Granada is from the AlhambraS
THE HOTEL
In full ascent to the monumental complex from Realejo it is difficult not to succumb to the temptation of making a stop at that vermillion mole what is he Alhambra Palace and get to know what is considered the second oldest active hotel in Spain. From its peculiar location it has housed the most illustrious visitors to the Nasrid city. And it is always a pleasure to visit it, to satisfy curiosity and to live the luxury of 1910 with the patches of today.
It all started 103 years ago when the Duke of San Pedro de Galatino (born in Madrid) had the excellent idea of building a hotel between the city and the Alhambra , knowing the tourist potential that both were going to have throughout the 20th century. And he did it for everything big, imitating illustrious monuments on the outside such as the Torre del Oro or the walls of Ávila , but always with the characteristic alhambresco color.
The vermilion mole of Granada
Inside it was a total waste. It had cinema, theater and halls for the game . Every corner recalled the most mannered Andalusian art with the tiles, the decorative filigree and its horseshoe and lobed arches. At that time their prices were around the whopping 12 pesetas a night with a full pension of 15 pesetas when the average salary in Spain was just over 60 pesetas a month. A luxury. A century later, crossing its reception and entering its main hall continues to amaze. It is true that the average Spaniard is more accustomed to references and reproductions of Andalusian art, but that does not mean that it continues to amaze. That's why we are talking about almost a museum where everything can be touched.
In an artistic-historical tour, the majesty of its main hall, the details of the bars (where it is a matter of ordering any drink other than a Moorish tea) or the multi-lobed arches attract attention. Also other curiosities like the replica of the room of secrets of the Alhambra wave first elevator car , displayed like a relic on the stair landing. Investigating the corridors, one learns a little about how luxury hotels have evolved in Spain, with teachings such as the fact that corridors have been losing prominence in hotel architecture.
It's like living a 'Boabdil Experience'
The rooms that one day were used for recreation, music and games, today are ideal rooms for weddings and other private parties. But going through them allows you to find centennial ceilings where each molding is in its place, recreating that mannered ostentation of Nasrid interior decoration. And also stepping on that theater where Federico García Lorca, accompanied by Manuel de Falla (what a couple) recited for the first time his famous 'Poem of Cante Jondo'.
Yes, okay, it's true, we had stopped at the first Alhambra to get some air, but it's difficult not to get breathless before this exhibition of a monument made for the guest, not just for a Nasrid dynasty. What here you can simply come to be and live a "Boadbil experience" the hotel opens for, even if it is, to take a aperitif on your terrace and enjoy its views over all of Granada, consolidating itself as an alternative to the classic and fritanguero tapas from Granada.
Even to eat, since the Chef Paco Rivas has helped to evolve the kitchen to not only satisfy the snack needs of foreign guests, but also to become a reference table. And he has done it without betraying popular gastronomy. On the tablecloth of a table with large windows that dominate the old Nasrid kingdom pass the indispensable broad beans with Trevelez ham, the nth sophistication of Salmorejo as well as other more risky suggestions such as that foi grass micuit on a watermelon base, Guadix fresh cheese and caramelized onion. Simply Top. In seconds the fish shines (watch out for cod confit in olive oil or turbot loin) and the lamb , always accompanied by a vegetable garden, all of them from the plain. And with these classic raw materials and the risky point they guarantee a second visit, an umpteenth provisioning before getting lost in the Generalife.
The views from its terrace are essential
THE PALACE
The most visited monument in Spain is not only because of its enormous appeal. The fact that there is always a room/room/place closed for restoration or preservation works makes returning every 5 years brings new surprises . But it is that in 2013 he has broken with all expectations after showing off his famous Courtyard of the Lions , one of the most famous fountains on the planet. It came with its corresponding controversy because each Spaniard has a national coach and an art critic. “Too white” say some . The factions that discuss whether the animals were more ocher or more marble seem to hide a higher debate: the imaginary of an entire generation that has become accustomed to seeing it that way versus how the experts say it really was. They won (there was no choice) the seconds.
And yet the patio gives that peace with so unclassifiable arrhythmia . Suddenly, it appears at the end of the visit like the hit of a concert. There is expectation, there is rush, there are elbows for the photo and foreshortened bodies. Because the Patio de los Leones is so brutally perfect, so essentially unique that it is impossible to capture everything in a portrait. From this point on, the rest does not matter, the moldings no longer hypnotize nor are the muqarnas surprising. It is the real Alhambra. 2013 version.
The Patio de los Leones, too white?
BEER
The norm dictates that the afternoon in Granada is Albaicín (or Albayzín), sunset from San Nicolás and beer. Because the local sport is tapas almost as an excuse to have a good Alhambra . This beer has governed the Spanish southeast since 1925, when some local businessmen they took to making a Munich-style beer . Over time it has become cooler and less powerful , more in keeping with one of the cities with the most annual hours of sunshine in Spain and with that blessed average of 15 degrees centigrade.
Since this brewery was purchased by the Mahou-San Miguel group, it has expanded throughout the Spanish territory. Consequence: that every primary school sybaritic knows how to choose between a classic, a special or a 1925 so now the sport is not so much about getting to know it as trying it out in the best environments. Starting with the Albaicín and the Plaza Larga and Aliatar, with a somewhat foreign atmosphere but a privileged enclave. will always be back Navas street and the surroundings of the Town Hall, where the level has to be high by no means (there are no worse judges than the Granadans). And put to dive through the neighborhoods, the one of the towers It has earned popular recognition for being a redoubt without clueless tourists. By and for the natives, who also deserve to drink their beer and, if that, end up having dinner.
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