Places to stay

Hi Maggie. Last year I stayed at these two hotels and really enjoyed them both.

Seville: Hotel Fernando III Sevilla https://maps.app.goo.gl/p6bRk6QF9UaxjGkF6

Madrid: Hotel Catalonia Plaza Mayor https://maps.app.goo.gl/tW5Fs8wcSuNU1EZm8

We've had at least two negative reports on the forum from people who found the Spanish rail passes frustrating to use.

thank you, this is all helpful!
in terms of train travel, is it just easiest to make a reservation and/or buy tickets at the stations as needed? (we traveled in Italy a number of years ago and that's what we did there....)

Recommend:
Seville - H10 Casa de la Plata
Barcelona - Hotel Praktik Rambla

For Madrid. Jardines de Sabatini. I’ve stayed on three occasions. It’s a family operated boutique style hotel. The rooms are large with kitchenettes. Some rooms have stunning views off the Royal Palace. Its located next to a supermarket, and great little café, Café de la Riviere.

For Seville a boutique style hotel is Hotel Amadeus. I originally stayed in 2010 and then again 2016. Its expanded a lot since then, but still has a boutique feel to it.

For long-distance express trains, which serve the cities you mentioned in your original post, you can save a good bit of money by buying tickets well in advance. Be sure you know the change/cancellation rules, though, because the cheapest tickets are specific to a particular date and departure time, allowing no changes.

It's risky to plan on last-minute ticket purchases for trips on the rail line running from Barcelona to Zaragoza, Madrid, Cordoba and Seville, because it's not rare to see some of those trains marked as Full on the Renfe website. Sellouts are also an issue between Madrid and Toledo. I don't know whether there's a capacity issue on the express trains from Valencia to Barcelona and Madrid.

My mom and I enjoyed our stay at the Amadeus Hotel, and at Hotel Fernando III ( steps from the Amadeus Hotel) in Sevilla.
This was back in October 2015, but it’s good to hear that these hotels are still being recommended.

I believe the RS Spain tours stay at the Amadeus Hotel.

Are you considering going to Granada?
If so, do book your Alhambra Tickets ASAP before they sell out!

Enjoy your time in beautiful Spain!

thank you!
Can you recommend what neighborhoods we might want to stay in (if none of the recommended hotels work out) in Madrid and Sevilla?

We stayed at Las Casas de El Arenal in Sevilla in February, and I have reserved it again for next February. It’s near the cathedral.

In Madrid, we returned to Hostal Central Palace in Madrid. I have reserved other small hotels, but this one is our favorite for the wonderful views of the palace during the day & illuminated at night.

We were in Spain this past April and went to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and Sevilla. We stayed in boutique hotels in three of the cities.
In Barcelona we stayed in Well. and Come Boutique Hotel. In Madrid we stayed in Cool Rooms Palacio de Atocha as well as the Hard Rock Hotel. In Sevilla we also stayed at the Hotel Amadeus. We noticed when we stayed at the Hotel Amadeus, people from one of the Rick Steves tours were also staying there. The Hotel did not have enough staff to accommodate everyone at breakfast.
Also I feel that the Hotel Amadeus was extremely overpriced for what it was.

Train tickets in Europe— like airline tickets in the U.S.—generally rise in price the closer it gets to the train’s departure time. For the best prices on train tickets, you should be buying your point-to-point high-speed train tickets online now. These are the high-speed train routes you would be using: from Madrid to Seville; Seville to Madrid/ Madrid to Valencia. ( Note that you must return to Madrid to take a high-speed train to Valencia); Valencia to Barcelona; Barcelona to Madrid.
You can see train fares and schedules at www.TheTrainline.com. Then you can visit the websites at www.Renfe.com and www.IRYO.eu to see how much the train companies themselves want for the tickets.

In Madrid we stayed at the Petit Palace Puerta del Sol, very centrally located. Easy access to the metro, walkable to Plaza Mayor, Royal Palace and more. Amazing breakfast.

In Toledo, La Posada de Manolo is literally around the corner from the cathedral and has a fantastic view of it from their rooftop terrace and breakfast room.

In Segovia, if you go, the Don Felipe Hotel is also well-located at the top of the hill a few blocks from the cathedral.

We also went to Bilbao (Hotel Bilbao Plaza, walkable to Old Town and the Guggenheim), and San Sebastian (Pension Sarriegi - our least favorite hotel, but good location).

Use Trainline for buying train tickets, it's much less painful than Renfe.