The bedrooms are considerably more lavish than they were during their stint as nuns' cells. The cuisine is the best in town. The inner courtyard and Mozarabic gardens add a grace note. In the 10th century, Muslims built this foreboding fortress on a cliff high above town. After the Reconquista, the Christians added Gothic vaulting and touches of luxury, which remain in place thanks to a renovation by the government.
Bedrooms provide sweeping views over Andalusia.
A swimming pool is a welcome retreat from the burning sun. Sample such dishes as cold garlic soup and partridge salad in the panoramic restaurant. This bucolic parador recalls the manor houses that dotted northern Spain's verdant hillsides more than 400 years ago. Composed of thick stone walls and heavy timbers, it's pleasantly isolated and elegantly countrified. Close to San Lorenzo Beach, it's the only parador in the northern province of Asturias.