{"id":6369,"date":"2021-08-19T12:53:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T12:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/?p=6369"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:55:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T14:55:49","slug":"chronicle-casona-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/chronicle-casona-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Cr\u00f3nica, Premios Casona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hoards of Awards<\/b><\/h1>\n

As you probably know, our fabulous place is in rural Andalucia \u2013 in the Province of Almeria with its landscapes of outstanding beauty and more than 100 km of untamed coastline. We overlook the picturesque Sierra de los Filabres mountain range, and yet are in touching distance of the Tabernas desert, oft used for film locations, very close to the Rio\"Almeria\" Aguas – a protected natural area under which the rainwater has created a labyrinth of caves and underground cavities and only just over half an hour from the beautiful beaches of Mojacar. The area has been recognized for its\u00a0 diverse landscapes and geology, its climate, beautiful white villages and towns, its history\u00a0 \u00a0 dating back to the bronze age and its award winning olive oil, goat\u2019s cheese, wine and honey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pool\"<\/span>Award winning<\/b>? There\u2019s that throwaway adage that we read and barely acknowledge these days. Everything and everybody seems to be \u2018award winning\u2019. Famous Danish film star, Mads Mikkelsen once said <\/span>\u2018awards mean absolutely nothing if you don\u2019t get them. If you do get them, they\u2019re the best thing in the world\u2019.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I was in Australia many moons ago and every single bar, cafe, restaurant, bottle of wine, specialist beer, pie, cheese, museum, gallery and even toilet displayed an award they had won. It became a joke to us, the self-effacing poms, if something didn\u2019t have an award. And, of course, the awards themselves became meaningless to us \u2013 the plethora of\u00a0 awards make the accolade seem trivial.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why bother offering up awards for things? Well, aside from the obvious publicity it can afford the award bestower and receiver, as Donovan once said, <\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/i>Honours and awards are very interesting, and I truly accept them. I have very high regard for what they mean. What they mean is that they’re pointing to the work\u2019<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They can make you feel that all the hard work is worth it. So when we recently won the\"Chronicle <\/span>Tripadvisor\u00a0Traveller\u2019s Choice award <\/b>it meant all of our hard work to make sure that our guest\u2019 experience at Casona Granado has paid off. Our guests directly gifted us this award through their bountiful feedback online. It\u2019s easy to glean poor reviews online. Not so easy to inspire folk to be so generous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As one said, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Absolutely wonderful restaurant and hotel. The food was excellent. The rooms large and clean – immaculate. The owners and staff are so helpful, attentive and more than kind. Fabulous place I recommend highly\u201d.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The award means that, despite a really challenging year, we\u2019re in the top 10% of hotels worldwide <\/b>\u2013 yes worldwide \u2013 not just Spain, or Andalusia, or Almeria province: <\/span>Around the whole world <\/span>–\u00a0 who consistently deliver the best service and stay for our guests. Of our nearly 100 reviews on Tripadvisor, we have a resounding score of 5 (out of 5)! Take a peek if you don\u2019t believe me! <\/span>https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Hotel_Review-g187429-d10862822-Reviews-Casona_Granado-Almeria_Province_of_Almeria_Andalucia.html<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Which other awards have been bestowed on us? Well, we really, \"Travelreally must vaunt the amazing Rachel Frewin-Morley from Casona Granado \u2013 winner of the <\/span>Travel & Hospitality Awards Hotel Manager of the Year.<\/b> Winners of this award are one of more than 4,000 managers who can demonstrate their uniqueness, quality of services and facilities and exceptional levels of customer care across a number of categories, and they go through a scrupulous selection procedure. What a complete and utter star \u2013 especially in such a trying year for the industry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"PremiosGolly! There\u2019s more! We were also the winners of the <\/span>Best Mountain View Boutique Hotel from the same Travel & Hospitality Awards, <\/b>the <\/span>Best Start-Up business from Premios Del Levante Almeriense <\/b>and to add to these accolades, we score <\/span>9.2 in booking.com\u2019s reviews, <\/b>and\u00a0we\u2019re the number <\/span>one speciality lodgings in Almeria on Tripadvisor.<\/b><\/p>\n

We do work exceptionally hard to make sure our guests have a great stay. We don\u2019t work exceptionally hard to win awards \u2013 they are an excellent bi-product and mean that other people recognize our hard work \u2013 a fantastic pat on the back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Ray \u2013 Manageress Extraordinaire (and not just according to us)<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"As we have just mentioned, Ray (Rachel) Morley, who, along with husband, Clayton, runs Casona Granado has just won Travel & Hospitality Awards Hotel Manager of the Year for boutique hotels.\u00a0 A very worthy winner, in my view. So I thought I\u2019d dig deeper and find out what makes an exceptional hotel Manager tick. So, I managed to find time in her hectic schedule and went along and asked some probing(!) questions.<\/p>\n

B: Don\u2019t be shy, why do you think you won this award against all the other boutique hotel managers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Here’s Rachel! With Clayton and their girls (and dog!, cat etc!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

R: To be honest, I really have no idea! I wasn\u2019t even aware of the award until I heard I\u2019d won it! But,\u00a0I\u00a0suppose that an answer to that question could be that I don\u2019t really think of myself as a manager \u2013 more as a carer. I love it when people enjoy themselves, so we try to think of every comfort we can possibly offer them. People like to feel special, and that comes with, for example, simple things like knowing their names, what their preferences are \u2013 for example whether they like tea or coffee in the morning.<\/p>\n

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B: What do you think defines a truly excellent hotel manager?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: Attention to detail, empathy, truly listening, smiley, patient, caring\u00a0and lots more besides! It\u2019s a difficult job at times but with so, so many great rewards.<\/p>\n

B: Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to the award – how did you get there? Who was important to the process? Any specific struggles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: That\u2019s tricky! I think after seeing our two receptionists who were green from uni, looking after guests and not getting it quite right, it was evident that a person with more life experience was needed and Clay volunteered me for the job!<\/p>\n

All the team are important as I was dealing with the reservation system, clients and also our extranet partners, so initially it was overwhelming but little by little it got easier.<\/p>\n

B: Are here any areas of the operation you still would like to improve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: There\u2019s always room for improvement, and we love to get feedback from our guests \u2013 both good and bad, so that we can make tweaks here and there. But, the one improvement that the Hotel could do with is a cloned me!<\/p>\n

\"\"B: Can you think of a specific turning point in your journey to brilliance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: Brilliance is still a way off!<\/p>\n

B: Is there anyone in the trade who inspires you? Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: Amanda Hogan Smith , my fellow witch! [We\u2019ll meet Amanda in just a second!]<\/p>\n

\u00a0B: Can you recall a particularly difficult moment in your career as hotel manager – how did you deal with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: I do remember one incident a long while ago where we had an overbooking. It was a nightmare, but luckily all beautifully resolved because they ended up staying in the family\u2019s cortijo.<\/p>\n

Rest assured, we have since changed our reservation system \u2013 our new system is a dream to use!<\/p>\n

B: How is your personality reflected in your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: Definitely my\u00a0OCD is a great help with the cleanliness of the hotel,\u00a0people love absolutely immaculate rooms \u2013 especially nowadays with COVID. Being a control freak also helps!!.<\/p>\n

B: What\u2019s next for Casona Granado?<\/strong><\/p>\n

R: Well….we have started a little project in collaboration with some of the urban hotels in Almeria province to promote Almeria\u2019s interior as a destination. Often folk want to spend time both seeing the cities and towns, then spend some downtime in the rural interior. Why not have a two-venue holiday?! This could be pretty exciting – for us, and for our guests.<\/p>\n

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And here\u2019s Ray\u2019s fellow \u2018witch\u2019 and cook extraordinaire – Amanda.<\/h2>\n

What do you have to say for yourself Amanda?!<\/h3>\n

\"\"Hi! I’m Amanda ‘staff member of the month\u2019! It\u2019s been 25 years and I’ve still not made my mind up whether or not I like working in the hospitality trade and yet here I am !!<\/p>\n

Seeing my name pop up along with Clayton and \u00a0 \u00a0 Rachel on Trip Adviser and booking.com comments and reviews makes me realise that I’m where I’m meant to be and that I’m doing something right .<\/p>\n

The Albar team has shrunk over the years and yet we are still getting praised for all our hard work and top quality. So on that note I’d just like to say to all hotel restaurant guests Thank you! You make getting up in the morning worth it!<\/p>\n

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Eat yourself replete<\/h1>\n
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It goes without saying that we\u2019re interested in the local fare, after all, Casona Granado\u2019s ownz restaurant, Albar is celebrated for basing its menu on the stunning array of scrumptious and extraordinarily high quality provisions found locally. And the area doesn\u2019t disappoint.\u00a0 Already, we\u2019ve mentioned the divine and allergy-trouncing honey, the heavenly and creamy goat\u2019s cheese and the expertly blended and flavoursome olive oil for which the region is known. But, it doesn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n

Our Chef, Clayton Morley spends oodles of time searching for the highest quality ingredients for the Chef\u2019s Kitchen at Albar \u2013 our very own restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Diputacion de Almeria decided, a couple of years ago, to launch a quality Agrifood brand named, \u2018Sabores Almeria\u2019 (literally \u2013 flavours of Almeria), which brings \u2013 usually cottage industry and family run, but all high quality – catering establishments, shops, agri-food and fishing products together and attach an excellence label to\u00a0 \u00a0 products that earn the mark. Spanish singer songwriter\/actor, David Bisbal, who hails from the region, launched the brand with a mouthwatering video which you can watch here:\u00a0 https:\/\/saboresalmeria.com\/informacion\/videos<\/a>. He\u2019s the main brand ambassador now too.<\/p>\n

All so that we can celebrate the exquisite food and drink goodies from the region. Of course, Casona Granado are a part of this \u2013 sourcing quality local and gourmet ingredients, produce and flavours from the area is utterly paramount in our endeavours to bring you the most fabulously tasty, fresh and\u00a0 flavourful fare that completely smacks of Almeria and make you want to come back time and time again for more!<\/p>\n

Just in case you need more convincing, we\u2019re already rated as one of the best restaurants in the\u00a0 \u00a0 region and our fantastic reviews tell all:<\/p>\n

\"Fire<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stayed at the hotel, and ate at the restaurant every evening. We are real foodies…so were thrilled that we had landed in foodie heaven! The food is authentic, creative and packed full of flavour and the paella is amazing\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

And<\/p>\n

\u201cDelicious, authentic, made fresh to order (From scratch) Pizza, cooked in a traditional pizza oven … Complimented by a superb local ” Filabres ” (Artisanal brewery) Cerveza – or two !<\/span><\/p>\n

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Under a big blue Andalucian sky, enjoying gorgeous gardens, and olive groves views, on a beautiful al fresco dining terrace, what’s not to like? More olives? Tapas? – ”Yes Please” Very, very, yummy lunch time heaven ! The hotel look fabulous – Must give it a whirl !!!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There are more fabulous critiques of the hotel and restaurant on our website at: casonagranado.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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July \u2013 just take me to the ocean! (Or not…read on!)<\/h1>\n
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\u201cIf I had my way, I\u2019d remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead\u201d, said Roald Dahl.<\/p>\n

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A normal-sized geode (thanks to LW Stones for image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July and August are often hot, hot, hot in Southern Spain. And you\u2019ve had enough of sunning it on the beach, visiting the towns and cities and lazing by the pool. What is there to do in July in our region?<\/p>\n

One of our newest attractions comes from one of the main economies of the\u00a0 region \u2013 mining. Yawn, yawn \u2013 what could possibly interest me with mining? Well….wait for it..no, seriously, wait…..a fantastic geode \u2013 less than an hour from the hotel and right on the periphery of our wonderful province.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a \u2018geode\u2019? I hear you ask. Well, geodes are rock structures with an\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 internal cavity lined with mineral materials \u2013 in our case, gypsum crystals. You \u00a0 often find them in mineral markets and in specialty stores you can see and buy them: hollow rocks overlayed by attractive crystals, usually quartz. Their size is\u00a0 typically a few centimetres.\u00a0But, Almeria\u2019s geode is not merely a few centimetres. In typical Almerian style, our geode is probably the largest in the world and it\u2019s basically a crystal cave \u2013 of eight metres length, and around two metres in height. There are half-metre to two metre sized crystal prisms covering the entire cavity. To say it\u2019s stunning is a huge understatement.<\/p>\n

It was discovered in an old silver mine over twenty years ago and was only recently opened to the \u00a0 public so that scientists could first check that it was safe for visitors, and, importantly, that having visitors there wouldn\u2019t, in any way, damage it. Studies\u00a0 complete, the geode opened to the public in August 2019, whilst a process designed at the University of Almeria, controls the temperature, humidity and CO2 and monitors visitor numbers.<\/p>\n

You are guided through the main galleries of the \u2018Mina Rica\u2019 (Rich Mine) by specialist guides who will point out the most interesting details and tell you the fabulous history.<\/p>\n

The tours can be carried out in Spanish or English, but there are audio guides in other languages too.<\/p>\n

Prices (at last time of checking) are \u20ac22 with reductions for different category groups (and for large groups). Tickets should be bought in advance from the website below.<\/p>\n

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The Pulpi Geode -The largest in Europe. A bit bigger than your avarage geoge…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Summer opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30 to 13.30 and from 15.00 to 20.00, closed on Mondays.<\/p>\n

To take a closer look, check availability and book your tickets go to: http:\/\/geodapulpi.es \u2013 available in Spanish and English.<\/p>\n

Honestly \u2013 well worth a visit. Absolutely \u00a0 \u00a0 stunning.<\/p>\n

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And…finally\u00a0 …what\u2019s coming up at Casona Granado?<\/h1>\n

Seis Manos \u2013 Six Hands<\/h1>\n
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\u00a0A shared passion for local ingredients<\/h2>\n
\"Chef
Yolanda Garcia – Michelin Chef and passionate promoter of ‘wild’ ingredients<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some time soon (COVID allowing), Six Hands will be busy working in the kitchens at Casona Granado to bring even more magic to the restaurant. \u00a0 \u00a0 Michelin star chefs, Yolanda Garcia, the chef of \u2018wild\u2019 recipes and Crist\u00f3bal Mu\u00f1oz, head chef at Michelin starred Ambivium de Pe\u00f1afiel restaurant\u00a0 will join our very own Clayton Morley to\u00a0 produce a menu at Albar that features Sabores Almeria and totally local products.<\/p>\n

The evening is all about introducing the\u00a0 Gastroconciencia project – a\u00a0 message of love for nature, its products, but mainly for the\u00a0 people who make it possible!<\/p>\n

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Yolanda introduces a vast array of wild plants into her dishes, giving them character and allowing us to see a broader picture of culinary delights.<\/p>\n

\"Chef
Crist\u00f3bal Mu\u00f1oz – Head Chef at Michelin starred Ambivium de Pe\u00f1afiel Restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Almeria Chef, Crist\u00f3bel Munoz hails from Lubrin and is passionate about the rural world and local produce, which he imbues in his amazing dishes.<\/p>\n

Clay said, \u201cFor me, cooking goes beyond putting ingredients, a recipe on a plate, in addition to flavour and health, I consider gastronomy a transforming axis of the world where each action has an impact: environmental, economic, climate change, sustainability, trade fair, gender …\u201d<\/p>\n

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He continues, \u201cBecause of that awareness, when designing a menu, my starting point in addition to the essentialism of Almer\u00eda and the enhancement of our very rich cookbook, is the extreme temporality that our land and sea offers us at all times, betting on our garden, or km O products, low-impact and sustainable artisanal fishing, local livestock, in addition to other exoticisms such as the use of wild plants from a territory as virgin as Filabres, thus supporting our farmers, fishermen and ranchers, protecting our biodiversity, because by doing so, we will achieve human, environmental and gastronomic wealth, returning our gratitude to nature\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Chef
Our very own Clayton Morley – Chef Albar – Casona Granado’s very own restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The evening will be invitation and ticket only and is designed to promote the wonderful tastes and flavours of Almeria and, of course, to support local charities.<\/p>\n

More information as soon as we have it!<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hoards of Awards As you probably know, our fabulous place is in rural Andalucia \u2013 in the Province of Almeria with its landscapes of outstanding beauty and more than 100 km of untamed coastline. We overlook the picturesque Sierra de los Filabres mountain range, and yet are in touching distance of the Tabernas desert, oft […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6369"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7369,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6369\/revisions\/7369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casonagranado.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}