Parador de Aiguablava

This is a four-star Paradores hotel on the Costa Brava, built in 1966 and renovated in 2020. Its 78 rooms sit within a three-storey property surrounded by pine trees, with sea views from the hotel and its gardens. The atmosphere is more grown-up seaside base than busy resort: you have the beach below, a restaurant for proper meals, and enough room to slow down once the kit is put away.

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside Spanish and French. That matters when you are arranging dinner, asking about a local excursion or simply trying to explain that the room key has vanished into the same pocket as the dive computer. The hotel also has a collection of more than 200 works by Catalan artists, giving the common areas something to look at beyond the weather forecast.

You are in Begur, Spain, on the Aiguablava headland at Platja d'Aiguablava. The hotel stands on a pine-covered promontory beside the sea, with direct access to the public beach and views towards the surrounding coves. This is a coastal location rather than a town-centre address, so the landscape does most of the talking.

Begur is about 2.5 miles away. Girona Airport is around 29 miles from the hotel, while Barcelona Airport is about 91 miles away. By road, the approach is via the AP-7, with the route from France turning off near Figueres. Cala de Aiguablava is the local diving reference, and several other coves are within the wider Begur and Costa Brava area.

The room choice works around the way you travel. Couples can choose a double room or a suite, with twin-bed versions available when sharing a room does not mean sharing a duvet. A triple room gives three people a practical base under one roof, which is useful for a small group or a family travelling together.

Air conditioning is available in the standard and superior double rooms, while selected rooms also add Wi-Fi, a television, safe, hairdryer and private bathroom. Superior double rooms include coffee-making facilities, a small but welcome detail when the first coffee of the day is a functional requirement rather than a lifestyle choice. Suites add toiletries, towels, a telephone and a mirror.

The building was renovated in 2020, and the setting does much of the work at night: pine trees outside, the sea nearby and the coast below rather than a road running through the view. Room service is available, as is a wake-up service. Accessibility is supported with lifts and facilities for guests with reduced mobility.

There are two restaurants, both serving lunch and dinner. Restaurante del Parador de Aiguablava looks out to sea and works with traditional Mediterranean cooking: fresh fish, seafood and rice are central to the menu. The regional focus includes fish from the coast, rice from Pals, red prawns from Palamós, anchovies from L'Escala and grilled fish.

Restaurante Mar i Vent is set by the beach and follows the same coastal logic through regional and local produce, with rice dishes and grilled fish. After a day in the water, this is the useful sort of choice: a proper meal, local ingredients and no need to turn dinner into a logistical exercise.

Breakfast is available as a buffet. The hotel also has a bar, café and snack bar, so you can keep things lighter when a full meal feels too ambitious. Meal arrangements vary with the booking, and half-board or full-board meals do not include drinks.

The outdoor pool gives you a place to spend the afternoon without going back to the beach, while the direct beach access keeps the sea close when you prefer salt water to chlorinated water. A sun terrace, garden and hotel terrace provide the less energetic alternatives. There is also an indoor pool, useful when the weather decides to behave like the Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean.

Spa de Aiguablava has a covered area and an outdoor pool, with massages, facials, exfoliation and hydration treatments. Spa access and treatments require a reservation, so this is one to arrange rather than leave to chance after lunch. The hotel also has a sauna and gym for anyone who still has energy left after diving.

For a day away from the hotel, the excursion service can help with visits to Begur, Calella de Palafrugell, Pals, Peratallada, the Aiguamolls Natural Park, the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres and the Iberian settlement at Ullastret. Golf is another option. In other words, there is plenty to occupy a non-diving partner without turning the whole stay into a compulsory activity programme.

Check-in runs from 14:00 until midnight, with check-out by 12:00. Reception operates around the clock, and the hotel can arrange a taxi. Free parking is available, including a charging station for electric vehicles, making the property workable for a road trip along the Costa Brava. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.

The building has a lift, accessible facilities and wheelchair access. Concierge and excursion assistance are available, alongside luggage storage, laundry, dry-cleaning, ironing and a safe. A business centre and event facilities are also part of the property, although the day-to-day appeal for divers is simpler: park, settle in, reach the beach and have dinner without needing another transfer.

The road approach comes via the AP-7, with the route from France branching near Figueres. A tourist tax is payable directly at the hotel, and any gala-dinner charge applicable to stays in Spanish hotels should be checked with the property. Room rates that include half-board or full-board do not include drinks.