The NH Collection Amistad Cordoba, a splendid hotel within easy walking distance of historical landmarks, ensures delightful dining and pleasant dreams
By Randy Mink
Ensconced in the picturesque Jewish Quarter, the four-star NH Collection Amistad Cordoba made the perfect base camp for my explorations of Cordoba’s sprawling old town, the highlight of my recent travels in the south of Spain.
As soon as I passed through the lobby and walked out the door, there I was—in the quiet Plaza Maimonides, ready to prowl the cobbled lanes threading the city’s historic center, a maze of whitewashed buildings dating as far back as the Middle Ages. The Bullfighting Museum, housed in two old palaces, holds court across the way. A short stroll leads to the Mezquita, or Mosque-Cathedral, the greatest legacy of the city’s Muslim past.
Occupying a pair of 17th and 18th century mansions, the 108-room NH Collection Amistad Cordoba has two outdoor courtyards, one of them with an Arab star-shaped swimming pool. Islamic ornamental and architectural touches grace other public areas as well. (At the time of writing, the larger courtyard was closed for renovation.)
The property offers a variety of guest room categories, including rooms with private patio. My French balcony looked out on remains of a wall that separated the Jewish Quarter from the rest of the city. Other rooms overlook the courtyards or Plaza Maimonides.
My third-floor nest had all the amenities you’d expect from an upscale hotel—refrigerated mini-bar, coffee machine, magnifying make-up mirror, robe and slippers, and turndown service with chocolate. I especially liked the walk-in rainfall shower.
Savoring Regional Specialties in the Hotel Restaurant At one lunch in the restaurant, our group feasted on the five-course Cordoba tasting menu, which featured typical local specialties. We all loved the salmorejo, a cold tomato soup thickened with bread and topped with bits of hard-boiled egg and ham. After a salad and creamy oxtail croquettes, the main course was flamenquín, a fried roll of sliced pork and ham with cheese and red peppers. We finished with pastel cordobés, a sweet, squash-filled pastry. The price was 37 euros per person, two drinks included.
Photos by Randy Mink. The restaurant’s menu features typical local specialties, including salmorejo, a cold tomato soup thickened with bread and topped with bits of hard-boiled egg and ham.
The NH Collection’s cultural/gastronomic package in Cordoba is part of the brand’s Spain Designed for Feeling program of special experiences. (www.spaindesignedforfeeling.com/categoria/lifestyle). The plan includes both the tasting menu and a guided four-hour tour visiting the Mezquita, Jewish Quarter and Viana Palace.
The hotel’s lavish breakfast buffet offered salmorejo (a morning treat for one group member who couldn’t get enough of it) along with a bounty of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, juices and baked goods. As a sweet tooth, I went for the chocolate tart wedges and sugar-dusted squares of pastel cordobés.
A concierge in the lobby assists travelers with making the most of their Cordoba stay, and the front desk gives out a detailed list of museums and other attractions with opening hours and admission prices.
NH Collection Hotels & Resorts is the high-end brand of Minor Hotels, which has lodgings across six continents. I had not been aware of the chain, but after stays in Cordoba and at Madrid’s NH Collection Palacio de Tepa days before, I am now a big fan.
Photos of courtyard, guest room (Superior category), and lobby, courtesy of NH Collection Hotels & Resorts.
For more information on NH Collection Hotels & Resorts, log on to www.nhcollection.com.
Wishing you had planned a getaway this past spring break? It’s not too early to start planning for next year, and to think big with a European adventure!
By Alison Ramsey
Stateside spring break destinations abound, but consider using that week of vacation time to explore three German-language European countries—Switzerland, Austria, and Germany—all easily reachable from each other by train. The Eurail Global Pass allows travelers to seamlessly cross country borders by rail using a single scannable QR code pass in the app. It’s a fantastic opportunity to maximize your time abroad and visit multiple countries all in one overseas trip.
Eurail train travel is scenic and comfortable, and the well-designed Eurail app makes it easy to view train schedules and plan your trip.
Time in the mountains is essential if you’re headed to the Alpine countries of Switzerland and Austria. Downhill skiing in the Alps can be exhilarating, great exercise, and a fun social activity—as proven by the millions of visitors to throng ski resorts like Davos Klosters in Switzerland and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria each year. Both destinations are part of the Best of the Alps organization’s carefully curated collection of classic mountain resorts and offer excellent ski schools.
A 2.5-hour train ride from the Zürich Airport, the 13,000-inhabitant Alpine village of Davos is the highest city in Switzerland, at 5,147 feet above sea level. Its Ski School Davos, part of the Swiss Ski and Snowboard School, is the biggest and oldest ski school in the country. Students here can learn from patient, professional instructors, who focus on safety and ensure basic skills are mastered before introducing more difficult maneuvers or terrain. Experienced skiers have 157 miles of ski trails on 81 different slopes to explore over five separate ski areas, including the iconic Parsenn skiing and hiking area, famous for its wide pistes and long runs.
Private and group lessons are offered at Ski School Davos, with ski equipment rental available at Top Secret Ski & Snowboard Shop, directly across the street from Bolgen Plaza.
The Alps are inviting even to those not wearing skis. For a fun take on tobogganing, try sledging down the 2.2-mile Rinerhorn run in Davos. Take the ski lift to the top and pilot your wooden sledge down the steep and curving 33-bend slope—one of the most challenging sledging runs around—braking with knees bent and feet flat on the snow and changing direction by shifting weight and pulling the steering rope. It’s like high-speed Mario Kart in the mountains!
Rinerhorn has slopes for skiers and sledgers.
If you’re staying at the comfy mountain chalet Hotel Waldhuus in Davos, be sure to spend time in the large indoor pool and experience the Switzerland sauna lifestyle in their bio sauna, herbal sauna, or new Finnish sauna. Usually co-ed and textile-free, sauna visitors in Switzerland use towels simply for hygiene purposes—not as a cover-up, but to sit on so sweat doesn’t touch the wood. Sauna usage is linked to many health benefits and can lower blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health and circulation, reduce soreness after exercise, promote muscle recovery, stimulate immune system support, reduce stress, and eliminate toxins. A swim and sauna session after a full day of activity feels physically and mentally healing, especially in a clean and well-maintained facility.
Unwind in Hotel Waldhuus’ comfortable accommodations with terrific spa facilities, and try the delicious tiramisu and enormous fresh breakfast spread in the Waldhuus Restaurant.
For a taste of the Austrian Alps, a 3.5-hour train ride brings you to St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, where you can make your home base the classy Hotel Schwarzer Adler. Here, white-glove dinner service offers perfectly flavored and artfully plated meat and vegan dishes, homemade comfort foods including butter Spätzle (egg noodle pasta), and delectable desserts like “chocolate 5 ways,” with Austrian wines for pairing. You can swim in the outdoor sky pool under the pure mountain air or unwind indoors in the relaxation room, saunas, or sparkling indoor pool. Treat yourself to a spa package from the massage menu or simply sip an espresso on your hotel room balcony with a view of snowy peaks and a soundtrack of church bells and birdsong.
The Schwarzer Adler Hotel provides luxurious dining experiences and relaxation outlets.
Skischule Arlberg is the award-winning largest ski school in Austria, founded by Hannes Schneider, the father of the modern “Arlberg technique” skiing style. Before Schneider’s development of this forward semi-squatting posture, the trend was to stand erect with rigid knees, a position derived from Nordic or cross-country skiing, which wasn’t a practical stance for the steep Tyrolian terrain. Ski instructors at Skischule Arlberg keep lessons fun and stress-free, moving at the students’ pace and providing encouragement without pushing too far beyond current comfort levels. For those unaccustomed to ski life, it’s an excellent introduction to what many Alpine locals grow up learning from a young age.
Ski School Arlberg prepares skiers to achieve their athletic goals.
An incredible highlight of St. Anton—no skis needed—is up on the very peak of Valluga, at 9,222 miles above sea level. Ride the “Galzigbahn” ski lift to the first mountain station, where you can snack at the Galzig Restaurant, shop in the ski store, and watch athletes descend the slopes. Then ascend with the “Vallugabahn I” lift through fog and clouds to the Vallugagrat station and the Valluga View Restaurant. One more ride in the small “Vallugabahn II” cable car brings you to the pinnacle lookout point—a circular railed platform open to the intense sun and whipping wind, with breathtaking views of snow-covered Alps in every direction. You have a clear panorama from Lake Constance to Switzerland and the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. From here, you can see the extraordinary beauty of the glacier-carved gorges as well as the splendid organization of the ski resort, with numerous lifts in motion, skiers gracefully carving patterns into the snow, and sky-high facilities with everything you might need for your day in the heights.
Unbeatable Valluga views are a highlight of St. Anton am Arlberg.
Don’t leave the Alps without an après-ski experience! St. Anton am Arlberg holds many opportunities to unwind and let loose after a day of athletics. You can party hard with club music and tasty drinks at any number of après-ski huts, or partake in a casual post-ski meal at the rustic Sennhütte restaurant right on the slopes—its entrance marked by an enormous pair of Lederhosen. Either ski down the hill right to the restaurant or take a free bus trip there from the town center and hike up the WunderWanderWeg (wonder walking way) pathway from the bus stop. The back patio balcony affords an outstanding view into the mountains—a brilliant backdrop for sampling Käsespätzle (thick cheesy noodles topped with crispy fried onions), Schnitzel and Pommes (fried meat cutlets and French fries), and gulping a refreshing beer or Skiwasser (“ski water”—an alcohol-free blend of raspberry syrup, lemon juice, and water or seltzer).
Giant lederhosen and the WunderWanderWeg lead the way to Sennhütte.
Any beer fans or German-language–lovers know that Bavaria is a nearby European destination worth visiting, so travel by Eurail from St. Anton 3.5 hours northeast and you’ll end up in Munich, Germany. A short walk from the Munich main train station through a Mediterranean district brings you to the fresh and inviting greenery-filled lobby of the KOOS Hotel. A prime location near Karlsplatz bus and streetcar stops, the KOOS Hotel is also within easy walking distance of the Altstadt, Munich’s medieval old town. KOOS Hotel’s vegan-friendly personal care products in the rooms and numerous vegetarian and vegan breakfast selections are a welcome perk for those with specific preferences and dietary needs. The hotel is also a role model for sustainability and is entirely paperless, with a digital check-in process and novel phone-activated room entry in lieu of a room key. This family- and dog-friendly haven near the city center has all you need for your stay, including an in-room washing machine and clothesline for freshening up travel clothes.
Environmental consideration and convenience are key at KOOS Hotel.
If you’re looking to buy some “new-to-you” threads, consider a walk to Holareidulijö traditional Bavarian clothing store. Affable and knowledgeable shop owner, Michaela Klein, lovingly restores and resells used Dirndl, Lederhosen, hats, vests, and myriad Bavarian accessories and jewelry, while offering an assortment of new shirts and socks to match her wares. During Oktoberfest season, Klein’s store and the extra garage unit in back are packed with shoppers searching rows of racks for colorful festival outfits and drinking the free beer she offers during her busiest weeks.
Holareidulijö is a treasure trove of authentic, high-quality refurbished Trachten.
For a fantastic meal and some Augustiner beer or a selection from about 160 different wines, head to Xaver’s—a stylish restaurant and brew pub with a warm wood interior and a mix of small and large tables for date night or Stammtisch (“regulars’ table,” where friends recurrently gather to eat, drink, and socialize). Here, young and old alike are drawn to the restaurant motto’s “refreshingly traditional” vibe that features fun and friendly staff clad in traditional Bavarian costume (including genial owner Xaver himself, a sommelier and one of several restaurant-owning brothers). The menu features classic Bavarian dishes reimagined with a fresh take using locally farmed ingredients, as well as innovative entrees that change every six weeks. The lively music and cheerful atmosphere make you want to come back and be part of the scene— same time next week.
With a fresh take on Old World style, Xaver’s serves locally grown foods, Augustiner beer, and wines galore.
Spend a sunny day walking through the English Gardens to see brave wet-suited surfers on the man-made river waves and stop at the Biergarten am Chinesischen Turm (beer garden at the Chinese tower) for a fresh-baked pretzel and a mug of beer, Maracuja (passion fruit) juice with water, or Johannisbeere (black currant) juice with water. Kids can play on the jungle gym while adults chat and people-watch, all while listening to the lively oompah band playing from the second level of the tower.
On a nice day, the English Gardens fills with picnickers, volleyball players, surfers, and groups of friends.
For a dose of education, head to the Deutsches Museum, one of the world’s largest natural science and technology museums. Through hands-on experiments and interactive exhibits, explore the physics of light and sound, observe chemical reactions, and learn about human body physiology. An enormous aviation center and historic airplane hangar allow visitors to climb into cockpits and pilot model airplanes. In the Musical Instruments exhibition, try your hand at playing the theremin—an electronic musical instrument played by placing hands in the air between two antennas that sense the hands’ positions and control frequency and volume.
Deutsches Museum interactive exhibits make learning fun.
After two nights in each city—Davos, Switzerland; St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria; and Munich, Germany—a flight out of Munich Airport concludes an adventure exploring towns in three different countries all within one week. Thanks to Eurail’s flexible Global Pass, it is a fantastic way to get a taste of multiple countries with just one set of airline flights!
Eurail offers speedy and smooth transportation, and window seats to beautiful scenery.
Looking for more ski opportunities? Visit bestofthealps.com to learn more about top ski resorts that help define and cultivate Alpine culture. Best of the Alps is a collection of 9 Alpine resorts that showcase mountain village magic and charm in Switzerland, Austria, France, and Italy. For more than 30 years, the Best of the Alps organization has encouraged exploration of the cultures, communities, traditions, natural wonders, and distinctions of these remarkable Alpine destinations: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Megève in France; Cortina d’Ampezzo and Courmayeur in Italy; Crans-Montana and Davos Klosters in Switzerland; and Kitzbühel, Lech Zürs am Arlberg, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.
European Traveler 