Really fabulous modern design of the room and bathroom area which is very well thought out. Opens onto a balcony with wide opening doors and view (in our case) of gardens. State of the art lighting and lay-out in a minimalist setting that has space for desk, bed, bath, shower and toilet. All well arranged so as not to disturb partner. The pool area is great, and most of the staff are friendly and helpful.

The public spaces need a rethink as they are slightly barn-like and lacking in character, and a couple of the staff seem to have the attitude that customers are an annoyance and the hotel should be run for their benefit. Unfortunately, one of these was on reception when we arrived, which is not great when first impressions matter. This is a state-owned chain of hotels, so the surprise is more that so many of the staff were so helpful and friendly. The only other glitch is the lift system, which does not have up and down buttons so lifts are constantly stopping even if going in the wrong direction. Bad programming also means that it is usually a lot quicker to take the stairs.

Beautiful view of Cadiz bay from the breakfast terrace. A vast selection of everything you can imagine to eat the hot food is freshly cooked for you by a chef. Best Santiago cake I’ve eaten. The bedrooms all have fabulous views of the bay ours overlooked the Genoves gardens which are absolutely gorgeous with a waterfall and a walkway heading towards the port. The restaurant serves delicious food and although pricey was a nice change from tapas ! The pool and gym area are fabulous but unfortunately open at 11 and close at 7

Opening hours for the pool are 11 - 7 so if you want an early morning swim or want to stay sunbathing it’s not possible No tea or coffee making facilities in the rooms The bedrooms facing the Genoves gardens can be noisy if you have your bifold doors open - barking dogs music and children

Everything. It's a great hotel. The rooms were spacious, reasonable sized balcony, excellent shower. Even the toiletries were nice to use. The staff were always friendly and helpful, especially appreciated as someone who can only say the absolute basics in Spanish. (It isn't a very touristy areas so you do have to get by a little as shop staff etc don't often speak English). Pool was lovely, lots of space in early October. And drinks in the bar of an evening were pleasant. The fuss being made in some reviews over birds seems a bit excessive- there was one or two, they're tiny and cute and generally tried to stay away from people. The room electronics are really not that complicated either! You have a button for each light in the room including an all-off by the bed which is much better than the usual guesswork. Plus up/down for the blackout blinds.

Breakfast didn't work for me. The food is left open and I just saw too many flies on it. They attempt really good hygiene by giving you personal bamboo tongs but ruin it with allowing flies to land all over it. Very disappointing but I just selected the gluten free muffins as these came pre-packed. Food choices are fairly limited and there was a problem with under-cooked fish on our first night in the main restaurant. In Europe you get used to meat being less cooked than in the UK in general but the grilled fish was still raw. But the staff resolved it quickly.

A glamorous Junior Suite, with sitting room, balcony, two bathrooms (with amazing showers with strong water pressure!), and a wonderful view. The mile-long hotel buffet breakfast was wonderful, and the staff are great. Everyone was very helpful and lovely. We especially liked the very easy and spacious underground parking, as you'd expect from a large modern hotel. Overall it was a fantastic stay and we were really happy with the Junior Suite.

The lighting in the bathrooms is a bit minimal over the vanity; and the set up for tea and coffee was not stocked well or very easily accessible. It's effectively in a cupboard. We also noticed that toiletry items we used were not replaced (shower caps, etc), but if we'd asked room service for them I'm sure they would have been whisked upstairs.

Room had an excellent view and once we worked it out the air con was quite efficient. Breakfast was good and a free bottle of water in the room each day was a nice touch. Staff were very friendly and helpful

Staff did not explain on check in that we needed to put key card in slot for Air con and hairdryer to work. This wasn't immediately evident as lights and other sockets worked without. Also you need to turn the TV on in order to find WiFi passcode which they did not tell us. I found out by chance when I decided to check if there was an English speaking channel as had not been watching TV on our journey. Once we got used to the fact that everything was extremely hi tech it was ok but if you are not tech savvy it will not suit you!

The online reviews for this property were a bit mixed; one can only conclude some people have very conservative ideas about what a hotel room design should be like. Rooms in this Parador are differently laid out to the 'standard' chain 4* hotel, and the better for it. Exceptional use of space, and even though the property is not a recent build, the lighting controls, wifi and electrical connectivity in-room are exceptional. But the stunner is the view and the light through the entirely-glass, sea-facing wall. One of the best 4* hotels we've ever stayed in. The Breakfast space (with an excellent choice of quality food) can attract troublesome sparrows, but it's hardly difficult to subvert their intrusions.

Coffee-making facilities in the room would have been welcome.

This hotel is stunning - great location, fabulous rooms and great staff. We would highly recommend this hotel. The parking garage under the hotel means it is such a handy place to stay for those travelling by car to the wonderful historic city of Cadiz. The rooms, what can I say? Incredible. The view is lovely and the balcony provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy the sunset. The swimming pools and other facilities are excellent. We really enjoyed our stay.

This is a very big hotel and was very busy during our stay. At times supplies ran low at the breakfast buffet and there were not enough staff available to ensure the buffet tables were kept refreshed.

The rooms (we had 3 rooms) were all excellent. Laundry service was excellent. View from our rooms were beautiful. Bar, pool cafe and restaurant service was excellent. Swimming pool area was excellent.

Our main complaint was during the breakfast buffet (each morning), birds were flying in from open window and landing on the buffet foods and eating the food. Birds were dropping poo on the chairs and tables during breakfast as well on the food counter. Also the coffee machines for breakfast were inadequate; Coffee served in the bar and restaurant for dinner were excellent. Pool water was too cold. Jacuzzi side of pool should be heated, and children restricted to kids pool only.

We had a junior suite which was lovely and large with excellent views. The bed was really comfortable as were the furnishings. It was lovely waking up, rolling up the blackout blinds and taking in the gorgeous sea view.

Some of the furnishings were a little tired, but still usable and clean, just with the odd ding & scrape, hence we have marked them down a little. We felt a little stupid as we only found the tea and coffee making facilities on the last morning as it was in a unmarked cupboard just outside the 2nd bathroom so perhaps this could have been signposted better.

Our third visit to the Parador Cadiz lived up to past memories. Great location in old Cadiz next to the Parque Genoves and with a fantastic view across to the lighthouse at the Castille de San Sebastian (just have to blank out the car park in the foreground). Room very comfortable; we were in a south facing junior suite and enjoyed the balcony. Breakfast excellent. A very short walk to the La Caleta beach and an easy stroll into the centre of town. Fabulous pools but water too chilly for us to venture into.

We have been visiting the hotel since 2015, staying each time in a junior suite; it is still lovely but some of the decor is looking tired and could do with a lick of paint.