Los Usias Hotel

Dos Torres, well to the north of Córdoba, isn't much of a town, but it has an attractive, recently relaid Plaza Mayor, with the fine town hall at one end and right next to it the elegant stone building that is Los Usias. It opened in 2007, and is still fresh and smart, with very friendly staff. Our room looked out directly on to the square, and the lively terrace below, where a great €15 dinner was served; on a hot Saturday evening, it was the real hub of the town's life. No car park, but no problem in parking directly alongside the hotel - although we had to move the car by 1000 on the Sunday morning to make way for the splendid Corpus Christi festival that was getting under way. The bells of the town hall and church provide an evocative backdrop, and fortunately do not continue through the night. The roads north from here provide brilliant open-road driving, and criss-cross amazing reservoirs such as the Embalse de Sirena.