|
Who is Lorna
Roberts?

LORNA ROBERTS is the Irish
representative of Keytel International who are the official
agents in the UK and Ireland for the SPANISH PARADORES and
the PORTUGUESE POUSADAS. Keytel International is also the
reservation agency for many hotels in Europe and also
in the USA.
Lorna has travelled extensively all
over Europe, has written books about her travels and plans
routes for her clients, as well as taking small
escorted groups around the Paradores.
There are 91 Paradores in Spain, and
44 Pousadas in Portugal, many of which are located in castles,
palaces, monasteries etc in the most scenic and interesting
areas, while the coastal ones are generally in modern buildings
in the unspoilt coastal areas.
If you are a resident in the
REPUBLIC of IRELAND, please contact our representative in
Ireland for bookings at the Portuguese Pousadas:
Lorna can tell you virtually
everything there is to know about the Paradores of Spain, and
she will be very happy to arrange all your booking requirements
(payable in Euros of course).
Throughout the year Lorna escorts
small groups on 7 & 8 night holidays in Spain's "hidden
corners" staying in Paradores.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
For further details please contact
Lorna Roberts direct..
Ms Lorna Roberts, Barr an Bhaile,
Aillebrack, Ballyconneely, Co. Galway.
Telephone................+353 (0) 95
23511
Fax...........................+353
(0) 95 23539
Email................
lorna@lornarobertsholidays.com
U.K.
Telephone........................01590 610698
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
CANARY ISLAND
PARADORES
On my recent visit to the
CANARY ISLANDS I visited 5 Paradores on 5 islands,
including Cruz de Tejeda, the new one in the centre of Gran
Canaria.
This has been beautifully designed
so that bedrooms and public rooms have views across the
mountains. Like most of the recently opened Paradores it has a
spa, gym and heated pool.

View from the Parador at Cruz de
Tejeda
In complete contrast we stayed at a
simple Parador on the smallest and most westerly island of El
Hierro. Almost sitting on a beach of black volcanic sand this is
a hotel for peace and quiet, as the only activities in the area are
trekking and diving, and the closest shops are fifteen
kilometres away in the island's capital Valverde. For anyone
wanting to "get away from it all" this would be
paradise, but not to be recommended to those looking for a
lively resort!

Parador on El Hierro
We continued to the island of La
Palma (not to be confused with Las Palmas the capital of Gran
Canaria, and seventh largest Spanish city). The Parador is high
above Santa Cruz, the island's capital, mid-way between the port
and the airport so easy to reach by air or sea. The landscaped
gardens, swimming pool and sea views make this a most relaxing
place to stay and the restaurant is to be highly recommended.
The island is intensely cultivated with every corner being
covered with terraces growing bananas, pineapples, avocados and
tomatoes and the varied scenery offers plenty of scope for those
who like to rent a car and explore, the highlight being the
international observatories surrounded by volcanic rocks at
the Roque de los Muchachos at 2462 metres (over 8000').

Gardens at the Parador on La Palma
The island of La Gomera is the most
accessible of the lesser known islands as it is only a forty
minute ferry journey from Los Cristianos on Tenerife. The
Parador can be seen standing on a cliff above the port in San
Sebastian, the island's capital. It is, perhaps the one that
would have the most general appeal, as it would be a perfect
base for a relaxing holiday, but for the more active
the spectacular coastal scenery, small fishing villages, lush
vegetation, and the many walking routes in the central
National Park are all within easy reach of San Sebastian. Car
hire is inexpensive and roads are uncrowded, and there is
an efficient local bus service reaching all corners of the
island.

Parador on La Gomera - above the
harbour at San Sebastian
Last, but by no means least, on the
island of Tenerife is the unpretentious 2* Parador at
Canadas del Teide, surrounded by volcanic rocks at the
foot of Mt Teide, which at 3713 metres (over 12000') is
Spain's highest mountain. The Parador is the
only building in the Park so consequently is unspoilt
by pollution and we were fortunate to be staying there on a
Friday night when a local astronomer comes to explain the
wonders of the night sky.

Parador at Canadas del Teide on
Tenerife
We had stayed at five very different
Paradores on five islands. We found that the people were
especially friendly, the food good and accompanied by excellent
local wines, the roads uncrowded and the landscapes
amazingly varied. This was such a different world from the
resorts of the Canaries seen in travel brochures.

On the North Coast of La Gomera
Mt Teide, Tenerife
A more detailed version of this
journey through the five islands can be found in the revised
edition of "Discover Real Spain & The Paradores" -
a personal collection of routes in Spain. Details in
"Lorna's books" section on this website.

ESCORTED HOLIDAYS IN
SPAIN'S HIDDEN CORNERS
These holidays are designed to include
some of Spain's most beautiful and lesser known landscapes. This
is "Real Spain" at its best. There will be no
pressure, no early morning starts, and no compulsory
sightseeing. Most Paradores are less than one hundred miles
apart, but on the occasional day when a longer journey is
necessary we will follow the advice of the AA which is to have a
break every 2 hours or every hundred miles, so there will be no
exhausting long journeys. We aim to make the travelling a
pleasure and organise lunch breaks in interesting places. The
coach will be there to transport you from Parador to Parador,
and will be on hand for optional excursions to places of
interest.
For the energetic there are spectacular
walking routes, for the culturally inclined there will be visits
to archeological sites and museums, and for nature lovers we
include Nature Reserves and National Parks.
These are value-for-money holidays
which include accommodation, breakfast and dinner (most nights)
including wine, coffee etc, in Spain's Parador hotels, or hotels
of similar quality where there is no Parador. By following a
route via Paradores the most remote and scenic regions of Spain
are discovered.
DEPOSIT and INSURANCE
A non refundable deposit of 250.00 Euro per
person, together with a completed booking form, should be sent
to MAP Travel. When completing the booking form please advise if
you have your own travel insurance. Otherwise it will be
automatically added to your invoice. Should we have to cancel a
tour the deposit will be refunded.
EXTRAS
There are no 'hidden' extras as all
travel in the bus, drinks with dinner, porterage, restaurant
tips and excursions are included. Entrance fees to Museums etc.
visited on optional excursions, bar and personal bills in hotels
and snacks during the day will be charged for at the time. On
occasional nights we have not included dinner, to enable people
to have a choice of restaurant.
PHOTOGRAPHIC
COMPETITION
Each year we hold a competition and ask
people who have been on our tours to send in their 3 favourite
photographs from the holiday. The winner receives a voucher for
a 2-night break in a Parador, or a discount of 250 Euro on a
future tour, so be sure to bring your camera.
EXCURSIONS
Journeys between hotels have been
planned to see as much as possible en-route. These are dependent
on weather conditions and will be changed if necessary.
GOLF HOLIDAYS
These are Parador holidays with golf,
combining the relaxation and interest of our tours with golf
competitions at some of Spain's finest courses. Green fees and
buggies, or trolleys, are included in the price. For non golfers
there are optional excursions every day.
"Bachelor" Con Cluskey will
be with us again when he will organise the fun golf competitions
– see golf holidays section of this
website.. Those of you who have travelled with Con on our
holidays will be interested to know that "I believe - the
very best of the Bachelors", a new CD recently
released went straight to Number number 5 in the UK album charts
and number 2 in the Irish charts…… so Ireland's first boy
band is still going strong.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
For further information, or
to receive a booking form contact:
Lorna Roberts Tel:: 095 23511 Fax:
095 23539
Lorna Roberts - UK Tel
and fax: 01590 610698
Email:
lorna@lornarobertsholidays.com
UK Number: 01590 610698
|