AC Palau De Bellavista - Girona, Spain 

We stayed in this hotel as we knew we couldn't cope with the cathedral bells! It was amazing value for money - the vista and the terrace were wonderful, and the service, rooms, ambience were all perfect. The walk up from the old town was not a problem, as it is up a bit, then along the flat, then up again. Not to be recommended for those with mobility problems though. We had taken the night train from Paris, but were able to check in at 8am. As I said the service was excellent. However, the best part was the meal in the Numun restaurant. If you don't stay at the hotel, you have to eat here. There are two menus, and we took the smaller and cheaper Menu de Flores (39 Euros), rather than the gastronomique (72). It was one of the best fine dining experiences we have had, and for a fraction of the cost of equivalent restaurants in Manchester or London. The tables on the terrace are lovely, the house wines were wonderful and the food was beyond excellent. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I was in Girona to give a presentation at a work congress and this was my first visit (only 2 nights and 1.5 days). The BellaVista hotel has spectacular views over the city to the mountains. My room was very comfortable and modern (without being souless). Staff were caring and courteous and INTERESTED in looking after guests (not always a feature of similar 'hip' -style hotels). I ate in the hotel restaurant one evening - interesting menu - modern cooking using Catalanian ingredients, good value for money given the excellent standard of food and service. There are dozens of interesting restaurants in the old city (lunchtime menus of the day looked especially good value). As a northern hemisphere person it is always a 'challenge' to stay awake for dinner in Spain (dinner starts at 9.30pm/10pm!) but the food, location and company makes it possible! Fortunately I slept very well (extremely important to me as I was working); room service breakfast arrived promptly both days and set me up to be able to work effectively with my Spanish hosts. The Bellavista was such a good experience that I've booked a weekend in September to stay with my husband to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. Our 16 year old daughter won't be included this time - but Girona would be a terrific place for her (it has a university so there's a good 'young' scene), She'd love this hotel. I did manage to get into the city centre to buy her a couple of summer tops (I didn't have much time and it seems there is a 2-4 hour closure for shops in the middle of the day but they re-open later in the afternoon and into the evening) In the old city there are a miriad of small shops and options for clothes shopping looked good. It will be fantastic to have the time to relax fully in such a lovely hotel, explore the beautiful cily and share Catalonia together in the autumn.