I need the hotel recommendation for Madrid and Seville in September. We are staying 4 nights in each city. We prefer 4 star hotel in the downtown area. Thank you so much!

In Madrid we stayed at The Principal after reading about it in the NYT. It is a fairly new design hotel in an historic building. It is set off of Gran Via on a side street, convenient location, highly recommend.

There is the one famous super luxurious one you should at least check prices on in Seville, the Alfonso XIII. I stayed in the 4* Fernando III in the Santa Cruz quarter last time and really liked it, but it's just sort of a modern functional comfortable hotel, but a great location. That isn't really "downtown" though in Seville, I think that would be more around Plaza Nueva. I'm not personally familiar with hotels around there but I know the Hotel Inglaterra is a 4* wellknown hotel around there.

In Madrid I really like the 4* Hotel Intur Palacio San Martin, which is off a bit on a quiet square sort of in-between the Opera and Puerta del Sol. It was a very convenient location for several metro stops and restaurants. It looks like they have redecorated everything in modern bland stuff, like most hotels, whereas I really liked it because it had nice traditional decor (not fussy, either, just nice). But maybe you like modern. A lot of hotels in Madrid have done that.

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

Stayed here in March this year and was very happy. Its well located, just a short walk to the Cathedral (10 minutes). I got a good deal on Hotels.com (Average of £90 per night - did not include breakfast). Its a four-star business-type hotel, not a lux four star hotel . Excellent friendly service. Good WIFI connection. Several English channels on TV. The room was HUGE, with two comfortable double beds, good linen and pillows, and a wonderful large bathroom. Spotlessly clean.

I'd recommend it!

Regards ... Ger

Hotel Alfonso the 13th is great. I stayed there last summer and whenever I go back to Seville, I will definitely stay there again. I checked the prices regularly as prices fluctuated a lot. But, I ended up getting a really good price. Plus, there's a food boutique right across from the check-in desk area and they book small, walking tours of both food places and with a really good flamenco show in supposedly the smallest theater in the world. The show was amazing, small and intimate; one guitarist, one dancer, and one singer. I've been following flamenco for decades.

https://www.casalateatro.com

Official Website Hotel Alfonso XIII Seville Best available rates and deals

I booked the food and flamenco tour and we were only 4 people total and the other three people were three women all in the same family. Our guide was great and we went to tapas bars, regular bars, saw the flamenco show, and he even worked well overtime and took us to an ice cream place at the end of the evening. Then, the three ladies and I walked back to the hotel at around 10:00PM-10:30PM. We didn't want to detain our guide any longer as he's a lawyer by day and needed to go home and prepare for work. Great experience!!!

Happy Travels!

In Sevilla, you might consider Las Casas de la Juderia:
https://www.lascasasdelajuderiasevilla.com/en/

We have stayed at Alfonso XIII and Gran Melia Colon and preferred the Melia.
Perhaps our visit to Alfonso XII was tainted by all the security guards who were protecting a famous guest.

I didn't have any security guard situations at the Alfonso the 13th and my experience was excellent.

Happy Travels!

Last Fall we stayed in the Hotel Derby in Seville, and Hotel Liabeny in Madrid. Both very nice hotels, right in the midst of downtown pedestrian walks, good breakfasts. Parking in Seville was in a nearby underground parking lot, not too much of a hassle. We had returned our leased car upon arrival in Madrid, so cab to/from airport. I was particularly impressed with how easy it was to walk around Madrid, for such a massive city at first glance. Would go back to either of these hotels in a heartbeat!

On our recent trip to Spain, we stayed at the Hotel Indigo in Madrid (off the Gran Via; nicely-appointed rooms; great roof-top pool and bar).
In Seville, we stayed at an AirBnB, but one afternoon when I needed to have a document printed, the front desk clerk at Hotel Casa 1800 (www.hotelcasa1800.com) very kindly helped us out, even though we were not customers. If I were going back to Seville, I would look in to staying there.