Hotel Boutique Adela

Eleven Hundred Square Metres, Four Suites, Two Courtyards

Granada’s colonial houses give nothing away from the street: a wall, a door, a window with bars. Adela is one of the larger ones, eleven hundred square metres of restored house a block and a half east of the San Francisco church, and it has been turned into a hotel with only four suites in it. The rest is courtyard. Two of them, planted, with water in both, and common rooms between them that still read as a private home rather than a lobby. The scale is the whole idea: a house this size would normally hold twenty keys.

Why It Works

Four suites in eleven hundred square metres gives an unusual ratio of space to guest, and you feel it in the courtyards, which are never busy. The second reason is the configuration at the back: two suites sharing a connecting door, one with a king bed and one with twins, both looking onto the pool. That is the layout families and pairs of couples ask for in Granada and seldom find in a colonial conversion. The third is that the whole house can be taken at once, which turns a hotel booking into something closer to a private rental with staff attached.

Why This Location

The address is Calle El Arsenal, a block and a half east of the San Francisco church, heading towards the lake. The Convento de San Francisco, with its cloister and its pre-Columbian statues from Zapatera, is a three minute walk. Parque Central and the cathedral are about ten minutes west, the old railway station roughly the same to the north, and Calle La Calzada, where Granada eats and drinks, is two and a half blocks away. That is the right distance: close enough to walk back from dinner, far enough that the noise stays where it is. This is the eastern half of the historic grid, quieter than the streets around the park and entirely walkable.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Colonial, private, courtyard, unhurried

• Rooms: 4 suites, two at the centre with king beds and walk in closets, two at the back overlooking the pool, one king and one twin, joined by a connecting door

• Best For: Couples who want a house rather than a hotel, families needing connecting rooms, groups renting the property whole

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The two courtyard gardens, which between four suites are effectively yours

• Dining: Breakfast cooked to order rather than a buffet, and a bar on site

• Amenities: Two pool areas, two planted courtyards, sauna and spa services, air conditioning, private parking, laundry, full house rental

• Attractions: Convento de San Francisco three minutes on foot, Calle La Calzada two and a half blocks, Parque Central and the cathedral about ten minutes, the old railway station to the north

Which Suite to Take

The four divide cleanly. The two central suites are the grander pair, king beds, walk in closets and private hot showers, and they sit in the oldest part of the house with a courtyard on their doorstep. The two at the back are the practical pair, one king and one twin, connected by a door and both facing the pool, which is the configuration to ask for if you are travelling with children or sharing with friends. All four have air conditioning. The choice is less about comfort than about whether you want the historic rooms or the water.

Where the Day Goes: Two Pools and a Bar

Granada is hot from late morning, and the house is organised around that fact. Two courtyards, water in both, deep shade in the galleries around them, and a bar for the hours when nobody is going anywhere. Breakfast is cooked to order and taken in the courtyard, which sets the pace of the morning. There is a sauna and spa service on site, and laundry, which after a week on the Pacific coast is worth more than it sounds.

Booking the Whole House

With four keys, Adela goes as a unit more often than as single rooms, and the full house option is priced and organised for that. For eight or ten people travelling together it is the most interesting thing on offer here: two courtyards, two pools and a private parking area, with breakfast cooked for the group. Otherwise book early for the dry months. Pets are not accepted, and Spanish and English are spoken.