Hotel Aire de Bardenas

Cubes, patios and a bubble at the edge of the Bardena

Aire de Bardenas is on the Ejea road, a kilometre and a half from Tudela, where the Ribera market gardens end and the dry landscape of the Bardenas begins. It opened at the end of 2007 and was designed by the architects Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera. It has eight room types, all doubles. Those in the main building have a private patio, and some have an outdoor bath. The cubes are detached pavilions that you enter from outside; some look out to the countryside and others have a bath on their patio. Cube 22 is the only one with both, views and an outdoor bath, and is the most requested. There are also suites with views or with a bath.

The most sought-after piece is the bubble suite: 25 m² of transparency with a full bathroom with a shower inside, a private area outside and a large hot-and-cold bath looking up at the sky. It works all year, with air conditioning and heating. They give you an eye mask and earplugs, and if you want to sleep late you can ask at reception for the bubble to be covered at dawn. It has no TV. For privacy, guests sleeping in a cube cannot come to see the bubbles.

Eating, bathing and heading out into the desert

The restaurant cooks with vegetables from its organic garden and from the Ribera: a vegetable tasting menu, with white Tudela artichoke and asparagus in season, and a menu. Breakfast runs from 9:00 to 11:00, and you can ask for another time. Dinners are from 19:30 to 22:00. It closes only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The outdoor pool is open 24 hours and is for guests only; it is heated by solar panels, so the water is best from May to October.

From the hotel they organise outings into the Bardena by Segway, 4x4, van or bike, with their own guide and vehicle, and offer massage. If you prefer to go on your own, the park starts beyond Arguedas: the 4x4 tour of the Bardena Blanca and Castildetierra are two classic outings. In the afternoon, the old town of Tudela is a kilometre and a half away.

Families, dogs and arrival

Pets are allowed in all rooms, and if they are calm they can come into the restaurant. For families, the doubles take one or two extra beds or a cot; the standard bubbles do not take an extra bed, the bubble suite does. There is a homemade children's menu.

Parking is free outdoors, with three electric car chargers. Reception is open 24 hours and they will keep your luggage. Zaragoza airport is about 40 minutes away and the Madrid train reaches Tudela in about two hours. The website does not publish prices or check-in and check-out times: you see them in its booking engine.