Your Favorite Hotels & Experiences in Sevilla, Ronda and Granada

I can't say enough about Sevilla. Three nights and you just scratch the surface. It is a wonderful walking town. Don't spend a day of it going to Cordoba, unless you stop in Cordoba on your way between Madrid and Sevilla.

What do you want to do in Sevilla? Plaza de Espana? Alcazar? Catedral? Flamenco? These things and more. See a flamenco show. There is an abundance of excellent restaurants.

We stayed in a VRBO, with a patio overlooking the Catedral.

We were going to go to Ronda and decided not to, but to spend the time instead in Sevilla.

We stayed on the Cliff with a great View in Ronda at the Hotel Montelirio,great hotel and staff with a good breakfast.In Granada we stayed at the Hotel Anacapri Close to the bus stop for the Alhambra ,it is in the RS Spain book.In Seville we stayed in the Hotel Adriano, very clean and about 7 Minute walk to the Cathedral.All three Hotels had a parking Option.
Mike

Do you have your Alhambra tickets?

Since you asked, Hotel San Gabriel in Ronda is fantastic. Recommend Cueva de la Pileta near Ronda with paintings
32,000 years old-worth the effort to find.

Spain's so big that we've stuck to the south on one trip and the north (including Madrid) on another. We've still not made it (yet) to Galicia in the northwest.

Way back in 2002, we stayed at Hotel Los Tilos in Granada, recommended by Rick Steves then and still in his 2013 guidebook, years later. Great place and location! While in Granada, a special experience was the Hammam Banos Arabes Al Andaluz Arab baths -- bring a swimsuit and get a massage, too. They'd been open less than 2 years at that point, but are still going strong, with other, competing Arab baths now operating in Granada. In the shadow of the Alhambra, and having toured the vast bath complex there, it was a treat! Also, a platter of calamari and a pitcher of sangria can't be beat.

We stayed in the old town in Sevilla, at a place listed in rick's book, but listed as "could be cleaner." He understated how dirty the place was, on the ground floor with lots of street noise. It's no longer in his guidebooks. Be sure to catch a flamenco show. We parked our rental car in a pay lot on the outskirts of town for 3 days so we didn't have to deal with downtown traffic or having a student on a motor scooter for a hood ornament!

Haven't been to Cordoba.

Not part of your question, but we were last in Madrid in October, and you'll be there in Zarzuela season -- reserve tickets, and catch a performance in the only place this is offered.

I stayed at the Hotel Alminar in Seville. it is in ideally located in walking distance to so many of the points of interest. It is about a block from the Cathedral and close also to the Alcazar. I found this hotel pleasant and service excellent.

I agree with Rizell (above) that Seville has so much to offer and in my opinion I would readily rob a day from Madrid for Seville.

I stayed at the Hotel Anacapri in Granada. It too is centrally located, within walking distant from the train station and the downtown shopping area, the cathedral, and the burial chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella. While not everyone would be willing to walk from the hotel to the entrance of the Alhambra, I did and found it an easy pleasant walk.

Likewise I found this hotel very satisfactory. The hotel receptionist was from Phoenix, Arizona and living in Granada having married a Spaniard thus excellent English and especially pleasant and helpful ... maybe because I was from the US (???).

I can't recommend a place to stay in Ronda because I didn't visit there not having the time nor the interest in visiting there.

David

I've only been to Seville - in October 2017. We were very happy with the Hotel Becquer. It wasn't mentioned in last year's RS guidebook, but the location was perfect - we walked everywhere except to and from the train station. Extremely comfortable room and a gigantic bathroom.

https://www.hotelbecquer.com/en/

As much as I loved Madrid, I would add a day to Andalusia, since you'll still have 3 days in Madrid.

I was in Spain with my husband last October and we did not spend enough time in Sevilla (2 nights & 2 days).

Sevilla: There is a lot to do and see in Sevilla and if you have time to give it an extra day, it would be worth it. For Sevilla, we stayed in the Santa Cruz area, located about 10 minute walk from the Alcazar at the El Rey Moro: http://www.elreymoro.com/en/. It has a beautiful indoor atrium, perfect for relaxing, reading, or enjoying a cocktail with friends. The hotel service is professional and will assist you in what you need, but you need to ask. We loved the room and the location and would stay there again.

Granada: We stayed there 3 nights and loved Granada, not just for the Alhambra. We also stayed at the Anicapri. It is a friendly, nice, clean hotel in the heart of Granada. They have a basic breakfast and the service is excellent. My only issue with them was the WiFi was really inadequate. In Granada, one of our best memories was taking the Devour Tapas tour with Marta. She is a local and took us to have the most amazing tapas of our entire trip, plus she is a great cook and gave us tips for cooking local flavors. Here is the link if you are interested, if nothing else, you can look at the Granada food guide: https://devourgranadafoodtours.com. One other recommendation is that you take a walking tour of the Albayzin and Sacramonte (evening is a great time). There are so many stories and sites that we would have missed if we had just explored on your own. We took the tour recommended by our hotel.

Haven’t been to Rhonda, but we loved the region and will definitely be back to see more. Have a great trip.

Sandy

If you can, I would stay 2 full days in Granada. While I like Sevilla, my heart fell in love with Granada. It's smaller than Sevilla and has some spectacular scenery. Walk through the Arab quarter, visit the surprisingly austere Cathedral and see where Ferdinand and Isabella are buried. But my favorite thing is getting some helado, food or drink and sitting in one of the little plazas watching the citizens go about their day.

I stayed Hostal Rodri(a pension) but usually they are booked up 6 months in advance. Highly recommended family run, Rick Steves type. No luxury but it was the cleanest room I've every slept in. Sevilla I stay at Hotel Musica, in an upgraded room.

On hotels -

For Ronda, we were more than content with the Don Miguel. The location is ideal, the breakfast quite acceptable (and you can eat it on a terrace overlooking the gorge). It is a rambling warren of an hotel and rooms vary. We booked cheap and had a spartan (but clean and large) room at the back, but there are classier choices with balconies and views.

For Granada, I highly recommend the Posada del Toro. The location is brilliant, breakfast is fine (if repetitive). It's in an historic building and some rooms have internal balconies overlooking the courtyard, ideal for a pre-bed drink (I'd ask for one of these, as rooms at the front might get street noise - it's on a busy tourist thoroughfare). The rooms we've had were all very pleasant, with powerful shower, effective air con and, best of all, a kettle (sadly not always a given in Spain, although sometimes if you ask at reception they have spares to lend). We've been back several times.

With six nights, I would do 2 in Granada and 4 in Sevilla with a daytrip to Cordoba. We loved, loved, loved Sevilla. My husband really enjoyed Granada. We booked tickets to the Alhambra and Alcazar far in advance. We walked up to the Alhambra from our AirBnB before the sun came up and watched the sun rise over Granada. It was a cold morning but worth it to be alone in the complex.

Sevilla is a place I could easily live. There is so much to see and the restaurants are incredible. Unless your heart is set on seeing Ronda on this trip, I would slow down a little to lessen the packing/unpacking/moving around so you have time to enjoy the places you are going.

Hey Ronnie,
Just wanted to put forward an alternate plan. I would actually recommend that you drop Ronda and spend at least one night in Córdoba. I think that Córdoba is a very important city, capital of the Umayyad Caliphate for some time and is historically more significant than even Granada. Córdoba has one of the best attractions in Spain which is the Mezquita de Córdoba, it also has many other well-preserved Islamic architecture, as well as pre-Islamic Roman ruins. I would definitely not write it off as just a “day trip”.

The revised schedule could look something like this (if you rob one night from Madrid):
Train from Madrid to Sevilla
-Sevilla (3 Nights)
Train to Córdoba
-Córdoba (2 Nights)
Bus to Granada
-Granada (2 Nights)

As for hotels, I think you already have some pretty good recommendations for Granada and Sevilla. However, if you do decide to add Córdoba, I would heartily recommend Hotel Eurostars Maimonides it has the best location in Córdoba, as you are literally 5 feet away from the entrance to the Mezquita!

Our last visit to each of those towns we stayed at Hotel Amadeus in Sevilla, San Gabriel in Ronda, and Hotel America in Granada. The last hotel is not for everybody. It’s a very basic, no frills hotel, right at the Alhambra complex. Worked out great for taking a break during the day then going back out. If you have plenty of money, then stay at the Parador in Granada. It too is right at the Alhambra complex. Busses to town run frequently and drop you off by the cathedral. Cueva de la Pileta isn’t that far from Ronda, closer to Benaojan. It would be best to have a rental car for it, since there aren’t regularly scheduled tours. I’ve been to each of those places multiple times and would have too many experiences to recount.

Hello, here’s my trip report to Spain last year that has info to help you:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/1st-time-to-spain-trip-report

Enjoy your time in Spain!

I too would remove a day from Madrid. Another vote for Hotel Amadeus in Sevilla; great staff, beautiful rooms and the rooftop terrace for breakfast or drinks in the evening was a plus. We had a fabulous stay at Casa del Aljarife in Granada! Very large rooms; excellent price point; immaculately maintained and Damian and Rocio go out of their way to ensure a memorable visit to Granada.