Shari

This forum has been to helpful with all of my trip planning, so I thought you people could help me out with Spain. Just to give you a background, my husband and I enjoy traveling for dining, wine and art. One of my favorite places is Chevre D'Or in Eze, France. We love fine food and one of our favorite restaurants is L'Ami Loui in Paris.


Okay, please give me your thoughts:

1) Best hotel/restaurants in Madrid?

2) Is San Sebastian worth a visit? Ff so, why and where would you stay? Is it crowded like in Cannes? We don't like to stare at cruise ships. We prefer settings like Eze and Portofino.

3) Best hotels/restuarnts in Barcelona? Is Sitges worth a visit? Could you spend a day there with trips from Barcelona? If not, where would you stay in Sitges?

4) Is there a must-see village on the way from Barcelona to Seville? We would like to break up the long drive, but can't seem to find the perfect place to do it? PLEASE help.

5) Is Mallorca worth the flight/visit or should we stick to the mainland and visit some other time? If worth the visit, where would you stay/eat?

6) Best hotel/restaurants in Seville?

7) What is Malaga like? (see above reference to Cannes, please.) What about Gibraltor?

and FINALLY...

8) Have you been to Lison? Is it worth a visit while in Spain? Where to stay/eat?

THANKS SO MUCH!

rex

Whether you get the answers you're seeking her or not, you might find it worthwhile to visit www.madridman.com also, and I think you can post questions ther as well. Not just for Madrid.

Best wishes,

Rex

donnabee

Malaga is a big city in Spain with stores, restaurants, and office buildings. If you go the second week of August - they have a huge fair. It goes on for about a week and takes over the streets in the city. At night, they then have rides, food, and dancing until the wee hours.

Gibralter - I enjoyed. It's a nice town and good for shopping. They also have wild monkies on the rocks where they will come right up to you.

car

Shari
I will start with some questions:
At what time of the year you are planning to go?
How much time do you have for this trip?
Is this your first visit to Spain?
Then some answers to your questions:
Best hotel in Madrid
Classic, The Ritz or the Westin Palace.
Modern style, Villamagna, Miguel Angel,
Hotel Hesperia, Melia Fenix.
Boutique hotels, Hotel AC Santo Mauro,
Hotel Orfila.
And the one of my choice, Hotel Santo Mauro.
Best restaurant: It is more complicated.
It is all related to the type of food you like. There is a big trend in today's cuisine to consider the French food as the best one in the world.
A French restaurant in Madrid could be very good but never the best of the Spanish food ones.
For "French cuisine",Restaurant La broche in the Hotel Miguel Angel.
For Spanish food, Horcher, Jockey, Zalacain, Club 31.
Madrid has thousands, yes thousands of restaurants, the reduce list I gave you are the best(very expensive ones),internationaly known.
2)San Sebastian is certanly worth a visit but is all related with your time avalabilty and planning.
Best places in town are the Abba Londres or the Maria Cristina.
3)Barcelona, Check the forum, there is a lot of information about the subject.
4)Sitges is again worth a visit but if you are taking the time from a relatively short visit to Barcelona, then leave it.
The must alike area to Eze in France is the Costa Brava, Cadaques, Palamos, Rosas.
5) In the way from Barcelona to Sevilla, I assume you are not Flying (recommended) or going through Madrid.
Then you should look at Murcia, a very interesting stop somewhere half way.
Another one is Valencia but is closer to Barcelona and more uncomfortable for an in-route stop, big city.
6) Mallorca , again related with your time avalabity , Mallorca's main attraction is beach vacation.
7)For the best hotels and resturants in Seville, check the forum , lots of info.
8)Malaga big port, busy city. the best sites are The Colegiata(churh) and the new Picasso museum. It does not look like Cannes, more something in between Nice and Marseille.
8)Gibraltar, an uninteresting place with bobbies, pubs and good views on the Strait.
9)I know Lisbon and love it, and I am looking forward to go again, my last trip was 8 years ago and I understand the city has improved a lot.
If you have the time , do go.

I also like very much La Chevre d'Or in Eze Village.

Shari

Car, thank you so much! I value your opinion because we seem to have similar tastes.

We are going for about 18 days at the end of August through September. This is my first time to Spain/Portugal. My husband has been there a few times, but while in college and broke, so he really doesn't know what to recommend in terms of quality.

I wrote down all of your suggestions. (Thanks) I know you mentioned Barcelona Sitges and Seville and told me to check the forum. My probem, is when I search for restaurants and hotels, I seem to get people with different tastes. I would really like recommendations for food and hotels from someone with similar tastes. THANKS! Any help is really appreciated.

I will eat any type of food. Money isn't an object. I enjoy quality and presentation, but not gimmicks.

I prefer nice/smaller hotels. (Relais and Chateaux type.) I DO like having modern conveniences, though. I am really picky when it comes to the bathroom and cleanliness in general.

Also, what are your recommendations for Lisbon?

Thanks so much!

PVB

I highly recommend La Taberna del Alabardero in Seville, both the hotel and the restaurant. It is tiny (I think seven rooms), so reserve early. At least try to eat there; it's fabulous. On a previous trip we prearranged through a private club we belong to here to have reciprocity with El Casino de Madrid. That was one of the finest meals we ever ate! We stayed at the Lisboa Palace. Quiet but very close to Avenida Libertade...excellent location. It wasn't as pricey as some of the Lisbon hotels, but we thought it was first class.

car

Shari
the best hotel in Sevilla is certanly the Alfonso XIII a moresque palace built in 1928 surrounded by beatiful gardens, near the Cathedral.
Another choice is Hotel Doña Maria with a cute roof pool/Bar with a nice night view.
Casas de la Juderia is a popular one is this forum and a similar one is Casas del Rey de Baeza. Both built in traditional Andalusian houses with a patio.
Outside town there is a possibility in a luxury "Cortijo", call Hacienda Benazuza, if you don't mind driving a few miles in and out of town.
As restaurants La Taberna del Alabardero
mentione by PVB is certanly a good choice,I don't know the rooms, less expensive but my favorite typical one is Casa Robles.
If you want to try modern Andalusian then Salvador Rojo in Calle San Fernando 23.
Barcelona is a big city so there are lots of different possibilities.
From the modern Arts hotel to the classic Claris or Ritz.
A good one for its location is hotel Majestic,in Passeig the Gracia.
My restaurant choice needs some updating so I will revert on that one.
For Lisbon I rather leave it for a local expert as my list might be out of date.

Mitch

Hi Shari
I am doing a Spain trip in May to areas i haven't been before (apart from Madrid) and can't wait.
I agree with Car on lots of his (i think he is a he?) suggestions and have stayed/eaten at the following.

The Arts Hotel in Barcelona. Absolutely gorgeous and the staff were fantastic. The concierge managed to get us tickets to see Barcelona play and had them ready for us when we arrived. They really did fall over backwards to help. Our room was huge and on a high floor which gave fantastic views over the beach area. All top notch gadgets (remote control curtains etc) Very expensive but managed to get quite a good deal. Would pay the extra and stay there again anytime.

I also stayed at the Hotel Dona Maria in Seville and again the staff were very friendly. The room was average sized but the en suite bathroom was glorious and huge. Very light and airy. The evening view (as well as the day) from the roof (where the pool is) was lovely and quite romantic in the evening. We considered the Alfonso XIII but thought it may be a bit stuffy. We did have a very nice (not cheap) evening meal there and returned one day for afternoon tea so had a look around.
Hope this helps a little.
I have taken Cars recomendations for Madrid Hotels as the last one i stayed in wasn't too good but he seems to advise well.
Have a good trip