Hotel Balcón de los Montes

Not the fault of the hotel, but I searched on booking.com for hotels in El Colmenar and this hotel appeared in the search results. Not knowing that this hotel was not in El Colmenar, I booked it. Arrived on foot in El Colmenar 6 pm on day of reservation - realised my reservation was in Colmenar, so nowhere to stay. Too late for a refund. Booking.com at fault here (but I should have double checked)

Our room was actually very nice - large and stylish. It was super clean - and the lady who did the cleaning was friendly and helpful. We could sit out on the large terrace of the restaurant without being pestered to constantly order something.

It seemed to us they were mainly a restaurant, and didn't really have time for hotel guests. We expected our room to have a balcony or terrace, which we could spend time relaxing on. Instead there were two mini balconies - more for potted plants than for people. In fact, everything we showed them that was promised on our confirmation printout, they said were just "examples" (?!) We managed to get a kettle, 2 tiny cups, 2 spoons, and a tiny fridge we could actually use, only because we insisted. In fact, we chose this hotel for the possibility of self-catering (there's a supermarket nearby) rather than having all meals, for four days, in a restaurant. Though it said "heating" on our confirmation, it was freezing cold in our room when the sun went down. We were tired of arguing, so just put up with the cold....

We liked the room, it was very clean and a good size. The hotel really nice, good location and friendly staff.

We were very happy with it.

We got the larger room with the balcony. It is a little more expensive, but the balcony was awesome, and added a lot of living space to the room. The room was very clean with plenty of towels. Good hot water. Space to dry our washed clothes on the balcony and park our bikes. Checkin employee was kind.

There was essentially no Wi-Fi in our room 12. I even have a Wi-Fi extender that I carry and had to resort to cellular data. The bed is soft and wobbly, which could be an issue for some sleepers. The room has a mini-split AC installed, but it seems they are not using it. There is also central air AC, which turns on, but was not capable of cooling the room in October (sun shines in patio doors). Room might be hot in the summer.

Breakfast is excellent, a good choice(you ask for something you get it). All the staff were great. Location perfect base for visiting all the white-washed villages in the mountains.

Good question, but cannot think of any.

This hotel almost got near top marks. The staff were friendly and helpful. The room was spacious and comfortable and, but for a few minor issues, well-equipped. The bed was comfortable and - unusual for a Spanish hotel - it was quiet! The restaurant was pretty good and the location was good. There was just one major problem that knocked its score down for me...

Minor matters first: no soap in the bathroom, just little sachets of shower gel and shampoo. Breakfast doesn't start until 9.00am, which is tricky if you are travelling. Now the big one... I had booked a suite - one of the best rooms in the place. But "the internet doesn't work in that room. We could move you to a smaller room where it does". What the heck?? So I had to use my phone as a hotspot in order to use my laptop in the room. Really not acceptable, hence the reduced score. What a pity - they should get this sorted out as soon as possible.