Aire de Bardenas Hotel

We did love our stay at this unique stop which offers a unique experience. The outside bath was really fantastic, very relaxing and a great calming view. The food in the restaurant was delicious and service friendly. The bedroom was clean and modern decor suiting the environment. Overall loved it but it is expensive and felt it could up the experience in areas to feel the price is more justified. Pool could do with comfier loungers. They were too short for my husband so he couldn’t lie down without lying on a bar or having his feet off the edge. He’s only 6ft so not super tall. The only other thing we felt would be good is perhaps a little more elaboration on the experience ie story telling about the night sky, wind farms, surrounding area as we arrive. Could have made it feel more special etc we told them about the blue moon not the other way round, think it could have been an exciting thing to tell guests as they arrive, it would sell the uniqueness a bit more as this is what really the price tag. lends itself to. Maybe some telescopes or star gazing areas just a little more to add to the stay. However overall it was lovely and a great memory.

Very unique experience. I read the mixed reviews and can appreciate both sides: it is definitely expensive, but if you get the right room and come at the right time (off peak) it is worth it. Rooms: we got upgraded to a larger view room and had amazing windows to landscape and sunset/sunrise. Pool: very nice but not useable in September as it is too cold (as expected). Overall concept of the environment is very cool and unique, a bit like a moon base. I always wanted to try and do not regret doing it. Restaurant and food: - both dinner and breakfast were ok, but not impressive for the price of similar experiences in Spain. I would say average at best. - sausage grilling in the afternoon was a nice touch with a glass of wine from the bar. Overall it takes an effort to get there and given the price, one would expect more. For us it was a nice experience because of the room upgrade, but I also get why some people are disappointed with a price/value ratio. Overall, a very unique experience of the owner’s unique vision.

Gorgeous hotel. Very friendly staff, but virtually zero service. Nobody warned us that the Bubble rooms are too hot to bear as early as 8:30 in the morning and no turn dwn service made us responsible for the necessary climate control at night. Only one key to our Bubble, so cld not split up to leave/return to the locked bubble area. We had to cart our own baggage, figure out the a/c and outdoor tub on our own, and drinks at the ‘free’ welcome bbq were not free.

Absolutely tremendous place. Staff were amazingly friendly and polite. This is not a cheap stay but we pushed the boat out and enjoyed every bit of our stay. Highly recommend the 4x4 desert trip.

Disappointing experience for the asked price, hotel not located in the Middle of nowhere as we could expect, but views to road , windmills. City is near, light contamination at night. Bathtube on the exterior of the room, very good idea, but so inconfortable, especially for 2.

Just loved the design of this hotel - so cool and minimalist. Great vibe - cool yet relaxed. Our room was v comfortable, relaxing and quiet - great sleep. Loved breakfast although while dinner great quality none of the dinner food wowed us re taste.||The hotel is in the middle of nowhere so better to dine in, not loads to see close by so one for a couple of nights of relax, the v picturesque bardenas national park is a short drive away.||Great service and the highlight for us was the local sausages you could cook on a fire pit between 7 and 8 each evening, was fun and brought everyone together over a pre dinner drink.||Nice pool but no view.

The hotel is overpriced. The ballon rooms are small and literally ballon, like camping tents but inflated with motor, which is noisy in the night. You can hear your friend speaking from inside to outside like face to face. The staff was not professional and forgot to give us the right key for the room. We had to wait in the cold wind. Despite of the low price/quality rate, they charge for everything. When we think we are getting closed to the nature with our pet after our arrival, 30euro extra for the pet. Apart from the price that we paid for the breakfast, 7euro per person if you want them bring to the room which was not mentioned before when they asked us. Besides, since there was no table in the room, we had to finish our breakfast on the tiny table in the yard.

So far I have only given positive reviews but unfortunately the experience at Aire de Bardenas was so frustrating that this will be my first negative one. Let me start with the good things first: there is a pool with surprisingly cold water which feels very refreshing in the heat. It is also nice and quiet and close to the national park / semi-desert Bardenas Reales. Now the overwhelmingly negative part is that in my mind, the hotel is severely overpriced. We paid over EUR800 for one night in a cabin with an outside bathtub, breakfast and a buggy tour. Firstly, the cabin: we arrived and there was no view at all. You have a small outside area with the promised bathtub which is essentially walled off for privacy (also meaning no views - see the first picture). We subsequently asked for a cabin with a view - the only one available was one without a bathtub for the same (very high) price, which we accepted. This new cabin at that point (around 7.30pm) was 33 degrees Celsius, but the receptionist turned on the aircon and flagged it would take some time to cool down. We were offered drinks at the bar while we waited, which we took, alongside a complementary barbecue with some typical Spanish sausages that hotel guests could enjoy. We didn’t stay very long and instead used the time to do a short sunset hike (expect it to be very hot but worth it - and also note that it is definitely worth exploring the Cuevas de Arguedas, which are caves in which people lived until the 60ies). Upon our return around 10.30pm, we went to our new room to discover that it was still 31 degrees Celsius (see the second picture). We went to the reception but no one was present, so we asked a waiter to call the receptionist who came after some waiting time. We explained that we can’t sleep in this heat, so she asked if we wanted to stay in our original cabin (with the bathtub) instead. We agreed, asked if that meant that we keep both rooms and she said yes (ie at least we could view the sunrise from the other room the next morning). We briefly evaluated cancelling the room completely and asking for a refund, but decided against it given it was so late already (a bad decision in hindsight). We ended up using the pool and the bath tub, which was nice but unfortunately based on the many lights, the sky and the stars were not as clear as you would hope in such a place. Next morning: we had a buggy tour at 9am so the hotel allowed us to have breakfast at 7.45am (even though it typically starts at 9am). Breakfast was good, although nothing special, especially considering the price. They also allowed us to postpone our check out until after the buggy tour because no one booked the cabin for that night. This was great because you get very dusty during the tour and it allows you to shower upon return. We then went to the buggy tour with Bardenas Offroad which was a lot of fun and highly recommended. Importantly, I want to flag to best book directly with them. I was told over the phone - by the hotel receptionist - that a buggy tour for 2 people would be EUR190 including tax. When we returned to the hotel to pay, the total was EUR290. I flagged to the receptionist, that going forward, when they confirm appointments via email, they should please add prices as well to avoid miscommunication. Overall, it would be a nice 3-4 star hotel if it were priced as such as well. Of course we knew the prices (at least of the cabin…) from the start; however, as a result of these prices, we just expected so much more. It seems that the staff is aware of such frustrations and has become numb to guests who flag these points. It’s been very disappointing.