KarenWoo

Sundriedtopepo, did you get good rates by booking directly through hotel? Do they offer free cancellation?
Thank you.

KarenWoo

I wanted to book the Hotel Europa in Madrid, recommended by Claire50, but it's full according to Booking.com. So I emailed the hotel directly - still waiting to hear from them. So, in the meantime, I did book Hotel Moderno Puerto del Sol, recommended by R. Steves, and in our budget. It's located on Calle del Arenal. Does anyone know anything about this hotel? I have found other hotels are fully booked, too, such as NH Palacio de Tepa. I'll probably send them an email to see if they really are full. Per R. Steves, September is big convention month in Madrid.

I find reserving hotels for this trip is frustrating because so many of them receive mixed reviews from travelers. I know everyone is different, but half of the people seem to love the hotel, and the other half seem to really dislike the same hotel.

Anyways, I have made reservations for Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, (along with Madrid), but still might change my Madrid hotel. I'm deliberating between a few places in Toledo.

Still looking for recommendations in Malaga. The Hotel Barceló is next to train station, so don't really want to stay there. Any other suggestions for Malaga? Hotel Monte Victoria sound nice, but is 15 minutes from center and on a steep hill. What are people's thoughts on staying in the center versus further out?

Thank you!

kja

Did you try the Hotel Lope de Vega in Madrid? As noted upthread, it worked well for me. And if it isn't getting excellent reviews, it is -- at least -- not getting awful ones.

KarenWoo

Hi kja,
I think it is under new ownership, and has a new name. Mercure Hotel, I think? Is it near the Prado? Most of the hotels I have seen in my budget are near Plaza Sol. I will check out its website again and look at my notes. I've been reviewing so many hotels I'm getting a little confused.
thank you!

november_moon

In Cordoba, I really liked the Hotel las Casas de la Juderia. Its in the middle of the old town, easy walk to many sites.

kja

Yes, that's the one -- the Mercure / Hotel Lope de Vega. New ownership, but still a location that worked exceedingly well for my particular purposes. Although we all have different standards for "walkable," the Lope de Vega was so close to the Prado that I barely noticed the walk; and close enough for me to walk to Atocha, the Plaza de Santa Ana (with it's array of wonderful restaurants), the delightful El Retiro park, Madrid's seriously underrated (IMO) archeological museum, etc. -- wonderful! And it was only just a bit further to the Plaza del Sol -- (which was a little too, uh, lively? for my preferences -- crowds, even in shoulder season back in 2004, lots of LOUD people, music, etc....)

It's always hard to figure out where to stay in a new destination, isn't it?

Good luck!

kja

Oooh, november_moon's post reminded me: I adored las Casas de la Juderia in Sevilla (I stayed elsewhere in Cordoba):
http://www.lascasasdelajuderiasevilla.com/en/
Looks like it still gets great reviews.

While in Cordoba, I stayed the Hotel Marisa, which was extremely well-located, but -- at least when I was there (2004) -- a place that I would describe as a budget accommodation that served my needs nicely, but would have benefitted from some improvements. But I just checked, and it gets some decent reviews:
www.booking.com/hotel/es/mar…

And in Granada, I stayed at the Hotel Reina Cristina.
http://www.hotelreinacristina.com
Again, the location was excellent for my needs. And again, it still seems to get some nice reviews.

I must thank you for your question -- I had forgotten how pleased I was with my hotel selections when I visited these locations. When I went, some were sufficiently low-budget to allow a few splurges -- as the Cardenal (in Toledo) was for me at that time. You've brought back some great memories!

basingstoke2

kja - I wonder if you could provide some more detail about your impression of the Casas de la Juderia. There reviews I have seen seem mixed - people either loved it or hated it. It does sound like our type of place though. The negative reviews seem to be about noise and thin walls. Other negative reviews were about having to wander about trying to find the room, but considering the layout of the place, that sounds like a good thing to me. Are all of the buildings in a group, or scattered over several streets?

KarenWoo

Thank you, kja. I will look into the Mercure again. It IS so difficult to decide where to stay in a new destination. We are older, 67 & 70, so I'm not sure if we would like a loud neighborhood.

And I have already booked the Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia in Cordoba, based on Candace's review. Candace recently finished a great TR on Portugal, Northern Spain & Paris, but she had mentioned going to Andalucía the year before, so I asked her where she stayed, and she highly recommended la Juderia in Cordoba.

I have booked the Hotel Ladron de Aqua in Granada, recommended by Progol.

And for Seville, I have booked Apartmentos Suites Santa Cruz, again recommended by Candace.

basingstoke2, Candace describes the bathroom in her room at de la Juderia as beautiful and luxurious with marble, emerald green tiles, mirrors, etc. She seems to be very happy with this hotel. Where will you be traveling and when?

sundriedtopepo

Hi KarenWoo sorry to take so long to see your question: Mostly the rate that the hotel offers online is very similar to the rate that booking.com offers. Hotels usually offer both an early booking rate, which is non-refundable, and a regular rate, which is refundable.

I like that on tripadvisor they now have key words that you can use to filter the reviews. So, if you want a quiet room, then hit the 'quiet' filter, and TA will bring up all the reviews with the word quiet in them. If you look through those, you will find out if indeed the hotel rooms are quiet, or if people are complaining that they are not quiet.

If air con is very important to you, filter with the words air con, and you will see if people thought the air con worked well, or if they complained about it being noisy, didn't cool the room, etc etc.

Everyone has different criteria for what is acceptable in accommodations, so I find if I use those filters, I can find out quite fast whether I am going to be okay with the hotel or not.

Also remember that if 90% of people feel a hotel is good, and only 3 reviews make it sound really bad, then it could just be sour grapes, people are sometimes just trying to give a hotel a bad rating because they didn't get something for free.

There is no need to email a hotel; just type the name into your browser and you will find the hotel's own website. The websites which say Ad beside them are almost always booking companies, so look for the web address which just has the hotel name. Virtually all hotels can be booked online through their own website these days.

kja

@ basingstoke2: To be clear, the las Casas de la Juderia in which I stayed was in Sevilla, not the hotel of the same name in Cordoba. I loved it!

IIFC, I had to walk through a pair of delightful courtyards before turning off to the stair (or elevator? sorry -- I forgot!) to my room. I never had a problem finding my way, but one would (I think) need to be able to pay sufficient attention to count the number of courtyards through which one passes, or to be able to recognize the "key" one. Given the delights of Spanish wines, I can imagine that more than one guest has missed the access point to the correct upper floor. ;-)

I have no recollection of noises, thin walls, or trying to find the place. I will admit, however, that I can sleep through just about anything, including (unfortunately) alarm clocks. The hotel connects several buildings that were once separate, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if acoustics vary from room to room. When I was there, the interconnected buildings were -- IIRC -- 3 consecutive adjoined buildings, not different buildings scattered about on different streets.

But again, let me be clear: I was there in 2004. I can't attest to anything since!

Hope that helps! FWIW, I'd happily book there again.


@ KarenWoo:

The area by the Mecure was NOT loud, at least when I was there! One of the things I like about it was that it WAS quiet, even though in what I thought "easy" walking distance of the things I wanted to see / experience in Madrid.

The area I thought a bit too loud for my tastes was the Plaza del Sol.

Sorry if I presented confusing information!

And <b>no</b> need to explain your choices! I'm glad you found some options that seem to work for you, and apologize for not remembering enough to respond in a more timely manner -- I just assumed that my experiences were out of date, and so didn't check. So again, thanks -- I've learned something from you!

KarenWoo

Kja, thanks for your reply. No need to apologize. You didn't present confusing information. I should have been more specific and said "i wouldn't like a loud neighborhood like Puerta del Sol." I plan on looking into Mercure again.

Sundriedtopepo, thanks for your lengthy reply. I learned something new from you about using tripadvisor's filter for reviews.

basingstoke2

Kja - thank you for your reply, it was very helpful. Yes, it was the one in Seville that I was looking at.

MyriamC

Sevilla: Amadeus and Casas de El Arenal

Bedar

Madrid:- Ibis Hotel at Las Ventas. Cheap, new, spotless, and near the airport.

KarenWoo

kja, thank you for recommending Mercure Madrid Centro (formerly Hotel Lope de Vega). I cancelled my reservation at Hotel Moderno and booked the Mercure for 4 nights in Madrid. The Mercure only received 2 negative reviews that I could find, and many, many more positive reviews. After doing more research, I discovered negative reviews for the Moderno, typically about it being noisy, not just outside in Puerto del Sol, but also inside the hotel itself, with rowdy guests in the hallways, etc. One person was there for 5 nights, and did not get a good night's sleep during those 5 nights.

We will be happier with the quieter location and neighborhood of the Mercure especially because we do plan on visiting the Prado, Thyssen, and Reina Sofia. So many thanks for your assistance.

I also booked the Hotel Abad in Toledo, and the Soho Malaga, centrally located in Malaga at Cordoba 5, Malaga Centro. I supposedly got a 40% discount on the Soho Malaga. It's near the Atarazanas Market, which my husband will love.

I can't really do anything more for this trip until the train reservations and Alhambra tickets go on sale. Do the train tickets go on sale 60 days or 90 days before? What about Alhambra tickets?

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond. It is so helpful to hear from people who have actually been to these places and stayed in the hotels.

If anyone can recommend some good restaurants, I would appreciate that, too. We don't need fancy and expensive restaurants. We are happy with casual and good local food. We love tapas!

kja

I hope the Mercure Madrid Centro (formerly Hotel Lope de Vega) suits you as well as it did me! The location is particularly wonderful for those three museums.