Pick a parador

If you’ve been looking for those castles in Spain – to sleep in, that is – the network of state-owned “paradores” that crisscrosses the country will fill the bill.

Established in 1928 at the instigation of King Alfonso XIII to bolster tourism and save historic buildings whose owners no longer could afford their upkeep, the paradores have evolved into a collection of 91 diverse, popular hostelries.

Castles aren’t the only lodgings, although there are 14 of them. There also are 15 onetime convents, a former Arab fortress (at Jaen), an ancient mill and nine palaces, among them the Parador de Argomaniz, where the warring Napoleon once took some R&R. Forty-six are in newer structures, some of which showcase local architecture.

Madrid, Spain – Air lines flying to Madrid often connect through other cities. Among the carriers serving the United States are Air France, American, British, Continental, US Airways, Lufthansa, Delta and KLM. Telephones – To call the numbers below from the United States, dial 011 (the international dialing code), 34 (country code for Spain) and the local number. Where to stay www.parador.es/english or www.paradores-spain.com * Parador de Santo Estevo, 17 miles from Ourense in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain; 988-010-110. Beautifully renovated monastery artfully blends old and new. Seasonal rates $143-$161. Closed November through February. * Parador de Monforte, at Monforte de Lemos, Galicia; 982-41-84-84. Converted monastery and palace on a hilltop site. Elegantly furnished in dark woods, velvets. Doubles $143-$161, depending on season. Closed November through February. * Parador de Limpias, in Limpias, 37 miles from Bilbao in the Cantabria region of northeastern Spain; 942-628-900. Extensive wooded grounds surround this converted palace. Doubles $149-$174. To learn more: * Paradores de Turismo de Espana, central booking office; 915-166-666, www.parador.es/english. * Tourist Office of Spain, Los Angeles; 323-658-7188, www.okspain.org. This Web site can direct you to agents in the Seattle area who specialize in travel to Spain.

In the spring, I stayed at three paradores that recently opened in historic buildings – Santo Estevo and Monforte de Lemos in the Galicia region in the northwest and Limpias in the Cantabria region near Bilbao in the northeast. They were not equally appealing, but they were comfortingly predictable – in this case, not a bad thing.

What I found: fairly priced, attractive rooms with roomy baths – a good value. Each had identical guestroom amenities – cable TV, hair dryer and the same label bath gel, shampoo and cologne (which I mistook for mouthwash and took a good swig). All three paradores had elevators and air conditioning and each had an attractive restaurant (semi-expensive) with food at a generally high level. The single dish that made me want to shout “Ole!” was an appetizer at Monforte: six baby artichokes in a sinfully rich prawn cream sauce.

Staffs generally were courteous and helpful, and there was always someone who spoke English. But I suspect it’s difficult to keep top-notch help in a parador that closes in the winter, as do Santo Estevo and Monforte de Lemos. At both, service was uneven.

Santo Estevo

My odyssey began in Madrid, and my first destination was Santo Estevo, near Ourense in the north. On a March morning, I boarded an express AutoRes bus in central Madrid for the six-hour, 40-minute ride.

As we traveled north, we passed vineyards and plains dotted with towns with tile-roofed houses and dominated by church towers. And, yes, there was rain on the plain in Spain.

There was rain too in Ourense as I walked to the train station to pick up a rental car. Soon, I had directions to Luintra and the Parador de Santo Estevo. Instead of finding Luintra, I found myself going in circles, traffic whizzing past me as I juggled the map and the stick shift. Finally, a kind motorist pointed the way.

Luintra, 17 miles from Ourense, is in the country, reached by narrow, twisting mountain roads. I squeaked in just before dark.

I was enthralled from the moment I parked by the little church out front and walked through the huge carved stone portal. The parador, in an ancient Benedictine monastery, opened in the summer of 2004 after a six-year restoration. The result is a dazzling blend of old – Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic, Renaissance – and new. Antiques, contemporary furnishings, art and sculpture coexist happily, as do ancient cloisters and 21st-century steel and glass.

My room was immaculate. The decor was in neutrals, with blond wood and touches of old stone. A small window overlooked an expanse of forest.

The public rooms are grand, including the lovely two-story dining room with crimson chairs and vaulted stone ceiling.

Exploring Santo Estevo, I found wonderful little niches in which to read or just sit, enjoying serene vistas of forest and mountains. Like the other guests, I snapped plenty of pictures of the lovely courtyard with its flowering magnolias.

Santo Estevo is in the heart of the Ribeira Sacra, named for the hermitages established along the “sacred bank” of the Sil River between the 10th and 13th centuries as places for meditation and prayer. It is a region of stunning landscapes, with rivers (the Sil and the Mino) cutting through canyons.

Monforte de Lemos

I checked out of Santo Estevo after two nights and drove a mountain road with switchbacks 20 miles northeast to Monforte de Lemos. This parador occupies a 16th-century palace and a 17th-century monastery and overlooks the town from a hilltop site with a medieval keep.

The parador, which opened in July 2003, is very different in feel from Santo Estevo. My room, one of 50 around a central cloister, was furnished in dark wood, with burgundy velvet draperies.

I freshened up a bit and headed for the dining room, an attractive space with high-backed velvet chairs and a raftered ceiling decorated with heraldic banners. Entrees ranged from $12.50 to $37.

The rain was heavy the next day, so I grabbed an umbrella and walked downhill into the old section of town, where I was lucky enough to stumble on the annual medieval fair.

Ducking into a covered space, I found myself mingling with costumed maidens, monks and knights. For $1.85, I bought a tapa – ham on peasant bread – and red wine in a pottery cup, sat down on a hay bale and joined in.

Limpias

Parador de Limpias near Santander, is 37 miles west of Bilbao in the northeastern corner of Spain.

Checking out of Monforte on a rainy Easter morning, I had a good two- and three-lane highway almost to myself as I drove to Ourense to turn in my car and catch a train to Bilbao. It was a spectacular mountain drive, with vistas of los Canones del Sil and the river. Mist hung over cliffs that plunged to the river. At lower elevations, I was hugging the riverbank on my slow, hourlong trip.

In Bilbao, after stopping two nights – mostly to see the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum – I picked up a rental car for the 37-mile drive on the busy motorway to Limpias.

Driving onto the grounds through massive wooden doors set into a stone wall, my heart sank at first glimpse of the parador, a square gray building onto which was tacked a joltingly modern wing. Luckily, my room was one of 18 in the main building, a 19th-century palace that once was summer headquarters for King Alfonso XIII’s council. It had bright textiles and a large terrace.

Limpias, which opened in spring 2004, is less elegant than the two other paradores I visited. But the parador has indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts and 14 acres of woodland for strolling.

The dining room serves regional specialties such as cod and chickpea stew and marinated quail salad.On my full day at Limpias, I drove a mountain pass through the Soba Valley, stopping to photograph a magnificent waterfall, granite cliffs and snowcapped mountains.

Paradores have different amenities. Some have golf courses, some spas. Bountiful buffet breakfasts, $13.50 per person at the paradores I visited, made lunch unnecessary. The choice was astonishing – eggs, meats, cheese, all manner of breads and pastries.

Paradores are popular with both tourists and Spaniards. In six days, I met a few Britons but no Americans. The most popular paradores, such as that on the grounds of the Alhambra at Granada, book months ahead.

Profits generated by the hostelries are reinvested – for preservation or for creation of hotels in areas that attract few tourists.

This year, the paradores are participating in the countrywide 400th anniversary celebration of the publication of “Don Quixote.” A Don Quixote parador route takes visitors to places pivotal in the life of author Miguel de Cervantes. It also traverses landscapes in which Cervantes placed his character. As yet, none of the paradores is claiming that the fictional elderly knight and his squire slept there.