I lived in the house on the right for 18 years and remember when Hotel Casa 1800 @hotelcasa1800 was actually someone’s house. Now one of the finest hotels in Sevilla, I was thrilled to be invited to spend a night there this week. You can see my gorgeous room and a few other details below. Full review coming soon on Azahar Travels.
Staycation n. a holiday or break spent at or near home pursuing leisure activities.
I’m not generally a huge fan of hybrid words that seem to have been invented primarily to seem hip, but as someone who very rarely gets the opportunity to disconnect and just chill, the idea itself had a certain appeal. As luck would have it, I was recently invited to spend a night at the Hotel Doña Maria, a well known city centre hotel here in Seville. So why not? Staycation here we come.
Check in was around 1.00 pm, and we (myself and my friend Peter @SVQconcierge) took possession of a superior double room on the second floor, across the narrow street from the Archbishop’s palace. Good sized room with a slightly faded old fashioned charm, two nice firm beds and a spacious bathroom.
Although I had never stayed here, the Doña Maria was not a totally unknown quantity, as it has a rooftop terrace with one of the best views in town of the Cathedral and Giralda tower. So after checking in, a cooling Beer O’clock refresher upstairs was naturally our first port of call. The view across the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes square, with the swifts wheeling and crying round the tower, is one of my favourites in all Sevilla. There are also regular music events scheduled during the summer – check the Doña Maria Facebook page for details.
Lunchtime, and even if you’re not the Queen of Tapas, the choice of primary activity for the next couple of hours was something of a no-brainer. Although the hotel doesn’t have a restaurant, there are dozens of bars within easy walking distance, but a word of warning – this area is “tourist central”, and in (too) many of the bars the food and service is mediocre. There are, however, some that are really excellent. If you’re looking for something traditional follow us to our first stop in the heart of the Santa Cruz, the famous Bar Las Teresas, and one of the best places in town for that Spanish essential, Jamon Ibérico de Bellota with a glass of Fino sherry. Second stop was the other end of tapas bar spectrum, the modern but equally excellent La Azotea, for a nice glass of cava and some fish and seafood. Anyone for crispy prawns with kimchee sauce?
After lunch we took a short walk before heading back to the hotel for another Spanish tradition – siesta. Now siesta is something I don’t usually do, but having disconnected from my normal routine, a little peace and quiet and a comfy bed soon worked their magic. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve slept that much in the afternoon. Carried me right through until it was time to get ready for evening tapas (yes, we had thought of including more activities other than eating – electric bikes maybe? – so next staycation I’ll start a bit earlier as I really don’t have to wait for check-in time). Got a few nice walks in though, which felt nicely different to when I am going around town either working or running errands.
In the evening we headed off in the opposite direction to our lunchtime tapeo, to Barrio El Arenal, away from the more touristy area round the Cathedral, but still comfortably close to the hotel. We started at an old favourite, Casa Moreno, a tiny abacería in Calle Gamazo. When I first discovered this place I was a little nervous of going in, as it has such a “locals only” look to it, but once I did I found it was really friendly, and it’s become a firm favourite. The speciality is montaditos, toasted buns with a variety of meat and cheese fillings that are to die for.
From there we popped across the street to Enrique Becerra. This is an excellent bar that I used to come to all the time, but I hadn’t been for awhile, so it was real pleasure to see Enrique again and my barmen pals, along with enjoying an exceptional beef “Señor Marquez” with some of the best chips in town. I left vowing to come back more often.
A quick third stop was at my second home, Bodeguita Romero, then it was back to the hotel for a final nightcap on the terrace, with its spectacular views, and so to bed. Have to say I slept like a top, and even so close to the main square and with the windows open I wasn’t disturbed by any noise, and had a nice lie in – one of life’s little luxuries that I don’t often get the chance to indulge, and one of the reasons for taking a staycation in the first place.
Last act before leaving the next morning was the hotel breakfast, something I don’t normally do unless it’s inclusive (which this was), preferring to find a local bar for my toast and coffee. The hotel has a dedicated breakfast room, pleasant enough but not much in the way of conviviality and atmosphere, and much the same could be said of the breakfast itself. This isn’t really a criticism, as in my experience it’s true of almost every hotel I’ve ever been to that serves a buffet breakfast. Afterwards we took a stroll through the Barrio Santa Cruz before heading home.
Overall I really enjoyed my short stay at the Doña Maria and think it’s a good mid price option for a stay in Sevilla.
After now having done it once (okay, twice), I’m definitely up for making Sevilla Staycations a regular, though probably occasional, part of my life here.
Hotel Doña Maria
Calle Don Remondo, 19
Sevilla
Tel: +34 954 224 990
I had been invited to Vinoble in Jerez de la Frontera, which meant having to stay over at least one night. I had told a friend that I was looking for somewhere “cheap & cheerful” where I could lay my head for a few hours – I knew I wouldn’t be spending much time wherever I stayed. And The Nuevo Hotel turned out to be perfect. At 25€ for an individual room with a single bed you obviously wouldn’t be expecting the Ritz, but I was very pleasantly surprised at my cheerful clean room and comfy bed, with a balcony that opened onto a small side street. My room was on the first floor of the two-storey hotel, and I was happy there was a lift as I was still on crutches due to a recent accident. The bathroom was small but serviceable, with a small bathtub and shower.
Nuevo Hotel is centrally located just off the Plaza de Arenal, near the Alcázar, and is about a 10-15 minute walk from the train station. There are plenty of good tapas bars nearby and it felt like a nice cosy neighbourhood. Breakfast at the hotel is 5€, served in a big bright dining area on the main floor, but I’m always happier going out to find a small bar. There are a couple of charming common areas and excellent WiFi connection throughout the hotel. The hotel staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful. I would definitely stay again.
A couple of weeks ago I booked a two-bedroom holiday apartment with Urban Living in Málaga for a three-day getaway with friends. I shared the apartment in calle Liborio with one friend (our other two friends were staying at another Urban Living apartment in calle Fajardo). The apartment was located on the third floor with balconies in every room, which gave a lot of light. The beds (one double, two single) were very comfortable and both bedrooms had lots of closet space. The open kitchen was well-equipped and the living room next to it was bright and attractive. The only complaint about the apartment itself was that the bathroom was missing a light over the mirror (there were just wires sticking out of the fixture) and it really needed some shelves – both in the room and in the shower – to put toiletries. In the end we had to leave our things on the floor.
Calle Liborio runs between Larios and Nueva streets, an ideal central location, though it can’t be directly reached by taxi and is a few minutes walk from the main road. The Atarazanas market is nearby, as well as a supermarket, so it’s easy to pick up food and supplies. The Urban Living office is located on the fourth floor of the building, which was convenient for leaving our bags after checking out (my train wasn’t until 7 pm), but checking in was a bit of a fluke. I’d made arrangements for someone to meet me there at 2 pm because I was on crutches at the time, and they forgot – it was just by chance that someone else was in the office when I arrived.
But my main complaint – and it is a big one – is that I had specified before booking that I needed to have an excellent WiFi connection because I had to work that weekend, and I was assured of this. But the connection was very poor. I mentioned this immediately after arriving on Thursday and was told that something would be done to “boost” the connection. By late afternoon Friday nothing had been done and when I called the office nobody was there. Finally someone brought over a router (while we were out) which didn’t work at all, so we went from having a poor connection to none at all. And nobody returned my calls for the rest of the weekend. VERY disappointing. The connection should have been tested before we arrived, as it had been a specific request and had been guaranteed.
Overall it was a pleasant stay, in a nice bright apartment right in the centre of town. But I’d hesitate to book with Urban Living again because of the management issues.
After my pleasant stay at Hotel Room Mate Lola in Málaga last December it’s probably not surprising that I would choose to stay with Room Mate again on my recent trip to Barcelona. I’d actually looked into a couple other hotels there but, as usual, Room Mate came through first with a good four-night offer, plus Emma is just three metro stops from the Renfe Sant station, where the AVE stops. And it felt good – a bit like coming home – when I arrived and got settled into my comfortable Deluxe room. It had a nice big window, a very comfortable bed, a desk for my laptop, mini bar, safe and a good amount of closet space. My only small complaint was that the bathroom had very dim lighting, making “hair and make-up” very awkward. Had no idea what I actually looked like until I got into the lift.
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I was up on the sixth floor with a window facing the street, which turned out to be very quiet. I’d recommend a street-facing room for the extra light, unless you are a very extra-light sleeper, in which case there are also rooms facing the interior patio. There are seven floors of standard and deluxe rooms, with two floors of suites with private terraces above. I was actually surprised that the ultra-modern décor could feel so cosy, but it did. As always with Room Mate, breakfast is served until noon, but I just opted for a quick morning cup of coffee while I plotted out my day.
Room Mate Emma is located in Carrer Rosselló, in the chic Eixample barrio, a stone’s throw from the elegant Paseo de Gracia and close to just about anywhere you’d want to go. In fact I walked everywhere during my four-day stay and found lots to do nearby. There is also a small supermarket right across the street to pick up “supplies” like mineral water, juice, wine and snacks. Great customer service, as always. Recommended!
For restaurant recommendations have a look here… Eating Out in Barcelona