We printed our train and bus tickets at home.

one tip - if you do book in Spain tickets online, you need the credit card that you used to buy them to collect them. this applies all over Spain, I believe.>

Must be talking about trains I think -museums would not all over Spain have the same policy I would think.

Printing at home is the best.

Is this just for the Alhambra or train tickets etc?>>

I don't know about trains, but IME it applied to all tickets that are collected from automatic ticket machines: we came across it at the Alhambra, the Casa di Musica in Barcelona, the opera in Madrid - obviously if you can print the actual ticket at home it doesn't apply, but otherwise I would take the same credit card with me, just on case.

Ok. Thanks for that. We'll be sure to carry the card we use with us.
Now on to hotels for Seville. I noticed maitaitom used a vacation rental. I'll have to re-read his trip report and find out which one. We're not opposed to that. We just feel a little more comfortable with a front desk for issues, questions, directions etc., but have used vrbo several times for vacations in the U.S.

I prefer a hotel, too. I guess the one I suggested doesn’t suit you?

And kimhe offered a suggestion, too….

kja- Oh my gosh, never think that.. I have both yours and kimhe's suggestions on a short list. Then I made the mistake of looking on my own again and became so overwhelmed that I decided to ask for a few more suggestions and then ,of course, I read maitaitom's spain report and thought maybe we were missing the boat by not considereing rental homes. You can clearly see the neurosis at work.

cjar,
we will be staying at Hotel Apartamentos Suites Santa Cruz in Seville in late September/early October. Obviously, I haven't seen it yet so cannot comment based on firsthand experience. However, it was recommended to me by someone on this forum who stayed there. I think it was either Progol or Candace.
http://www.apartamentossantacruz.com/en/location/

It has 24-hour reception and is very close or next to the Alcazar.
It is in a pedestrian zone.

You can clearly see the neurosis at work.>>

this, cjar, was what was worrying me about your thread title. Sad to say there is no perfect trip and the mere desire to make it so IME makes it less likely to achieve it. Once you have come to terms with that, trip planning becomes a lot easier and more relaxed as does the trip itself.

Don't get me wrong, I've been down this road myself on occasion in the hunt for the perfect hotel and the ideal itinerary, but truth to tell, the best parts of a holiday tend to be the bits you don't plan, the impromptu outing, the ad hoc dinner, the random meeting.. the things that you cannot plan are IME the best bits.

If you generally like hotels and have good recommendations, why suddenly consider an apartment, particularly when you only have a few days there? Do you want to be self-catering and cleaning up after yourselves? is that your normal style?

Book a nice hotel, step away from the computer and enjoy yourselves.

Annhig,
I think you give some excellent and practical advice! We just returned from a trip to China, and we had to make several changes along the way due to serious jetlag, illnesses, etc. And we still had a great time and a memorable trip with many funny memories and surprises.

I know that many people prefer apartments, and I do understand the advantages, but I still prefer hotels because I like having 24-hour reception desks to ask questions, make reservations, call a cab, etc. I also DO NOT LIKE cooking for myself and cleaning up while on vacation. To me, that is not a vacation.

cjar, annhig gives great advice! "Book a nice hotel, step away from the computer and enjoy yourselves."

Annhig- I absolutely know this to be true and had a thread in that vein when planning a trip for last fall. I even stated that some of our best memories were wholly unplanned ,unexpected moments. I think because it's our 25 th anniversary, I wanted to try to create the opportunity for a truly special trip. I am married to the most amazing man and wanted everything to reflect my love for and appreciation of him, but I guess the people you travel with are what make it special.

“I guess the people you travel with are what make it special”

Perhaps, but as one committed to solo travel, I don’t think I’ll comment. ;-)

Cjar - in that case you are bound to have a blast whatever you do.

kja - you must meet people along the way, in fact IME as a solo traveler, you meet a lot more people if you are by yourself. which IMO adds to the fun.