Hotel Review: Rural Palacio Guzmanes in Banos de la Encina, Spain

Banos de la Encina is a charming little town that is located in the south of Spain. Although Banos de la Encina is not a popular town among international tourists, it was voted as one of the prettiest small towns in Spain. There are not many hotels in Banos de la Encina, but a couple of them are quite charming. During my stay in Banos de la Encina I stayed at the Rural Palacio Guzmanes so here is my honest hotel review. 

Location

Hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes is located in the south of the city (2 minutes walk to the main cathedral and 5 minutes to the famous fortress, and 8 minutes walk from the bus stop).

Around the hotel you will find a small 24 hours store (if you can call it that) with a lot of vending machines full of snacks and drinks (they even have sandwiches). 

For those who need an ATM there is a bank located just one minute away from the hotel. 

The central square near the cathedral (2 minutes away) is very beautiful and has quite a few benches where you can relax. 

The hotel was also just a 30 second walk from the pickup spot for the excursion to see the Iberian lynx in Sierra de Andujar; this was the main reason for visiting Banos de la Encina.

Public Area

Hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes has a big public area. There is a large beautiful terrace/restaurant that has a great view of the olive tree strewn valley. 

There is also a swimming pool at the hotel grounds, however during my stay in October I didn’t see anyone using it. 

On the second floor where our room was, we had a pretty big common room with a soft armchair and medieval furniture. 

Service

Service at the hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes was great. 

The check in took just a few minutes. The staff was very friendly and helpful. 

Since the hotel also has a restaurant, the person at the reception also was a waiter at the restaurant (which is okay, since there are not a lot of people at the hotel or at the restaurant). 

The service at the restaurant was very nice as well. We always got our orders very fast, and were given free tapas as is common in this region.

Room

As I already mentioned our room was on the second floor, which was nice because we had a small balcony with a great view. However, because the room was a bit further from the restaurant, WiFi didn’t really work in the room (at the restaurant WIFI was decent).

The room itself was very charming with medieval furniture and some modern elements like flat-screen TV and an air conditioner.

In the middle of the room there was a queen bed with two side tables and plugs on each side (which makes your life so much more comfortable). 

Opposite the bed there is a door that leads to a small balcony. You cannot really go fully onto the balcony, but it is still a nice addition in the room. 

In our room we also had a big wardrobe with a huge mirror on it, an armchair, and a vanity.

All over the room you could see small details like tiny pictures and mirrors, which made the room even more cozy.

Bathroom

Our bathroom was bigger than I expected. In addition to the obvious toilet and a shower cabinet, there was a bidet, an old-fashioned sink and a few wrought iron sconces which gave a nice atmosphere.

The water pressure at the hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes was decent the whole time we were there, so no complaints. However, in the evening after a long day in the wilderness at the park, I wanted to take a hot relaxing shower, but unfortunately water stayed just slightly warm (in the morning water got hot). 

Breakfast

Hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes doesn’t provide breakfast, but they do serve it at the hotel restaurant for an additional price (€5). 

The classic breakfast here is a cup of coffee and a toast with olive oil and mashed tomatoes (pan con tomate). 

I know you might think that it sounds weird, but it is actually pretty good. Of course you can just ask for butter instead of olive oil and tomatoes. 

Conclusion

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the hotel Rural Palacio Guzmanes. 

The hotel has a perfect location, it is absolutely lovely, and the staff is very friendly. 

The few things that we found annoying were: bad WiFi signal in the room, and we found the prices at the hotel restaurant were quite high compared to the prices one usually expects in a small Spanish town. 

Key Details

Price: $65 /night

Air-Conditioned Rooms: Yes (however the machine didn’t work second half of our stay)

Breakfast Included: No, but is available for an additional $5/pp

Pool On-Site: Yes.

Maid Service: Yes

Recommended To Stay Here: Yes.

Booking: booking

Address: C. de la Trinidad, 4, 23711 Baños de la Encina, Jaén

Disclaimer: Jet Set Together was not paid for a stay at the Hotel  Rural Palacio Guzmanes in Banos de la Encina, Spain and did not accept any payment for a good review. The words expressed in this article are my honest opinion.

Hotel Review: Rural Palacio Guzmanes in Banos de la Encina, Spain