Casas Juderia in Sevillle - how many stars?
 

I was reading recommendations for Casas Juderia in Seville. How many stars it has? I found this hotel on Orbitz where it shows 2 stars.??? I am confused?

I loved the place. I'd give it 6 or 7 stars. I have little use for star ratings, as they are based on various factors that I usually don't care about. More important to me are comfort, atmosphere, and style which seem to have no relation to star ratings.

I can't comment on the hotel, but I checked it's location. It is in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, which is one of the prettiest and most atmospheric (in the positive sense)parts of Seville, and near much of what you will probably want to see. The pictures look lovely, but the TripAdvisor reviews are a mixed bag.

Big thumbs up from me for this hotel. Spent 4 nights there last June, and was very pleased. We had a spacious room/suite (sorry, don't remember room number), the staff was nice, great breakfast, and as mentioned, it's in a great part of town.

We were there in 2004 and it was great.

The breakfast is way over-priced but the hotel is down an alleyway with a square full of restaurants at the foot. Hatd to explain but you can look through my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com and look at Spain 2004.

Once ionside there are gardens and fountains.

The problem is that it's not a large hotel. Rather it is made up of several building with very different rooms.

We were in room 30 and it was absolutely great. Walk-in closet double-sized room with sofa and coffe table.

Room 29 was right next door and while I didn't see the inside of the room, it has a patio off the room.

Excellent location. Five minute walk to the Memoria flamenco place.
Near all the sights.

I stayed there 2 years ago and loved it! 4 stars. Very Spanish and interesting hotel.

this hotel has a variety of rooms. we once had 5 rooms there so i can say that two of them were very "normal", nad the others were quite quaint and charming.

i believe a pool has just been put in.
so, this hotel could be a 4 star, but some rooms are just 3 star.

it is in a superb location.

see www.gtahotels.com to see if it is listed, which usually includes breakfast and taxes.

Be aware that 'star' ratings in America usually refer to poshness. A 4-star hotel means really high-end. In Europe the stars indicate what ammenities a hotel has, so a so-so place that has en suite bathrooms, a restaurant, etc will have more stars than a very nice but simple place without a restaurant, laundry service, etc.

When you look at a hotel-finding web site that shows star ratings, you should make sure they're showing official government star ratings and not their own criteria.

I haven't stayed at the Juderia but have always heard positive feedback about it. I think it's government rating is 4 stars, since it has a restaurant, room service, en suite bathrooms. The Orbitz rating is their own, and their description of a 2-star can be read if you click on the stars themselves on their site. Basically, a 2-star is a value property. Affordable but nice. If they listed it as a 4, many Americans would expect the Waldorf Astoria.

"If they listed it as a 4, many Americans would expect the Waldorf Astoria."

Actually I once stayed at the Waldorf Astoria -- once was enough -- for the tiny and rather shabby, worn out room. Trust me, our room at Casas de Juderia was far nicer. I spoke with a regular poster here who just stayed at the Waldorf last weekend and also mentioned that the rooms there needed a considerable freshening up.

Big thumbs up from me too! We loved it.

Count me in as a fan. We had a suite with egg shell blue walls and it was wonderful. We were there in October, so we didn't need ac, but that would be my biggest concern, if you are going soon. I just don't remember if they had it.

Kiramoli,

We were just there last week and it's officially rated a 3* per its own sign out front. However, it's charming, and does have a rooftop pool (not opened yet when we visited). Our room was dated, but perfectly comfortable, and the location and ambiance are great.

Government rating here in Spain is, as alan64 said, based on amenities and the ratio employees/bedrooms. But also there's a point in taxes. Three stars hotels pay a reduced VAT of 7% , while 4 and 5 stars pay a deluxe one, 16%. Some private hotel owners prefer to mantain their category on 3 stars or under and pay less taxes , that way you can find here very nice places with only three stars because they don't have a few amenities :)

2 stars may be generous. Stayed there in 2004 and was disappointed. At that time, Casas Juderia did not represent a good value. The hotel is a collection of old apartment buildings in varying states of renovation -- as a result, the rooms are very uneven.
This year we stayed at Hotel Amadeus and thought it was excellent. I would certainly recommend Amadeus.