Hotel Sonsoles Ávila
Garden hotel with its own course, minutes from the walls
About this hotel
Hotel Sonsoles Ávila sits on the edge of the granite plateau just outside the city, close enough to the eleventh-century walls for an easy drive in but far enough to trade the old town's stone streets for lawns, a golf course and an outdoor pool. The grounds are the draw here: gardens wrap the property, the restaurant and café look out over open space rather than a street, and the golf course tagged to this stay starts within a few kilometres, giving early risers a round before the day-trip crowds reach the ramparts. Rooms are straightforward and comfortable, with family options and the standard four-star amenities, but the setting is what separates this property from a hotel inside the walls: quiet, green and built around the course and the pool rather than the cathedral square.
- Outdoor swimming pool
- On-site golf course access
- Restaurant and café
- Free WiFi throughout
Our take
This suits golfers and families who want space, a pool and a course without giving up a short drive into a UNESCO old town. The garden setting and on-site facilities make it an easy base for a slower few days built around tee times and short trips into Ávila rather than a walking-heavy city break. Travelers who want to step straight out of their room onto the cathedral square, or who are not driving, should book inside the walls instead, since this property depends on a short car journey for the historic centre.
- ✓Book an early tee time between June and September, the meseta sun is sharpest by midday even at this altitude.
- ✓Drive into the old town for dinner at least once, the walk from the walls to the restaurant strip is short once you are inside.
- ✓Ask for a garden-facing room if quiet matters more than a pool view, the two sides of the property differ more than you would expect.
Why we love it
- Golf course within three kilometres of the property
- Gardens and outdoor pool instead of a street-front terrace
- Family rooms alongside the standard doubles
- Short drive to the eleventh-century city walls
Why guests love itThe pool and the lawns kept the kids entertained between rounds, which made this an easier base than a hotel packed inside the old town's narrow streets would have been. Breakfast at the café looked out over the garden rather than a street, and the short drive into Ávila for the walls and the cathedral was simple enough to do most afternoons. Rooms were plain but comfortable, and the golf course being a few minutes away meant early tee times without a long transfer eating into the day.