Hotel Mencia Subbetica

Very pleased with our choice (based on previous reviews) of Hotel Mencia Subbetica as base for a short trip around Andalusia. The hotel is easy to find. Took the Superior room, as we wanted extra space for our little one. Worked very well - splendid bathroom, comfy bed with crisp linen and lovely views from the balcony. Room was very clean and very well presented. Heating/AC worked very well. Took breakfast in hotel, which was Continental style (juice, coffee and toast). Ate snacks/tapas and food in bar on two of the evenings - note restaurant doesn't open till 8.30. All very good quality and reasonably priced. Not a huge selection available outside restaurant hours, but enough for us. Staff all very friendly - reception helped us with directions to book a local tour of the 'cave of the bats' in Zuheros (lots of steps!), and in ensuring there were tickets at Alhambra. Bar staff even found us a plug adapter when we arrived as I'd brought wrong one. Too cool to use pool, but a nice little playground there. We were out of season, and so the only tourists throughout our stay. Some Spanish language will help you, as only receptionist spoke lots of English. Dona Mencia is a lovely regional town, with a nice centre inc large kids playground. Not a lot of eating options, especially before normal Spanish supper time of 9.00. We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would love to return. Though its not a large hotel, no hesitation in awarding it 5/5 overall. Good value for money

We stayed several days in May on a family vacation. We originally thought the hotel was close to Cordoba, but it is actually about 68 km away in the town of Dona Mencia. Dona Mencia is a lovely town in the middle of olive grove country with nearby villages and towns that are must to explore, including Baena (home of the some of the world's best olive oils) and Zuheros (white painted village, with medieval Moorish castle, and cave with neolithic paintings nearby). The hotel itself is clean, modern, with terrific mountain views. The pool is very good. The food was good and the price was excellent, and there are a number of good restaurants/cafes in the town centre. The staff were excellent and went out their way to make you feel at home. We would return in a heart beat.