Hospes Palacio del Bailio

Eating

The dining room of the hotel's restaurant, Senzone, is incredible. Tables fill a glass-roofed courtyard set in the centre of the building - a lovely space for a meal. The ceiling is very high, allowing great acoustics, and the walls have an ancient fresco painted on them. Best of all though, the glass floor gives a bird's eye view of Roman ruins below you, floodlit at night for full effect.

The menu is typically Spanish, with lots of meat and fish and a few unusual twists: shellfish gazpacho stew, bone marrow soup with prawns, suckling pig's head. A complimentary cocktail and an amuse-bouche of red-pepper foam with parmesan straws provided an unexpected (and very welcome) start. We followed this with goats' cheese salad, then the adventurous one of us tried stuffed bull's tail and patatas bravas, while I had a succulent red steak. Both were excellent, and really got the juices flowing. Talking of which, there's an extensive wine list, though we found the house red more than a match for our meats: full-bodied and very drinkable.

Breakfast the next morning was equally hearty: a buffet of salamis and chorizo, manchego and brie, mini pastries, freshly baked bread and a choice of cooked dishes (scrambled eggs, omelettes, churros). But what really set this apart from other hotels was its experimental flair. There was a choice of butters - normal, garlic, thyme; the marmalades were either rose or violet (both delicious); and the fruit bowl was filled with fresh kiwis and figs rather than the ubiquitous oranges and pretty-but-tasteless apples.

For lunches and light meals, there's a cool tapas bar on site, serving a mix of Spanish specialities: beef carpaccio with lime vinaigrette, salmorejo with ham and egg, fried anchovies, foie gras with roasted apple, and fried aubergine with honey. Drinks are available all day in the bar, the courtyards and by the pool.

If you'd prefer to eat out, there are plenty of great restaurants and tapas bars within easy strolling distance. Just around the corner is a hectic and friendly tapas restaurant with a big menu and a great atmosphere.