Beyond the Island
Snow, Flamenco and Churros in Granada
We know, we know — this isn't Mallorca. But when one of our favourite contributors swapped the tramuntana for the Sierra Nevada to celebrate her birthday in Granada, we simply had to find out more. Lucy Hawkins details her whirlwind few days of Moorish palaces, flamenco caves, and unexpected ski slopes — the perfect antidote to a wet and windy February on the island. Only an hour away, and worlds apart.
_edited.jpg)
By Lucy Hawkins
01/03/26
It is mid-February and my birthday. My allergies are kicking in, processionary caterpillars are rife and the wind has not stopped howling. So my husband and I and our two young daughters decided to treat ourselves to a few days in Granada.
I’d really wanted to stay somewhere boutique in the old town but it was hard to find a room that sleeps 4, so instead we stayed at El Gran Hotel Luna Granada which was about a 20 minute walk away. With 366 rooms, a play area, indoor and outdoor pools, and 11,000 square meters of meeting space it wasn’t the romantic atmosphere I’d imagined for my first time in this city famed for the last great palace of Moorish Spain, but it actually worked as a great base with the kids.
After we’d checked in we headed to San Nicolás which is part of the old Arab quarter of the city, situated on a hill with views across the valley to the Alhambra palace. The streets are narrow and winding and you can sense the amount of feet that have trodden the cobbles beneath you for over a thousand years.
There are several mirador lookouts in San Nicolás, each packed with locals watching the sunset whilst being serenaded by Spanish guitarists. We were stunned to be able to get a table at El Balcón de San Nicolás, a restaurant with such incredible views of the Alhambra I felt certain the food would either be average or horribly expensive. But it was neither! The waiters were friendly and we ate steak, drank red wine and watched the palace glow as the sun went down. It was really special.
.jpeg)
The next day we went to the bus station to get the bus up the Sierra Nevada but due to the severity of the rain, wind and snow over the last few weeks we were told the road was closed to buses and people not staying on the mountain. We’d booked the kids a skiing lesson up there and they were pretty excited, so we decided to try our luck with an uber driver, taking the risk of being turned away at the checkpoint.
An hour’s drive high up the mountain carretera we sat in line crawling towards the police checkpoint, a sick feeling in all of our stomachs as cars were turned away. But miraculously they waved us through because of our ski school booking and on we went to Monachil, one of Spain’s largest ski resorts, which was now pretty much encased in snow. Cars were abandoned on the side of the road, buried in huge drifts. But that wasn’t stopping everyone there from having a whale of a time, it was a party vibe - the sky was blue and the snow had certainly dumped.
Collecting the kids’ skis and getting them to the right gondola was fairly chaotic but the Escuela Internacional de Esqui staff was friendly with multilingual instructors and as my husband took the kids up the mountain for their 3 hour private lesson, it was my job to find lunch. I had made a reservation at the glorious Sun Deck at El Lodge Sierra Nevada. It’s a premier ski-in/ski-out apres-ski spot but I wasn’t skiing, I was on foot and the paths had been completely hidden under the snow. I just had to mount the hills like a goat. Whilst everyone else arrived glamorously I burst through the door panting and with a wet backside.
But, who cares - my husband eventually arrived and we ate tacos and ceviche and had cocktails and watched everyone whizz by as the sun shone and we felt on top of the world. The girls loved their instructor, felt like they’d become better skiers and we were all buoyed by the fact that we had not given up and that luck had been on our side. I would recommend staying up in Monachil rather than risking a day trip if you have the time.
The next day was La Alhambra day. I’d been trying to get tickets for weeks but it was fully booked so I found a Granada Card online from Turismo Granada and not only did it enable us to enter La Alhambra’s general admission, Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces and Generalife – it also gave us access to science parks, museums and abbeys around the city and a bus to jump on to take you there! It was an incredible find and a reliable ticket source. Be warned that some online ticket vendors’ tickets are invalid and you will be refused entry.
We got to La Alhambra for 8.30am on a chilly morning as the sun began to rise and we pretty much had the gardens to ourselves. It was magical, we explored the Torre de las Damas and the Sultana’s Cypress Courtyard imagining we were Moorish princesses from Tales of the Alhambra and played hide and seek between the meticulously maintained Islamic, Hispanic, and Renaissance style gardens while water features flowed all around us.
By the time it had warmed up the crowds had descended and we sloped off into the old town to find coffee and churros. We explored the Alcaiceria, a dense, maze-like area that was historically the silk market (souk) where we bought spices, nuts and soaps. We wandered down Calle Navas, a street famous for its tapas where we were given free tapa with each order.
That night we went to the Sacromonte Caves, a cultural and artistic neighbourhood carved into the slopes of the Sacromonte hill, home to Gypsy and Flamenco communities for centuries. I couldn’t wait to show my daughters Flamenco and I prayed it felt authentic - and it absolutely did. We squeezed into this intimate little cave as the dancers, singers and guitarists whipped us into an incredible frenzy. When they finished the performance the whole room erupted. We’ve been shouting ¡olé! and stomping furiously ever since.
Something worth noting is that we really needed our Spanish language skills in Granada. It felt great to be able to use it and we were all quite encouraged by how forgiving they were of our attempts.
The following morning before we headed to the airport my husband distracted the kids while I ran to the nearest hammam/Turkish baths for a quick pamper. Birthday: Very rude not to.
I found Hammam Al Ándalus, a restored Arab bathhouse located at the foot of the Alhambra. It was 1.5 hours of water-based bliss. An underground labyrinth of hot, warm and cold baths where I could sip mint tea and stare lovingly at the tiles. I was taken to a room and exfoliated with a kessa – traditional textured glove – and then had a beautiful massage with gorgeously fragrant oils. I genuinely relaxed - people weren’t there to be seen, it wasn’t pretentious, it was dark and warm and I felt transported in time. There was none of that not knowing where to go or how to work the locker and no one handed me disposable knickers. I just glided around in my swimming costume dunking myself in different temperatures and feeling exotic.
I emerged smelling delicious, blinking furiously as I adjusted to the bright blue skies and bustled my way through the narrow streets to collect the family and whisk us back home.
It was a whirlwind of culture, snow, oranges and sunsets - and only an hour away.
El Gran Hotel Luna de Granada was €110 per night mid week off season for a family room sleeping 4.
A 3 hour private ski lesson at Escuela Internacional de Esqui (EIE) was €150 per group.
The Sun Deck at El Lodge is a ski-in/ski-out terrace restaurant open from 12-17h every day in ski season. Bookings are recommended.
A Granada Card is €50 per adult for a 24 hour pass and €12.59 per child aged 3-11.
A 45minute Arab bath, 15 minute Kessa and 30 minute massage cost €113 at the Hammam Al Andalus Granada
By Lucy Hawkins
01/03/26
The next day we went to the bus station to get the bus up the Sierra Nevada but due to the severity of the rain, wind and snow over the last few weeks we were told the road was closed to buses and people not staying on the mountain. We’d booked the kids a skiing lesson up there and they were pretty excited, so we decided to try our luck with an uber driver, taking the risk of being turned away at the checkpoint.
An hour’s drive high up the mountain carretera we sat in line crawling towards the police checkpoint, a sick feeling in all of our stomachs as cars were turned away. But miraculously they waved us through because of our ski school booking and on we went to Monachil, one of Spain’s largest ski resorts, which was now pretty much encased in snow. Cars were abandoned on the side of the road, buried in huge drifts. But that wasn’t stopping everyone there from having a whale of a time, it was a party vibe - the sky was blue and the snow had certainly dumped.
Collecting the kids’ skis and getting them to the right gondola was fairly chaotic but the Escuela Internacional de Esqui staff was friendly with multilingual instructors and as my husband took the kids up the mountain for their 3 hour private lesson, it was my job to find lunch. I had made a reservation at the glorious Sun Deck at El Lodge Sierra Nevada. It’s a premier ski-in/ski-out apres-ski spot but I wasn’t skiing, I was on foot and the paths had been completely hidden under the snow. I just had to mount the hills like a goat. Whilst everyone else arrived glamorously I burst through the door panting and with a wet backside.
But, who cares - my husband eventually arrived and we ate tacos and ceviche and had cocktails and watched everyone whizz by as the sun shone and we felt on top of the world. The girls loved their instructor, felt like they’d become better skiers and we were all buoyed by the fact that we had not given up and that luck had been on our side. I would recommend staying up in Monachil rather than risking a day trip if you have the time.
The next day was La Alhambra day. I’d been trying to get tickets for weeks but it was fully booked so I found a Granada Card online from Turismo Granada and not only did it enable us to enter La Alhambra’s general admission, Alcazaba, Nasrid Palaces and Generalife – it also gave us access to science parks, museums and abbeys around the city and a bus to jump on to take you there! It was an incredible find and a reliable ticket source. Be warned that some online ticket vendors’ tickets are invalid and you will be refused entry.
We got to La Alhambra for 8.30am on a chilly morning as the sun began to rise and we pretty much had the gardens to ourselves. It was magical, we explored the Torre de las Damas and the Sultana’s Cypress Courtyard imagining we were Moorish princesses from Tales of the Alhambra and played hide and seek between the meticulously maintained Islamic, Hispanic, and Renaissance style gardens while water features flowed all around us.
By the time it had warmed up the crowds had descended and we sloped off into the old town to find coffee and churros. We explored the Alcaiceria, a dense, maze-like area that was historically the silk market (souk) where we bought spices, nuts and soaps. We wandered down Calle Navas, a street famous for its tapas where we were given free tapa with each order.
That night we went to the Sacromonte Caves, a cultural and artistic neighbourhood carved into the slopes of the Sacromonte hill, home to Gypsy and Flamenco communities for centuries. I couldn’t wait to show my daughters Flamenco and I prayed it felt authentic - and it absolutely did. We squeezed into this intimate little cave as the dancers, singers and guitarists whipped us into an incredible frenzy. When they finished the performance the whole room erupted. We’ve been shouting ¡olé! and stomping furiously ever since.
Something worth noting is that we really needed our Spanish language skills in Granada. It felt great to be able to use it and we were all quite encouraged by how forgiving they were of our attempts.
The following morning before we headed to the airport my husband distracted the kids while I ran to the nearest hammam/Turkish baths for a quick pamper. Birthday: Very rude not to.
I found Hammam Al Ándalus, a restored Arab bathhouse located at the foot of the Alhambra. It was 1.5 hours of water-based bliss. An underground labyrinth of hot, warm and cold baths where I could sip mint tea and stare lovingly at the tiles. I was taken to a room and exfoliated with a kessa – traditional textured glove – and then had a beautiful massage with gorgeously fragrant oils. I genuinely relaxed - people weren’t there to be seen, it wasn’t pretentious, it was dark and warm and I felt transported in time. There was none of that not knowing where to go or how to work the locker and no one handed me disposable knickers. I just glided around in my swimming costume dunking myself in different temperatures and feeling exotic.
I emerged smelling delicious, blinking furiously as I adjusted to the bright blue skies and bustled my way through the narrow streets to collect the family and whisk us back home.
It was a whirlwind of culture, snow, oranges and sunsets - and only an hour away.
El Gran Hotel Luna de Granada was €110 per night mid week off season for a family room sleeping 4.
A 3 hour private ski lesson at Escuela Internacional de Esqui (EIE) was €150 per group.
The Sun Deck at El Lodge is a ski-in/ski-out terrace restaurant open from 12-17h every day in ski season. Bookings are recommended.
A Granada Card is €50 per adult for a 24 hour pass and €12.59 per child aged 3-11.
A 45minute Arab bath, 15 minute Kessa and 30 minute massage cost €113 at the Hammam Al Andalus Granada