Spain wakes up to the benefits of the siesta
MADRID – The siesta is making a comeback, rebranded as “Iberian yoga”.
Hoteliers in Seville are trying to lure visitors back from the beach by offering rooms between 3pm and 7pm at 30% of the normal rate, to slumber through the hottest hours.
The idea is that you emerge refreshed to enjoy the late afternoon, sunset and after dark, which Spaniards savour as the best time of the day.
As part of the campaign, which has adopted the slogan: “After eating I sleep”, diners can even book their afternoon snooze from the very restaurant where they enjoy a leisurely, wine-soaked lunch.
“Every decent lunch deserves a period of repose or rest afterwards. And every day in this hot season needs a period of refreshment for the mind,” said Manuel Otero, president of the Association of Sevillian Hoteliers.
But a spokesman for the local union of hotel workers complained, “It could be a way of dignifying the old custom of hiring hotels by the hour.”
Spain tried to ban the siesta when it joined the European Union but old habits die hard and even the bureaucrats in Brussels may have to go along with the Seville Snooze.
Ian Jarrett
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