bmoremd

Hi! My husband and I are planning a trip to Spain in the next few months. We are interested in hotel recommendations for Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Granada. We don't need anything fancy, but don't have the go the ultra-budget route either! We're in our mid/late 20s, and interested in staying in central locations- we love walking most everywhere! Thanks so much in advance!!

sandy3

My family and I stayed at the Le Meridien in Barcelona. It was a great location. We were right there on Las Ramblas, a street/blvd. you don't want to miss and just a block away from Plaza Catelonia (spelling?).

usernameistaken

The B-hotel in Barcelona may be right up your alley - scored a luxe budget room on expedia last year (their own website had deals as well). Near Placa espanya.

annhig

hi bmoremd,

here I go again - recommending the hotel guadelupe in granada. it's vey reasonable, big rooms and bathrooms [at least ours was] and right opposite the alhambra.

there's a bus takes you down into town and better still, brings you back up again!

regards, ann

PS - for more ideas, have a look at the guides by fodorite maribel @ www.maribelsguides.com. she is a mine of information.

cmeyer54

Do you have any hotel points through business or credit cards? If so, you may be able to use them and get really nice acomodations. In Madrid, we stayed at the Westin and were very please; the location is great and the structure with the tiffany glass dome is gorgeous. In Barcelona, we stayed at one of the H10 properties - ours was the Marina location. We are very comfortable taking public transportation so this location was fine - its also close to the harbor and restaurants on the water. You may want to google H10 as they have a range of prices and locations throughout Spain for more options. The Marina was very european chic, hip, etc. Frosted glass stairs, lots of light wood and clean lines. In Seville, we stayed at the Alfonso XIII which is again, a gorgeous moorish architecture. Its centrally located and worth a visit even if you don't stay there.

sueswny

Some suggestions for moderate hotels:
Sevilla--Hotel Murillo, in Santa Cruz area. Great location, very nice buffet breakfast, good choice. They also have self-catering apartments.
Granada--Hotel Guadalupe or Hotel America right at the Alhambra, or Hotel Alixares just a short walk away. Alixares has a swimming pool if you are going in hot weather. You can find great deals at these hotels through online booking sites like metglobal.com
Barcelona--Hotel Catedral, just off the Cathedral Square and around corner from Hotel Colon. New and modern, nice rooms, quiet, nice breakfast. Or Meson Castilla, a nice, safe B&B in convenient location.
Madrid--Hostal Persal (officially a hostal, but more like a modest hotel, great location, good price)
These are just a few of many, many possibilities.

amsdon

As sueswn says..."These are just a few of many, many possibilities."

You can start by reading the many posts here and the the maribel guides http://www.maribelsguides.com/

Egbert

Trip advisor reviews seem to be accurate. I was quite happy with all of these hotels and their locations on my last trip.
Madrid- Hostal Macarena
Seville-Hotel Murillo
Granada- Hotel Puerta de Las Granadas (stay in town for easy access to good tapas, restaurants, cafes etc.)
Barcelona- Regencia colon

MFNYC

Barcelona - Hotel Inglaterra. great location, great breakfast, great moderate hotel.

Madrid - Hotel Carlos V, it's been a few years but it also was a very convenient, pleasant and reasonable hotel.

You should check the hotel websites for prices along with Kayak or Bing (both compare various booking sights). Read the fine print carefully, some booking may or may not include breakfast depending on how or where you book. Also check out tripadvisor for comments and print out maribel's guides (www.maribelsguides.com)

abynrml2106

We stayed in Hotel America in Granada few years ago. Yes it's nice to be so close to the Alhambra but depending on what else you want to do, it far from restaurants and the bustling downtown which we really loved. Also, the room was very small and noise from the hotel cafe wafted up early in the morning.

In Seville we stayed at Hotel Amadeus. Wonderful hotel! Had internet access free! Went down the street for breakfast which was cheap and filling at local restaurant or bar.

Paul1950

We just returned from Sevilla, Granada, and Madrid.

We were very happy with accomodations, service, and locations of Hotel Preciados in Madrid and Hotel Anacapri in Granada. Locations made most sights walkable; staffs friendly and knowledgable. These are both full-service hotels.

Preciados is a 5-10 minute walk (depending on how fast you walk) from Pl. del Sol and Pl. Major, and also an wasy walk from the Royal Palace, etc. The subway station Pl. Santo Domingo (Line 2, red line) is 30 seconds from the hotel's front door. Subway station Callao is a 1 or 2 minute walk the other way (lines 3 and 5). Several other stations within 5 or 10 minute walk.

The Anacapri in Granada is located right between Pl. Nueva and Pl. Isabel La Católica. Excellent location. Room was large, but staff told us rooms do vary in size (as it typical in many European hotels). Breakfast included as we booked directly with the hotel and had Rick Steve's Andalucia guidebook to show them when we checked in.

We stayed at Hostal Callejon del Agua in Sevilla. It is not "full-service" like the other two. Given the configuration of the old building and the rooms, it is classified as a "hostal" rather than a "hotel." This is NOT the same as a youth hostel. It is just a smaller hotel with less staff and services (e.g., no room service; no bellhop).

That said, we were well satisfied with the place even though the elevator wasn't working. Great location; the building is very interesting and we loved the neighborhood--rooms and private baths smaller than in the Granada and Madrid hotels, but certainly adequate.

travelgourmet

Here is where we have stayed recently in each city:

- Madrid: We most recently stayed at the Westin, using SPG points. It was very nice and was in a great location, but I didn't care for the decor - too old-fashioned. All in all, I think it a very good use of points, but doubt I would pay their normal rates.

We have also stayed at the Hotel Puerta America. It is not very convenient, but the rooms were just awesome. Each floor is by a different designer (loved the Zaha Hadid rooms). Good staff and a great bar on the top floor. Outside of the main area, but cabs are easy and weren't that expensive. There is also a metro line nearby.

- Barcelona: We stayed at the NH Calderon. A nice enough hotel, but not very memorable. Good value for money when we went was why we booked it.

- Seville: We stayed at the Gran Melia and loved it. Awesome rooms. Loved the decor. Good service. Decent location, though I know some prefer being a bit closer to the old town.

- Granada: We stayed at the AC Palacio de Santa Paula. A nice enough hotel and I liked some features (the restaurant was lovely), but it just felt a bit blah to me.

There is a Spanish chain that I have seen good things about and always wanted to try, called Room Mate, but they have never had availability for our trips. The design of these places really looks great, and they seem like they would be a great alternative for younger folks. As a bonus, the little personality profiles are unintentional comedy at its best.

travelgourmet

The website for the Room Mate hotels:

http://www.room-matehotels.com/eng/r...me_general.php

joannyc

Seville: I agree the Alfonso XIII was a wonderful hotel!

Granada: I enjoyed both the Hotel Alhambra Palace and the Parador de Granada.

AtlTravelr

I've posted this info on another thread, but was so happy with 2 of our hotels in the cities mentioned here that I wanted to give them another "plug".

Madrid - Catalonia Las Cortes - I considered Hotel Preciados but I was glad, in the end, that we stayed here. Close enough to the museums so that we could pop in during the free times. GREAT breakfast (even at hotel breakfast price, it was well worth it). Very nice room and free wi-fi.

Granada - Carmen de la Alcubilla - very near the Alhambra. An upscale B&B as opposed to a full service hotel but it was our favorite place of all. We actually enjoyed the walk between the Carmen and downtown and since we had an early morning Alhambra visit it was very convenient. Great host, nice area for dinner a short walk from the hotel but not all the way downtown, good breakfast, best coffee of the trip, quiet and BEAUTIFUL view of the city below. Other guests especially liked walking around the Alhambra at night - we did not do this, but I'll bet it was nice as well.

BarcelonaNative

Barcelona: suggest Banys Orientals and/or Hotel Curious (both can be had for about 100 euros/nt) and are great locations.
More info can be found on my blog: barcelonanative.com
feel free to email me if you require expert advice.
safe travels! michael~