Hotel Cueva del Fraile

This hotel resembled a camp site but with rooms instead of tents. The two rooms we had weren't very nice. No air conditioning in the rooms but they provided a fan. The drive to the hotel was amazing. It is set in an amazing spot in the mountains. The food was basic but seemed to cater for varied tastes. The best thing about the hotel was the facilities. A good sized pool, table football, pool table and even a crazy golf (though this has seen much better days). There was a nice outside space for evening drinks. It looks as is parts of the hotel have been refurbished and modernised. The downstairs, where our rooms were, are in urgent need of a make over! It's got conference facilities which looked reasonable. Note that the hotel is quite far away from the centre of Cuenca. It was fine as I was staying only one night. If I was there for a week, I wouldn't have been comfortable to doing so.

A large old building and gardens about 4/5 miles from Cuenca so you need transport. Could do with updating but the cost could be prohibitive. Suited me fine for an overnight stay. Lovely drive with great views taking right hand fork outside hotel along hilltop to car park just outside old Cuenca. Nice dining room where I had the hotel menu for 16e. Choice of 4 starters,4 mains, 4 desserts with a bottle of wine, water, bread and a tapa. I chose spag. bol,,chicken and chips and tarta vienetta. It was fine and good value for money. Old Cuenca is a lovely place and La Cuidad Encantada is only a few miles away if you are interested in unusual rock formations.

The hotel was several km from the centre of Cuenca, this was not a problem as it was very quiet. A few barking dogs at night, the bells from the goats and the baying burro in the adjoining field all added to its ambience. The room however was another story. No hot water for the 2 days we stayed there, the room as brown and I mean 1960's brown furniture, floors and 1 brown timber cladded wall. It was very clean and the hotel staff were, most of them, very good and helpful. The breakfast was adequate and plentiful but the evening set meal was abysmal with the al carte menu only a bit better. Unfortunately we will not be back.

LOCATION: I didn’t think the hotel’s out of town center location made it more charming. Perhaps this was the fault of construction crews and their noise, but I found the location just created more of a hassle to getting around. Although, if you plan on staying in this hotel to walk, jog, bike, or just be in nature the location is ideal. HOTEL: I booked at this hotel specifically because it had a pool. In other review, the manager defends the hotel and is explicit in saying the pool may not be open all year, but instead opened mid-June. Imagine my disappointment to check in on June 16 -with hot days during my stay- only to learn that the pool MIGHT be open by the end of June! Not being able to cancel the reservation without penalty, I was further disappointed by the ubiquitous construction crews, work, and banging. One construction truck blocked us in and, after about 20 minutes of trying to locate its driver, we decided to invest another twenty in making a 10-point turn back and forward to get around truck. ROOM: The first room we had (despite a room request for quiet with a view) directly faced some kind of construction motor that made a ridiculous racquet (Room #159). The front desk clerk allowed me to check another room (#149) that I was about to settle on avoid a fuss. Then my husband didn’t think the strong stench of cigarette smoke inside, and the strong smell of propane outside (and the noise of cars from facing the bend in the road) would work. I asked the front desk for another option and got an eye roll, but another option. We settled into room #143 and I used up my can of Lysol and my spray bottle of perfume trying to battle the smell of cigarette that had become a part of the air conditioning, sheets, etc. I really appreciate the mini-fridge in the room. There were no screens on the window, however, and both attempts to get fresh air meant that within 30 minutes a wasp/bee was in our room. I didn’t love the ratty sheets that had multiple tears and holes. I wish another tripadvisor reviewer had alerted me to the idea I’d be roughing it. I think I would have had a better attitude about the eyeroll, the construction, the smell of smoke, and the closed pool. Still, can the hotel designate some rooms as non-smoking?

I stayed 4 nights here. The rooms vary and are quite adequate and have what you need. Bed was comfortable. Bathroom was good. Everything was clean Windows that open so no need to use an air conditioner which I don't think was there. Room was cool due to the type of building - previously a convent, so I liked it. A small courtyard which was good to relax in. I did not have a car and the only transport was by taxi. For me, the breakfast was basic but adequate. Due to the isolation I needed to eat in the dining room at night. This I found extremely ordinary and didn't cope with it very well. I slept well and it was quiet, except for the dogs in a nearby house barking between 11pm and midnight. My room faced the car park so directly in line of the noise. In rooms on the other side it is unlikely to hear the dogs. Getting to the hotel passes the old city and the view of it from the road was great but difficult to stop for a photo. Took a taxi up to the old city and is well worth the visit. After exploring I walked to the bottom and into the new town and got a taxi back to the hotel. All easy enough to manage. I did find food was almost impossible to get in the old town due to the customary eating habits and I was fainting with hunger. Need to keep this in mind if you need to eat regularly. I would stay there again, but bring in the food supply with me.

I was so pleased with this hotel, the position was ideal for us. It is on the outskirts of the town and although a car is needed to get into town, it is not too far. This also means that you have access to the lovely countryside that can be found in this area. We had a family room being 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. We did not eat at the hotel, preferring to go into Cuenca, but everything looked clean. The staff were very hospitable - it may have helped that one of our party is fluent in Spanish! I couldn't fault it and would stay here again.

Some of the reviews of this hotel make me question whether we are talking about the same place. This is an excellent hotel that is a converted monastery with a superb swimming pool and breakfast ALL at a fantastic price. The staff were not unfriendly just businesslike and the standard of drink and food served was again very reasonably priced. Best of all it is a short 15 mins drive to the wonderful town of Cuenca.

This hotel is very unique set in the country, about 7 km from the town centre, no transport so ideally you would have a car, however if you don't have a car like we didn't, it is about $16 Euro each way into town. You can take nature walks which are quiet and private (just the donkey next door makes a lot of noise, but we loved it), rooms are spacious and you can open the windows, beds are comfortable and bathrooms good. Wifi is available in different parts of the hotel, however not always available in the rooms. There is a little courtyard in the middle of the building, and a pool that is opened in the summer with a bar attached. If you are a foreigner, bear in mind English is not understood here, as it seems the Spaniards use this hotel and food was a major issue for us English people, because you could not get any food until 8.30 at night!. TV is all in Spanish, so take a book, play the pool table - there are plenty of areas to sit and relax, play cards or go for walks.

We really enjoyed our stay of 2 nights at this quaint hotel. If your looking for chain hotels with ultra modern facitilties then this is'nt for you. However we were looking for something that had charm and character and we were not dissapointed. Wooden beams everywhere and old fashioned quaint furniture in every nook and cranny. The hotel itself is very clean and situated by the gorge,about an 8 minute drive to the castle area of cuenca overlooking the hanging houses. Staff were very friendly and always greeted you with a smile. Breakfast wasnt included in the price but for 8 euros was more than adequate,the only downside is that the cooked items were a bit on the cool side,however i'm sure if we'd have asked for it to be heated to a higher temparature they would have obliged. we had one evening meal in the hotel which was ok,but nothing out of the ordinary. Rooms were comfortable and the beds were super comfortable, although no air conditioning because of the thick walls it was fairly cool. Prices for drinks in the bar were reasonable and we really had no problem being served. All in all if we were visiting this part of spain again we'd definatly come back. Thank you to all the staff who made this such an enjoyable stay.