A place to spend the night....El Ladron de Agua en Granada

January 08, 2008

A place to spend the night....El Ladron de Agua en Granada

Last Saturday was the King’s night (la noche de los Reyes) and we decided to spend it “quietly” at El Ladron de Agua in Granada. This charming hotel is a 16^th century mansion, facing the Alhambra, on Carrera del Darro.

It has been named so after a poem of Juan Ramòn Jimenez “the water-thief”. We discovered this hotel last year and completely fell under the charm of its beautiful surroundings and very special magic.

Once again we felt quite privileged and thrilled to open the heavy wooden door.

A spacious courtyard open to the sky and with marble columns invites you to sit down while sipping a glass of wine and watch the stars at night. Next to it is the library where you can read comfortably or have access to a computer. Otherwise wifi connection is provided in all the rooms.

In the middle of the courtyard, a smooth oval fountain of grey marble whispers a peaceful sound of water.

The water silently flows from the oval surface to the marble floor.

An elegant corridor covered with an oriental rug leads you to your room.

The rooms have no number but are named after the poems of Juan Ramon Jimenez or works by Federico Garcia Lorca or Manuel de Falla. Our room was “El sueño de Isabel” (Isabel’s dream). All the rooms are simply decorated with white walls, terracotta floors, wood ceiling and furniture. Yet the atmosphere is warm and very cosy.

The white cotton bed linen is a treat after having taken a bath in the Jacuzzi bath. Monchéri wouldn’t wake up….We enjoyed the touch of lavishness in the bathroom. A complete high quality bathroom pack awaited us in a neat basket, including this nice butter gel for the body..Mmmm....We also wrapped ourselves with delight in the white cotton bathrobes.

11 in the morning…I call the reception and ask if by any chance it’s not too late to have breakfast served in our room. But of course not! says a charming voice at the other end. I like the wooden tray but may be an individual teapot would be chicer?

I enjoyed every little detail: the customized correspondence set, paper pad, pencil and envelopes. I thought my brand new necklace – created by my friend Pilar – would look nice on the engraved leather desk blotter reading the hotel’s name.