Hi,

I will be spending one night in Granada in mid December. Can anyone suggest some places to stay for approx. 100 euros or less?

I'm essentially just passing through to check out the Alhambra. Any other must see places or things to do in Granada?

try sol-melia.com

i think the alabaster carved tombs of king ferdinand and isabel in the cathedral are very impressive and worth the short wait to see.

the Cathedral was a surprise - absolutely worth a visit

Thanks for the insight. I plan on adding the Cathedral to my itinerary.

Next, I plan on heading to Malaga for a day or two where I thought I would rent a car and make my way over to Seville. As of now, I plan on checking out Ronda and Jerez on my way and would like to spend another night somewhere to break up the drive and have time for sight seeing. Any recommendations?

Also, I heard it is best to arrange for a rental car prior to arriving in Spain. Any truth to that?

tombs of catholic kings are in the royal chapel, not the same entrance as for the cathedral
http://www.capillarealgranada.com/


Get nice views of Alhambra at sunset from San Nicolas view point.

There are many many hotels and hostals in the center, hotals are cheaper than hotels and most are ok if you seek a place just for sleep and a bathroom.

Also check Elvira street for Tapas and wines.

Book your tickets for alhambra in advance or you risk to queue for a long time.

http://granadainfo.com/
http://www.granadatur.com/
http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/
http://www.alhambra.org

We stayed at the Hotel Plaza Nueva last March. It was about 85€. It's right on the main plaza just before you go up the road to the Alhambra. I really like Granda alot, and not just the Alhambra. We spent 3 nights and I'm glad I didn't have any less time. Here's a photo of the hotel, the next two images are taken from the room. And there's alot of other photos of Granada if you are interested.

www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/76736285

one more thing:
we really liked Alhambra at night .
The Palace looked like something out of the Arabian nights. Also, it was less crowded.
The rest of Alhambra was a bit underwhelming ( we visited during the day too).
The whole experience felt a bit like being on an assembly line.

Hotel Puerta de las Granadas.com
http://www.hotel-puertadelasgranadas.com/

It's not extra large or fancy, but very clean and comfortable. In December the prices are well below 100Euro. The rooms are as large as they appear in the website photos (Average, but not tiny). There is a free internet alcove with a couple of computers. Best though is the young helpful staff and the location. Everyone working the desk there was as friendly as I've ever seen in Europe, particularly with Carla, on our arrival who made sure without asking that she provided a map and circled on it where bus stops, sights, and shops were. The location is on the main street between the Alhambra and the Plaza Nueva (closer the plaza). The bus stop to take you to the Alhambra is directly at the bottom of the hill, in the plaza, if you don't want to walk up. It was very quick and easy to walk to the Cathedral or into the Albayzin as well.

Oops, I had an extra dot.com. Please ignore it - the proper link is on the second line.

Hi, s'buckler,

we stayed at the Holel Guadelope in granada, which is right opposite teh alhambra. in Nov '05 we paid 60E for a large room with full bathroom.

to get into town, either walk down the road or get the bus. To get back, definitely get teh Bus! once every 5 -10 minutes from the suare at the bottom, 1E per journey, until at least midnight.

we had bookings for a day-time visit, which was sold out even in November, and did the night-time visit on spec. we were so glad we did - the alhambra at night is magical. you will have plenty of time to eat afterwards, as no-one eats dinner before about 9pm at the earliest. we had dinner in the hotel and it was fine - really good ox-tail stew and a nice dessert.

have fun,

regards, ann

Suggest you don't want a car in Seville why not train Malaga to Seville?

Plaza Nueva is a great location, very central and handy to everything. Taxis and buses up to the Alhambra are right out your door. We didn't stay at the Hotel Plaza Nueva as isabel here did, but the Hotel Macia Plaza just next door (actually if you look at isabel's photo, it's the yellow hotel pictured on the right). It was a nice hotel. While the rooms are smallish, bathrooms were excellent and hotel is modern and clean. Either way, this location is great!

Other than the Alhambra and the cathedral (a must!) Granada did not excite. We stayed two nights and found this to be perfect. LOVED Ronda! Seville was also wonderful. Enjoy Spain!

I find it so interesting how different people like different things. Two posters here, and many on some other threads, have loved the Alhambra at night. But while I usually love night experiences at lots of places, the Alhambra for me was much better in the day time. I did both day and night visits and after the night visit my sister and I both agreed we would have felt very gyped if we had just done the evening - there is so much more to see in the day time. We also didn't feel it was overly crowded. We were there in March and did a 10 am visit.

And by the way, there is an interior shot of the Plaza Nueva hotel room near the end of my Granda gallery in case you want to see what the rooms look like. We were quite pleased.

I'm planning to spend Christmas in Granada with a group called Club Dance Holidays, they offer dance lessons, trips, sightseeing.
I'm alone and didn't want to spend the holidays by myself.
But I'm very nervous about going off by myself like this.I have never been to Spain,nor do I speak Spanish.
Please tell me if this is safe, if this tour operator is good, or if you have any suggestions that might be better.
many thanks in advance.