Hotel Barcelo La Bobadilla

Eating

You can have breakfast wherever you want: in your room, in the idyllic central courtyard, on your balcony, or in the breakfast room. It is served until 11am and you get a feast: croissant and pastries, fresh fruit and freshly-squeezed OJ, yoghurts, cold meats and cheeses. You can also order an omelette, fried eggs with bacon, sauteed mushrooms or grilled sausages.

There are three restaurants at La Bobadilla and you’ll probably want to try them all. In summer down by the pool, The Grill offers crisply barbequed fish and meat and is popular at lunch; the sweet aromas that waft down to the water are too good to resist. You get chicken, burgers and steaks, prawns, swordfish and a daily special. There’s also a vegetarian menu and salads.

At night try La Finca, where you can eat in the courtyard. (Closed on Sundays and Mondays during May, June and July). Expect good Mediterranean cuisine (with prices to match) – almond consommé, spinach and Manchego cheese ravioli, Chateaubriand, sinful puddings. Eat inside and you find a smart old farmhouse feel: heavy beams, grandly padded chairs, terracotta floors and an open fire. One part of the restaurant has huge views over the plains of the Sierra de Loja. You gaze out on fields of olive trees, the fruit and oil of which you can eat in the restaurant. Here, on Saturday nights, you can also catch a little foot-stomping flamenco. Please note, the restaurant will be closed on Sundays and Mondays during May, June & July 2011.

Head up to El Cortijo in the main house and you can dig into good rustic Spanish food, maybe shrimps cooked with garlic, mixed paella, grilled squid or ox tail cooked with potato pancakes. You can always get a good salad or a steak, fine Iberian hams are a speciality and an extensive wine list caters to every budget.

There's a good menu for younger kids, too. It's full of favourites: spaghetti or ravioli, chicken breast and swordfish, burgers and sausages with French fries and salad.