Tortosa. Therefore, you have fantastic views from the Ebro Delta.

Installations: this Parador does not seem to have been refurbished since it was built. Old elevators, old FF+E, old furniture, and nothing special about the interior of the building (it felt a bit uncomfortable...as if you were in a cheap hotel of the 60s).

Staff: in general, the staff was only "normal" (not specially friendly, but not rude either).

Room: old, old, old. Just good to sleep.

Breakfast: excellent, as in any other Parador. It is almost only worth it to stay here to enjoy the breakfast.

Tortosa: we were quite disappointed about Tortosa. The only thing to have a look at is the cathedral, and forget about the parts of the city which are next to the Parador (the old "jewish quarter"...completely rundown).

Conclusion: If I am exploring the Ebro delta, I think this is the place to stay. However, I would not return to specifically stay at this Parador.

My parents have been staying in Paradors for several years now and recommended that my husband and I booked a Parador whilst on our recent trip between Alicante and Barcelona. As we are under 35, we qualified for the special young persons rate of 57Euros each for bed and breakfast. Whilst not cheap, this is still value for money and the buffet breakfast was the best hotel breakfast I've ever enjoyed!

The Parador of Tortosa is in an old 10th Century castle and the setting is stunning. As the hotel is on a hill, the views are incredible and the ambience of the hotel is really tranquil.

Our room was on the second floor. The Parador has been sensitively maintained with details such as the lifts, which were cunningly disguised with old doors sitting in front of the sliding doors. The room was decorated in rich fabrics with dark wooden shutters and a little balcony. It was gorgeous. We had planned to go for a swim in the hotel pool, but it was cold and full of dead flies so we gave that a miss. Instead, we sat out in the hotel bar, looking out at the views and were truly relaxed Later, we ate dinner in the restaurant which was also beautiful and the food was lovely.

We had stopped at the Parador in Benicarlo for lunch on the way to Tortosa and, if we were coming back to the area, we would probably stay there instead. This is no reflection on the Parador of Tortosa, which is infinitely more beautiful a building. Rather, the pool and beach in Benicarlo would be more suited to two relatively young and active people.

We are very experienced Parador travellers. This is a lovely Parador in terms of its location and we had a wonderful suite with exceptional views. However, this Parador has a much less historic interior than others and has not necessarily been interior decorated with sufficient care. Overall, we have marked this Parador down because of the administration and reception. At all other paradors, we have been greeted with sheer delight and made to feel really welcome. On arrival at reception on this occasion was brusque to say the least with an unsmiling young man who, other than the initial greeting, actually said nothing to us. There were another two members of staff in the reception area who seem to have a problem acknowledging the presence of guests and engaging. We should add that the exception to the reception staff is Vanessa whom we met on our departure. She checked us out and was absolutely delightful. Wireless Wi-Fi is not available in the rooms but only in the main reception area and bar. We simply raised the question of whether the was Wi-Fi in the rooms and the reaction was cold almost as if we should never have dared to ask. There were other oddities. As we travelled to Tortosa the temperatures were over 32°. One of the points about this Parador is that it has a swimming pool. We made our way to it, went through the entrance door from the hotel, went through the gate to the pool, arrived at the pool and found it had no water. There was no warning that the pool would not be open not even on any of the doors. Again, we mentioned it to the reception staff, whom we found dismissive. The answer was simply that there will be no water in the pool until the beginning of June. Why this is the case, was never explained and it makes no sense anyway. Other guests commented on this oddity. We did dine in the restaurant. The food was good, the service extremely good and pleasant atmosphere. The operation of the bar was also superb. Just to make it clear, this is a Parador to be visited but compared with our visits to Hondarribia, Siguenza and Cardona (and many others) all of which are absolutely fantastic), it was a "slight" disappointment. There is a problem with the administration of this Parador. It needs a good shake. The reception staff at Paradors are usually exceptional. Somehow, this one did not work. We have given it an average score because of this. It might be a good idea to give the reception staff at this Parador a training session from the reception people at Hondarribia, Siguenza and Cardona. They could learn a great deal. Frankly, the indifferent reception staff on arrival spoilt it for us.