Hotel suggestions: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville

How long are you staying? My wife and I are both 60. We stayed at; Hotel Continental in Barcelona; Hostal Alcapulco in Madrid; and rented an apartment in Seville from a guy named Paul who took us on a tour of the white villages. If you want quiet just ask for a quiet room. Most will accomodate.

I recommend the Hotel Europa in Madrid. Very central location and a reasonable price. The rooms are nice and there is a subway stop in front of the hotel with lots of nearby restaraubts and shops. It's right on Puerta del Sol.

Wilder, I have a couple of recommendations for you: In Madrid my hotel of choice is the Hotel Plaza Mayor. It is a lovely small hotel just off the Plaza and is a 5 minute walk to the Metro at Sol. In Barcelona I stay at the Hotel Granvia (on the Granvia). This is a beautiful place with several rooms having private balconies overlooking an interior courtyard. This hotel is in close proximity to 100's of restaurants of all types is is a very short walk from the Placa Catalunya.

First off, I'd probably skip Hotel Plaza Mayor. We were there in April and there were probable 100-150 homeless people camped out in the square each night. We were a couple blocks away at Hostal Santa Cruz/Hostal Cruz Sol (We stayed at the latter, Rick suggests the former - they're both in the same building). It was basic but clean and we could avoid Plaza Mayor after dark - not so much unsafe and unsightly.

I certainly could not recommend Hotel Gran Via in Barcelona. Had a room on the front even though we requested a quiet room on the back. There was no AC and traffic on Gran Via roared all night-very busy main street. When we checked out we asked for desk clerk to call a taxi and he refused until we insisted. Never had this experience with a hotel-not a guest friendly place. We liked Hotel Colon and it is better located also. In Madrid we stayed at Hotel Santo Domingo and liked it. Hotel Europa could have noise issues so you would need room on back.

We liked L'Antic Espai in Barcelona. Good location near Las Ramblas, exceptional hosts, air conditioned.

Well we stayed at the Hotel Jazz in Barcelona and I thought it was pretty good. Rooftop deck with small pool( hey its gets hot there , and the view from the deck is nice) . The bed was very comfy , nice bedding and nice bathroom. Only about 2 blocks off La Rambla ,, and about a block from Place Cataluyna( think I spelt that wrong) .

If you are going to Spain next month and do not yet have hotel reservations
you had better make them yesterday or you might have real problems finding what you like. Do you have RS Spain Guide Book yet? If so, great. If not, I would suggest you get one ASAP as it has lots of information on places to stay and at different prices that we use when we toured Spain.

Party scene. Are you kidding? In Barcelona, the La Merce will take place on Sept 21-24. It's the largest festival of the year. Parades, music and heavy throngs of people. And best of all the Gegants. The La Rambla area is mobbed. All into the night and early hours of the morning. You don't even eat dinner until 10:00pm or so. Hope you are there for this festival. Please stop with the old stuff. We're older than you are and we were fortunate to be there all four days of the festival last year. Everything was a complete treat. Here's a LINK to a YouTube video showing things you might see (and be in the middle of). As for hotels, we stayed at the 1898. It's right in the middle of La Rambla. I checked a few days ago and they still have some rooms in the 300Euro range. Very comfortable for us seniors. The lower priced rooms are gone for the festival. You might also check into the Hosteria Grau or the Hostal Campi. Both are near La Rambla.

I had a fabulous stay at Apartamentos Suites Santa Cruz in Seville. The rooms were well furnished, staff helpful, and it was an excellent location.

We're staying @ Hostal Gonzalo in Madrid in October. I haven't stayed there yet but there are plenty of good reviews on tripadivsor and RS guide book also gives them a nod. It's supposed to be in a quieter area that is walking distance to most of the top sights.

I too, enjoyed the convenience of the Hotel Colon. It is across from the Cathederal, within walking distance of the Picasso Museum, near the Hop On-Hop Off Bus stop and the metro. Just a couple of blocks off the Ramblas. Try to find time in your schedule to visit the Palau..it is
lovely and they offer a 50 minute tour. Very impressive.

In Seville I recommend El Rey Moro Hotel. We stayed there two nights last month. Convenient location, comfortable room, helpful staff. It's in Rick's book.

We stayed at a Best Western in Madrid off the Puerto del Sol. Very nice but small room. Great location and friendly staff. As for Barcelona we stayed at an apartment and met other Europeans. We got our own room and there were 2 bathrooms, kitchen, outdoor patio, washer, and great flat mates!

We were in Barcelona earlier this month and booked a suite at Hotel Banys Orientals in the El Born area (which was, in my opinion, very quiet - especially compared to the Gothic quarter and Eixample). We paid 130 euros per night for a huge 2 room place right around the corner from the main hotel and within spitting distance of Santa Maria del Mar (my favorite church). They obviously also have rooms in their hotel for about 100 euros per night, too. We were blown away by the service at this boutique hotel and were really surprised at how inexpensive it was. I forgot to mention they give you unlimited bottled water -- saving you about 10 euros per day if you drink it.