We will be heading to Spain from the 27th of February to the 8th of March. We would like to base ourselves in Seville for the first 3 nights, then Madrid for the remainder (don't want to risk missing our flight home). A few questions for all you experts out there: 1) Any hotel suggestions? - we are willing to spend 150-200 Euros per night and would like to be centrally located in each city and 2) What are the must-sees in and around Madrid and Seville? I'm a fan of sitting at cafes, walking around aimlessly and people watching, with a peppering of cultural activities, so I don't want a militaristic itinerary I'm thinking the loose itinerary may be Day 1.Seville 2.Cordoba or Granada 3. Seville then 4. Madrid 5. Toledo 6. Madrid 7.Segovia 8.El Escorial 9. Madrid 10. Madrid AM then trip home. Thoughts?

Hi--I am planning a Barcelona/Madrid trip for April and I found a very good offer on the Westin Palace in Madrid. By booking for 4 or more nights, you get a 40% discount. A Queen-size bedroom starts at euro 132 and king-size starts at euro 172.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...?propertyID=79

click on offers on that page and fill in your dates.

Hope this helps, Barb

The Westin in Madrid is gorgeous, and right across the street from the museums (there's even a Starbucks downstairs - which may be a plus or a minus for you LOL!)

Wow Barb, that's a great rate for the Westin. I stayed there in 2002 and really liked it. Then, it got too expensive for us and more recntly we have stayed nearby at the Villa Real. But I have read some negative reviews on the Villa Real in Tripadvisor, so I don't know if I should still recommend it.

Love2 explore, Your itinerary looks fine. The only one I personally wouldn't suggest is the day trip from Sevilla to Granada (it's over 3 hrs from Sevilla). With only 3 days in Sevilla, I would concentrate in Sevilla and Cordoba.

Have you checked www.maribelsguides.com for recomendations?

We're looking at the Villa Real too (which is running a special for 98 Euros/night!) but am worried about rumors of noisy renovations in progress... Don't know if that's still going on.

love2explore,

Why don't you e-mail the hotel and ask them about the status of the renovations? That is a great rate! I might check for my dates as I need a hotel in Madrid on 3/28, for the night before we fly back to the US!

love2explore,

Where did you find the special for the Villa real? In their website I don't find anything lower that 120 Euros.

We are booked for a week at the Hotel Preciados in Madrid (#5 rating on tripadvisor). Since we are staying for more than a couple of nights they have great rates (even during the holiday time when we are there in April). It gets high rates on this board as well from Spain experts like Maribel, sf7307, etc. Suggest you check their web site.

Good luck.

What rate are you getting at the Hotel Preciados? we're booking there for Sept.

This hotel has an OUTSTANDING location, great rates, nice breakfast, wonderful restaurant, courteous staff, AND a very unique history; Don Joe Zorilla stayed at this residence while writing the novel "Don Juan Tenorio".

www.hosteriadellaurel.com

hi love,

<<We would like to base ourselves in Seville for the first 3 nights, then Madrid for the remainder (don't want to risk missing our flight home).>>

so you want to spend 7 nights in Madrid in case you miss your plane? LOL.

if you can bare the risk, I'd suggest fitting 2 nights in Granada into your itinerary.

after your 3 nights in Seville you could get the bus/train to granada, do the night tour of the alhambra, then the next day, do the day-time tour, and explore the rest of the town.

train to Madrid the next morning. you should still catch the plane.

5 nights in madrid is enough, IMHO. 2-3 days for the city, 1-2 days for day trips.

regards, ann

I am FAR from a Spain expert LOL, but we were in Madrid last summer and stayed at the Preciados (and liked it a lot). Note, though, that the Preciados is as different from the Westin as you can get! Apples and oranges! I'm not sure where you're from, so I don't know what to compare them to, but I'll use New York as an example -- the Westin would be like the Plaza (before condoization) -- a sumptuous grand hotel on its own plaza. The Preciados would be like the Flatotel -- a small boutique hotel with barely any lobby to speak of, an old building, but completely renovated inside with modern rooms and amenities.

I just checked rates at Hotel Prado, a 3 star near the Villa Real (on the street that goes up to Plaza Santa Ana). A few weeks ago a double went for 130 Euros for my date on late March. Now it is 90 Euros. I am thinking of booking there instead of the Clement barajas (this is for the last night of our trip).

Hi cruiseluv,
I've been checking rates for you, and in the Barrio de las Letras for that date, the 3 star Hotel Prado has the very best rate-90, which is unbeatable.
The 105 euro rate at the Derby Villa Real is for a 2 night stay only, and I'm afraid that the dramatic rate drop there reflects the ongoing renovation, floor by floor.

I wish my favorite on the Calle del Prado, the classic Catalonia Las Cortes, had a lower rate for your date-unfortunately it' s still at 150, the ME at 180 and the Westin at 259 (a pre pay).

In the Puerta del Sol area the Preciados has a rate of 125 with breakfast. They're running 3 and 5 night specials for 105 and 107 (sans breakfast) this winter.

cruiseluv (and all),
For your date, the Hotel Prado's four star sister, the Lope de Vega, a couple of blocks south, has a rate of 107. To find it you must click on "special offers" on the home page. Both the Prado and LdeV offer free wi-fi, which is a big bonus for us.
www.hotellopedevega.com

Maribel, thanks for checking those rates for me. The only reason I'm still considering the Clement Barajas ( their rate is 90 euros also)is that they have the free shuttle and it's four of us. With our lugagge I'm thinking maybe we'll need two cabs to and from the airport. Are bigger cabs common in Madrid? I can't recall, we are usually just two of us so it has never been an issue.
On the other hand, I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to go from the Clement to Madrid at night for dinner. Obviously, with the Prado or Lope de Vega, we will be right there.

cruiseluv,
Most taxis will accommodate 4, with 3 passengers in back, 1 in front, but the luggage is a different story. I'm always amazed, though, at how they manage to make our bags fit after our 6 weeks of collecting extra pieces in the summer! But they've been able to use the front passenger seat to store pieces, we've had our carry- ons in our laps. Our last taxi driver bragged about the size of his taxi's trunk, which was formidable. These taxi drivers are masters of improvisation.

You could use Aerocity shuttle, but I just hate the delay of stopping off at several hotels to pick up passengers on the way to the airport (tried it once and won't do it again). That's why we always take a taxi directly. I want to stay in the city for as long as I can!
The Aerocity express service (no stops) would cost your family 50 euros (weekend rate). But that rate includes only one regular bag and one piece of hand luggage per person. There's an extra bag charge of 1 euro per item.

It will be a bit time consuming to walk to the Barajas pueblo metro from the Clement Barajas to go into town for dinner, then metro back, but only you know whether the convenience of being near the airport (and free shuttle) outweighs the convenience of walking to dinner from a downtown hotel. It's a tough call. I'm assuming the rate at the Clement Barajas is 90 per room?

BTW,
We've added a couple of nights in Madrid to our own trip and will be there March 28. If you do decide to stay in town, perhaps we could meet for a drink. I actually haven't decide where we'll be staying, but there are certainly some really good, competitive rates out there for that weekend and for a 3 night stay, thank goodness.

sf7307,
Your comparison of the Westin vs Preciados to the Plaza vs Flatotel is just spot on!!

Barb,
That fantastic rate that you found for your dates at the Westin Palace must be strictly capacity controlled, because it seems now to have disappeared for those dates. You clinched a truly amazing deal there!

love2explore,
I have some hotel reviews and suggestions for Sevilla and Granada in pdf files on my travel page at
www.maribelsguides.com if you'd like to peruse them to give you some ideas.

For your range of 150-200 euros for those dates, you should be able to stay in fairly plush, nice 4 star properties rather than budget spots in Sevilla and Granada.

Hi Maribel,

Thank you for your additional info. It is a tough decision , but I'm leaning towards staying in town. My husband says to do whatever I think is best (great help, lol). We are only carrying one suitcase per person so, who knows, maybe the taxi will be able to fit them.
That would be great if we could meet for a drink, an added bonus of staying in Madrid! I'll keep you posted.

Hi cruiseluv,
Since you only have 1 bag per person, that taxi driver can most definitely make your luggage fit. I've seen them work miracles!

We're so lucky that it's a good weekend price-wise to stay in Madrid. Lots of bargains, even at the 5 stars.
Keep me posted!

Hi--the rates for the Westin Palace are still there--just click on my link above, click on hotel offers, click on Easter sale 4 or more days--40% off. I just now plugged in Mar 1-8 and got a queen size room for euro 132/night.

Maribel--I'm enjoying your guides, thanks for all the work. I'm glad to hear the Westin Palace is as nice as it sounds, we're looking forward to our stay.
Barb