Although Chris and I spent most of our recent trip to Andalucía visiting friends in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, we also took the opportunity to enjoy a three-night break in Almería – a treat to ourselves in the run-up to our second wedding anniversary.
I’ll be honest: Almería isn’t somewhere we would have thought of visiting had we not been in the area anyway. In fact, it seems largely overlooked by tourists, most of whom fly into its airport and vanish straight off to beach resorts further along the coast. But we both loved it. Sandwiched between arid mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, it’s an unassuming yet pretty little port city, with a laid-back atmosphere, a multitude of tempting tapas bars and lots of character.
Our base was Aire Hotel, which sits in a 19th-century building on a palm-fringed plaza. When I travel I always try to seek out hotels that appeal to my love of minimalism and simplicity but also have a real sense of place, and Aire Hotel fit the bill perfectly. Behind its elegant façade are 22 beautiful rooms with sleek tiles, glass panels, contemporary furniture and exposed-stone walls. Ours, a junior suite, had a huge and very comfortable bed backed by a semi-open bathroom area, along with iconic Hans J. Wegner lounge chairs and two Juliet balconies overlooking the square below. There’s also a communal roof terrace and a small heated pool gazing across to the city’s Moorish citadel, the Alcazaba, perched on top of the hill opposite.
Speaking of the Alcazaba, it’s the first place we visited when we set out to explore Almería on our first day. Built in the 10th century, it was the second largest fortress in Moorish Spain after Granada’s famous Alhambra, and enclosed within its sand-coloured battlements are the ruins of homes, palace buildings, bath houses and more. I was enchanted by the gardens, which are crisscrossed by burbling water channels and dotted with fountains and lily ponds. We were lucky enough to catch the tail-end of blossom season and to meet a few of the well cared-for Alcazaba cats, who we found dosing under trees and benches.
After a morning in the sun, we headed back to the hotel to make the most of its spa – one of the most beautiful I’ve ever come across. Inspired by ancient Arab and Roman baths, it’s a subterranean space lit by hundreds of flickering candles, with hot, cold and tepid pools, Jacuzzis and a hammam. There’s also a floatation pool where you can bob around and let your mind drift away – an incredibly relaxing experience (at least it was until Chris accidentally splashed saltwater up my nose – ouch!).
On our second day, we embarked on a mini road trip into the Tabernas Desert, 30km north of Almería. This vast, sun-baked swathe of dunes, scrubland and lunar-like rock formations is hauntingly beautiful and unlike anything else I’ve seen in Europe. It’s been used as a location for countless films and is now home to several Wild West theme parks, but we eschewed them in favour of climbing up to the area’s crumbling Moorish castle, which has spectacular views in every direction.
We started our evenings on the hotel’s rooftop, sipping room-service drinks (sadly there’s no bar up there) as the sun slowly sank behind the Alcazaba. I was struck by just how peaceful it was – apart from occasional sirens, the only sounds were the calls of swifts swooping and darting in the sky above us, and it was hard to believe we were sitting in the middle of a city.
Once darkness fell, we headed out to explore Almería’s food scene. The city is renowned for its tapas bars (in fact it’s Spain’s gastronomic capital for 2019) and we hopped from one to another, sampling everything from super-fresh seafood to delicious cheeses. Our favourites were Taberna Joseba Añorga (an upscale yet relaxed Basque bar next-door to the hotel), Nuestra Tierra (a new-ish place with a few unusual options), La Encina (more traditional, with legs of jamón dangling from the ceiling) and Restaurante Teteria Aljaima (which serves Moroccan tapas). It was a fun way to try lots of different things and, as most bars give you a free tapa every time you buy a drink, it was good-value, too.
All in all, I’d highly recommend visiting Almería. It’s not the most obvious destination for a city break, but if you want good food, fascinating history, a stylish place to stay and lots of sunshine, then trust me: you’ll love it!
Please note this is not a sponsored post, and we paid for our stay in Almería in full.
All images by Abi Dare
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