Guadaqué – Inaugurated the Rural Hotel Restaurant El Balcón de la Vega in Couple

In the morning of today the Rural Hotel Restaurant ‘El Balcón de la Vega’ of Pareja has been inaugurated. This new infrastructure has two floors, and seven double rooms with service, and is located on Cuartel street, on land owned by the Ayuntamiento de Pareja. Defining the reason why it receives its name, the Balcón de la Vega has privileged views over La Alcarria. It stands on the plain of the Ompólveda river, in an elevated position from which you can see beautiful sunsets, with the Pareja weir in the background.

The mayor of Pareja, Javier del Río, alluded this morning to the enthusiasm with which the hotel has been designed, built and put into service. “They say that illusion moves the world. That illusion, together with the efforts of many, has made it possible for El Balcón de la Vega to become a reality ”, said the councilor. For decades in the urban nucleus of Pareja there had not been a hotel establishment to spend the night, since the old Fonda on Calle Mayor closed, and so did the Pension de la Plaza, the one where the Nobel Prize winner Camilo José Cela stayed in his Trip to La Alcarria, not to mention the 5-star Hotel Las Anclas, built in the 60s on the shores of Entrepeñas, in the former Castile Sea, which depopulation and transfers forced to follow the same path.

“Couple and the entire riverside region have an enormous natural, scenic, cultural, patrimonial, historical and human charm that must be taken advantage of. For all this, many people, many neighbors of Pareja, have encouraged us to launch this project from the City Council ”, added del Río. Thus, with a clear idea of ​​what the final result should be: a project to stimulate the local economy that would create employment and settle the population, the Ayuntamiento de Pareja commissioned the plans from the technicians, carried out the corresponding economic valuation, and went to work. .

In addition to having its own municipal resources, the City Council immediately found the support of the local action group FADETA, and its president, Jesús Ortega, as well as ENRESA, who made visible Arturo González, its head of CSR, and, of course, also that of all municipalities of AMAC with its president, Juan Pedro Sánchez, at the head.

90% of the companies and personnel that have intervened in the work are from Pareja. From the very start of the project, therefore, the objective of boosting the local economy was achieved. Technicians, bricklayers, painters, electricians, locksmiths or the decorator, “have done a great job that I sincerely appreciate,” said the councilor.

The project should have been finished some time earlier. However, the “huge legal process”, as del Río has described it, which is required of small municipalities like ours, the same as that of a large city, “but in our case with infinitely fewer material and human resources”, added to the worst economic and especially health crisis that the world has had in decades, such as the COVID pandemic, have been the two major obstacles that have delayed completion. However, “thanks to the efforts of all those involved, the success of the project is evident,” said the councilor couple.

Javier del Río reiterated his sincere gratitude to those who have worked and collaborated, each one from his position and commitment, to achieve the objective. “I cannot forget the great work carried out by the City Council of Pareja by its councilors, technicians, trades personnel, or the administrative staff, with their secretary at the helm, who have carried out so many efforts, or, of course, to each and every one of Pareja’s neighbors, who for more than 20 years have been encouraging and supporting us to achieve the best for our people ”, he pointed out.

Del Río ended his words by saying that “if Don Camilo, who immortalized these towns with his books and with his Nobel Prize, could these days come to our Alcarria, return to Pareja, he would leave this Hotel-Restaurant satisfied, well eaten and well drunk; he would peacefully sleep his pajama and potty nap, and he would look out over this window, this Balcón de la Vega de Pareja, enjoying its landscape and looking to the future with optimism, as we all do today ”, he concluded.

Also participating in the inauguration were Jesús Ortega, president of FADETA, María Pérez Hernández, director of corporate development at ENRESA, Juan Pedro Sánchez, president of AMAC, and Santos López Tabernero, agriculture delegate of the Castilla-La Mancha Community Board .

The opening of the restaurant took place on September 7, coinciding with the eve of the big day of the Couple, that of the Virgen de los Remedios. A few days later, specifically on September 20, the accommodation also opened. Since then, the managers of the company have been satisfied with these first months of work.

The accommodation has 2 suites (one of them with a kitchen), 2 superior double rooms and another 4 double rooms, rooms that bear the names of the different parts of the municipality.

El Balcón de la Vega also has a restaurant where you can enjoy a wide gastronomic offer with typical dishes of the area, which combines good cuisine with a relaxed atmosphere. It has a nice summer terrace where you can enjoy the exceptional views.

The rooms are spacious and bright with good views focused on the town weir. All rooms at the Balcón de la Vega have elegant, classic-style décor and soft lighting. They also have heating or air conditioning, a flat-screen TV, a private bathroom with a shower and a hairdryer and free toiletries, as well as Wi-Fi.

Hotel and restaurant are served by a good professional and qualified hotel service, which Segundo Redondo and his company have been offering since its opening. The concessionaire, in addition to bringing part of its staff, has hired employees from Pareja, including people who, From other countries, they have wanted to come to live in Pareja, some of them in collaboration with the Asociación Pueblos con Futuro, with which the City Council of Pareja has been collaborating for years to settle families in rural areas.