As the second most popular tourist destination in the world, Spain naturally has a wide variety of accommodation for visitors, and Portugal is not very different. Your Iberian accommodation options run from 5-star Gran Lujo hotels down to basic pensions and hostels, as well as villas, self-catering flats and apartments, country cottages and, of course, campsites. Prices are not as laughably affordable as they used to be, but still compare well with those in other parts of the world, especially the further down the accommodation ladder you go. Standards are, on the whole, high, though the star ratings used do not always tell you exactly what quality level to expect.

One reason for the slight differences between what to expect from an x-star establishment in one place and somewhere else is that responsibility for tourism in Spain is devolved, i.e., corresponds to regional not central government, usually a comunidad autónoma, and each authority sets its own criteria. Such differences are normally not significant, though, and the star system and common sense interpretation of pricing are usually adequate indicators of quality.

Spanish/Portuguese Accommodation Glossary (Spanish term listed before the Portuguese word, where different):

Albergue. A hostel, i.e., basic accommodation, usually in dormitories or otherwise shared rooms.

Apartamento. While this, of course, means 'apartment,' a few establishments have apartamentos which they offer as an alternative to rooms, rented by the night or week. Also see aparthotels below.

Aparthotel. These are hotels offering principally self-catering accommodation, found mainly but not only in resorts.

Bed-and-Breakfast. Evidently, this has no real meaning in Spain. Places calling themselves B&B's may be pensiones or casas de huespedes, or may be private houses whose owners rent out a room or two. You as a guest have no protection under Spanish law unless the establishment is officially registered - if you prefer B&B's because you find them more personal, look for a friendly hostal or casa de huespedes. But see habitación below.

Camping. This is the Spanish word for campsite - one day I will write about their (reciprocated) tendency to make a hash of adopting anglicisms. Campsites or campgrounds in Spain and Portugal are as good and bad as anywhere else.

Casa de Huespedes. Literally, guest house, though in practice another term for pensión.

Casa Rural. Literally, country house, i.e., a house or cottage in the country. Occasionally, people renting out a house in a town or even a city will call it a casa rural to emphasise that it is a house, not a flat; it sounds silly in Spanish, as well. When actually in the country, casas rurales are often sparely fitted out and, especially when owned by the local council or other local authority, they can be decidedly spartan. But they are a relatively underexploited form of accommodation in Spain and can be excellent value, especially if you have a family or are in a group.

Fonda. Like a pensión but probably also having a small restaurant or dining room.

Habitación. A private houseowner renting out habitaciones, rooms, like a bed-and-breakfast without the breakfast. This may or may not be a legally controlled activity, if this matters to you. In a few places, you will find it is your only alternative.

Hostal. Not to be confused with a hostel. A small or smallish hotel with few or no facilities and services. Generally significantly cheaper than a hotel with the same star rating.

Hostal Residencia. The genteel sound of this deceives many into thinking it is more swish than an ordinary hostal, but it isn't. The residencia means it has no restaurant or other eatery attached.

Hotel. Likely to be slightly more expensive and more comfortable than a hostal with the same number of stars.

Parador/Pousada. These are state-owned luxury hotels, purpose-built or converted castles, mansions, monasteries and the like. They are far from cheap but are generally good value for money. They are intended for people touring the country by car - the maximum stay used to be three nights, though I do not believe this still applies - but plan, and book, ahead.

Pensión / Pensão. A small establishment offering rooms for the night and little else. This is your staple budget accommodation.

Posada. An old-fashioned word for inn. It does not really mean anything nowadays, except to sound olde worlde; a place calling itself a posada is likely to be a hotel or hostal with pretensions - it may be nice, but they will charge you for it. Do not confuse with a pousada (see under parador).

Madrid	Barcelona	Seville	A Coruna
Alava	Albacete	Alicante	Alicante Province
Almeria	Almeria Province	Almuñecar (Granada)	Asturias
Avila	Avila Province	Aviles	Badajoz
Badajoz Province	Barcelona Province		Benicassim
Benidorm	Bilbao	Burgos	Burgos Province
Caceres	Caceres Province	Cadiz	Cadiz Province
Calella - Costa Brava	Castellon	Castellon Province	Ceuta
Ciudad Real	Ciudad Real Province	Cordoba	Cordoba Province
Costa Brava - Lloret de Mar	Costa Brava - Playa D'Aro		Costa Brava - Roses
Costa Del Sol	Cuenca	Cuenca Province	Ferrol
Formentera Island	Fuerteventura Island	Gijon	Girona
Girona Province	Gran Canaria Island	Granada	Granada Province
Guadalajara	Guadalajara Province	Huelva	Huelva Province
Huesca Province	Ibiza Island	Jaen	Jaen Province
Jerez (Cadiz)	La Gomera Island	La Palma Island	La Rioja
Lanzarote Island	Leon	Leon Province	Lleida
Lleida Province	Logrono - La Rioja	Lugo Province	Madrid Province
Malaga	Malaga Province	Mallorca Island	Marbella - Costa del Sol
Melilla	Menorca Island	Merida (Badajoz)	Murcia
Murcia Province	Navarre		Ourense Province
Oviedo	Palencia	Palencia Province	Pamplona
Peñiscola (Castellon)	Pontevedra	Pontevedra Province	Ronda
Salamanca	Salamanca Province	Salou - Costa Dorada	San Sebastian
Santander	Santander Province	Santiago de Compostela	Segovia
	Sitges (Barcelona)	Soria	Tarragona
Tarragona Province	Tenerife Island	Teruel	Teruel Province
Toledo	Toledo Province	Valencia	Valencia Province
Valladolid	Valladolid Province	Vigo	Vitoria
Zamora	Zamora Province	Zaragoza	Zaragoza Province