On April 12, Seville gets ready for yet another round of week-long fiestas, this time with Feria, a 150-year-old tradition steeped in flamenco and bullfights. Where Semana Santa, Seville's Holy Week, took over the entire city, Feria celebrations are quarantined to land off the Guadalquivir River--so if you want to be within stumbling distance of your hotel, we suggest you check into Confortel Puerta de Triana.
Located on Calle Reyes Católicos, the 68-room hotel is perfectly situated between the La Maestranza bullfighting ring and the Guadalquivir, and also is within walking distance of the Cathedral. Rooms modern in a minimalist way and come equipped with air conditioning, satellite TV, free Wi-Fi and mini bars. Room rates start at $120 and you can add on daily breakfast in the buffet restaurant by coughing up a little more dough.
As one of Seville's most sought-after properties, it's surprising that Casa No. 7, a boutique property in the upscale Santa Cruz district, doesn't charge more exorbitant room rates.
Of course, price is relative when examining luxury hotels. But given Casa No. 7's cachet--a restored 19th-century mansion laced with balconies, filled with antiques and an honesty bar in the lobby--it's one of Seville's best high-end deals. (Don't worry, we didn't know what an honesty bar was at first either. According to Wikipedia, it's an unattended beverage bar where payment is left to the patron's discretion.)
Current prices are 275 Euros (roughly $425) per night and that includes VAT and breakfast. Compare that to a similar offer at the Hotel Alfonso XIII, which includes a deluxe room and breakfast--but no VAT--and expect to pay $625 per night. (Plus, no honor bar!) All-inclusive, off-season rates are even more of a steal at about $273.
Of course, there's always a catch. This one happens to be that the hotel, which prides itself on being more like a stay in a private residence, only has six rooms, so reserving well in advance is strongly recommended.
Seville's Barceló Renacimiento bills itself as a hotel that's avant-garde and modern. (Can anything actually be those two things at once?) Pictures, however, tell a different story.
Room décor, with its cherry wood furnishings and striped wallpaper, is more traditional (read: boring) than modern. It appears the only thing one could possibly say is avant-garde about the property is its 25-room convention center. Barceló Renacimiento beats every other hotel here, given the small size and row house-like set ups of most Sevillian properties.
Another piece of misinformation is that the hotel is located on the Island of La Cartuja, a tidbit that initially drew us to check out the hotel. We had no idea Seville had an island, and as it turns out, it doesn't. (Although there must be some truth to it, given the address, but we're telling you--this hotel is not on an island.) Instead, Barceló Renacimiento is located off the Guadalquivir River, near the Great Adventure-like attraction of Isla Magica, about the only attraction in Seville this hotel is near to.
Now that's not to say Barceló Renacimiento isn't a nice hotel, and with room rates starting at about $150, it's reasonably priced. Even so, what the eff, Barceló Renacimiento? Didn't anyone ever tell you a half-truth is a whole lie?
There is nothing kitschier than a product based on cultural clichés. Bad examples that come to mind are Olive Garden, with its proliferation of brick and Mediterranean pottery; or the façade of any Taco Bell, with its phony Mexican architecture.
Luckily, Seville's Hotel Inglaterra--which means England in Spanish--doesn't fall into this category. Sure there are lots of mahogany and flower prints to be found throughout this 151-year-old, 86-room hotel, but it also manages an air of authenticity, mostly thanks to the adjoining Trinity Pub, where we recently stopped in for a drink one afternoon.
Part of what we love about Seville is its tiny cobblestone streets, the boisterous tapas bars at every turn and its consistently Moorish architecture, despite the occasional Starbucks-ian eyesore.
But all of this also makes Seville's hotels incredibly hard to spot. Without large, luminous logos to signal here is the Occidental, here is the Best Western, the hotels, on the outside, almost fade into the background.
There may be nothing the Spanish are more faithful to than God and food, and the weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter (otherwise known as Lent) are a wonderful time to visit Seville--perhaps the one Spanish city most steeped in religious history--to experience both of those things.
Not only is this when Seville's famous Semana Santa festival takes place, it's also when about 20 hotel restaurants there offer more varied menus every Thursday through Easter. The event is called Jueves de Cuchara... y Gloria Bendita, which loosely translates to "Thursday Ladle and Blessed Glory," or at least so says Google's translator tool.
Participating hotels include the Hotel Alfonso XIII and its Restaurante San Fernando, Hospes' Las Casas Del Rey's Restaurante Senzone and Hotel Inglaterra's Restaurante La Galería, which offers a break from the regional cuisine with traditional Irish and English meals.
It seems these Sevillian chefs know devout Catholics want to get their fill of meat before abstaining on Friday, offering such dishes as stewed lentils with sausage and potatoes. Some of the hotels are offering three-course prix fixe meals that are no more than 40 euros.
Hotelesdesevilla.com will provide you with the full list of properties and contact information, though if your Spanish is rusty, you might also want to put Google's translator tool to work, as the page is only available in español.
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by jennm
