Paradores of Tourism of Spain

Paradores de Turismo de España, S.A., known simply as Paradores, is a Spanish public hotel chain that manages almost one hundred hotels throughout Spain and, since October 2015, a franchise in Portugal. The establishments are located in emblematic buildings or notable locations that have been selected for their historical, artistic or cultural interest. Thirty of its hotels are classified as Assets of Cultural Interest and another fifteen are located in historical complexes declared Assets of Cultural Interest. Paradores, which has a valuable historical-artistic heritage, has the mission of preserving the buildings it operates, as well as promoting sustainable and quality tourism.

The first establishment was inaugurated to the public in Navarredonda de Gredos (Ávila) in 1928 and the last one built, opened on June 25, 2020, is in Mugía (La Coruña) on the Costa de la Muerte. Paradores de Turismo de España is currently a state commercial company, in the form of a public limited company, whose capital is 100% public, since its only shareholder is the General Directorate of State Heritage.

History

Origin

Parador de Cardona, Catalonia.

Parador de Santo Estevo, in the province of Orense, Galicia.

Parador in the Pineta valley, in the province of Huesca, Aragon.

Palacio de los Condes de Maceda, parador de Pontevedra, Galicia.

The Paradores concept dates back to 1926 when the Marqués de la Vega-Inclán promoted the construction of an accommodation in the Sierra de Gredos, which would become the first Parador in the network. After the inauguration of this first establishment on October 9, 1928, the Junta de Paradores y Hosterías del Reino was established.

Originally, they wanted to build a series of hotels in places where private initiative did not reach and that had conditions to attract tourism, such as places of great beauty, or towns with varied cultural, artistic, and historical wealth. Starting from the Parador de Gredos, they also wanted to take advantage of and rehabilitate some of the numerous abandoned historical and artistic monuments located in the surroundings.

Growth

The Parador de Gredos, in the province of Ávila, was the first inn in the network. The next to open their doors were the Hostería del Estudiante in Alcalá de Henares and the one in Ciudad Rodrigo (Salamanca) in 1929, those in Oropesa (Toledo) and Úbeda (Jaén) in 1930 and the one in Mérida (Badajoz) in 1933.

At the same time, the National Tourist Board, starting in 1928, began to build Highway Hostels for Motorists that, within two types of different orientation and in a pro-rationalist style, adapted to the conditions of the place. Designed and built by the architects Carlos Arniches and Martín Domínguez, not all of them were the same, according to the commitment that they themselves had acquired when they won the competition in 1929. Later they were integrated into the Paradores network. There were twelve: Almazán, Aranda del Duero, Benicarló, Medinaceli, Peñas de Riglos, Bailén, Antequera, Puerto Lumbreras, Quintanar de la Orden, La Bañeza, Manzanares and Puebla de Sanabria, some of which remain reformed (Almazán, Aranda de Duero, Medinaceli, Puerto Lumbreras, Quintanar de la Orden, Manzanares, Puebla de Sanabria), others have disappeared (Benicarló, Antequera, La Bañeza) and others are in ruins (Bailén, Peñas de Riglos). Those that remain have been greatly reformed (as is the case of Manzanares in Ciudad Real, modified to make it more "typical", having lost its rationalist character).

With the independence of the Spanish protectorate of Morocco in 1956, some emblematic hostels were lost, such as Tetouan and Chefchaouen. The greatest expansive process occurred in the 1960s, coinciding with the important tourist development that the country experienced. In those years, the Paradores network went from 40 to 83 establishments.

The loss of the Spanish Sahara led to the closure of the El Aaiún hostel (1968) in 1976 (reopened a few months later by Morocco). With the Transition there was a change of ownership of the General Directorate of Paradores, and above all, its state dependency.

In 1986, three hotels of the Entursa public chain joined the Paradores network. The emblematic establishments were the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos in Santiago de Compostela (La Coruña), the La Muralla hotel in Ceuta and the Hostal de San Marcos in León.

Change

With the arrival of the 1990s, Paradores experienced a fundamental change. On January 18, 1991, the public limited company Paradores de Turismo de España, S.A. was incorporated. The objective was to make the hotel chain a profitable company that used exclusively its own profits to maintain and operate the Network.

In 2012, the economic difficulties of the Paradores network and the need to seek measures to guarantee its future were made public. In January 2013, it was decided to temporarily close several establishments to try to alleviate the situation, after reaching an agreement agreement with the workers.

The Paradores Expansion Plan includes the opening of new establishments and the remodeling of a large part of its hotels in the coming years. The company has set the goal of exceeding 100 Paradores in the near future, at the same time that it aims to expand internationally and improve the experience of its customers.

At the beginning of 2018, the Paradores network is made up of 97 establishments, which have more than 10,000 hotel beds, and is present in all Spanish provinces, except Vizcaya and the Balearic Islands. The latter has a parador already finished but not inaugurated in Villa Alta in Ibiza. Many of them are located in buildings of historical-artistic interest, such as castles or monasteries, which have been duly rehabilitated for hotel uses.

Paradores de Turismo currently maintains different agreements through which it offers its locations through distribution channels such as boxes and experience chests.

Logos throughout their history

Throughout all these years the logo of the brand has been modified and adapted to the government of each era.

Inns in figures

Map of stoppers in 2015.

The thirty places with which Paradores de Turismo began when the first establishment of the Network was inaugurated in the Sierra de Gredos, in 1928, have become more than 10,000, and the establishments add up to a total of 96: 95 in Spain and a franchise in Portugal.

Around 4,000 professionals currently work at Paradores (average workforce in 2017). The establishments have an average of 65 rooms and are found in all the autonomous communities, with the exception of the Balearic Islands. More than half of the inns are located in monumental settings and others allow you to stay in national parks and natural areas. There are inns in nine cities declared World Heritage Sites.

Depending on their location and their fundamental features, these hotels are divided into three different categories:

• Civia Paradors: They are located within the cities, usually in the center.
• Esentia Paradors: These are historic buildings such as castles, palaces or monasteries that have been adapted for guests to stay.
• Naturia Paradors: Unlike the Civia Paradors, they are located outside the cities, surrounded by nature.

Acknowledgments

Among the different awards received throughout its operation is recognition as Honorary Ambassadors of the Spain Brand for having contributed significantly to the generation and strengthening of a positive image of Spain abroad. This accreditation was delivered in March 2020 by the King and Queen of Spain.