I want to spend part or all of Holy Week in Sevilla, Zamora, or Murcia.

I understand that hotels double or triple (yikes!) their room rates during this time.

Have any Fodorites been to one of these cities during Holy Week? If so, what kind of room rates did you pay?

I've been to Sevilla during Semana Santa-yes, the "extra season" causes rates to triple (or more). Just like Pamplona during the sanfermines.

Rates don't triple in Zamora, though during Holy Week. Don't know about Murcia, but I doubt that rates would triple.

When we return to Sevilla for Semana Santa, we may do an apt. rental.

A good source from which to start looking at hotels and rates is
www.sevilla5.com
You'll see how much the "extra season" rates are above low-mid-high.

The 2 star properties don't usually raise their rates as much for Holy Week as the 3 and 4 star hotels.

Correction. Reviewed my bill at the Casa del Maestro-there during Holy Week we paid double, not triple. I remember when hotel rate searching that the 5 star Alfonso XII rates were truly astronomical and one needed to reserve for a minimum of 5 nights with no refund.

Pegontheroad,
An example of a nice small 2 star would be the Hotel Alcántara, which only doubles the room rate, from 75 in low season to 143 euros for Semana Santa.

www.hotelalcantara.net

Maribel:

Would you recommend being at the Santa Semana celebrations for the whole week, or would you suggest that three or four days would suffice?

I know this is pretty vague, and you don't know my likes and dislikes, but perhaps you can give me a recommendation anyway.

Hi Pegontheroad,
For first-timers to Semana Santa in Sevilla, I'd strongly recommend that you be there when Holy Week celebrations reach their "fever pitch" -which would be during the "madrugá", from Maundy Thursday evening until Good Friday. We stayed up virtually all night to see these amazing processions, or "pasos", that I had been waiting for years to witness first hand.

During the "madrugá" you'll get to see the procession of the Virgen of the Macarena and Jesús del Gran Poder, both extremely beautiful and very moving. At 12:30 am. we stood for over an hour waiting for the "costaleros", float bearers, to carry the Virgen through the portal of the Basílica de la Macarena, a painstaking process. It's an experience I'll never, ever forget, and I waited for many, many years to experience it first-hand. Plus that evening, early morning you have the Virgen de la Esperanza de Triana and El Silencio, also incredibly moving experiences. But plan on spending the entire night chasing these processions. The ABC newspaper publishes the schedule and float route.

Actually Sat. and Easter Sunday are anti-climactic compared to the Madrugá. Life almost goes back to normal-closed off streets are re-opened, shops and museums open.

So in answer to your question, I would say that 3 or 4 days would be fine. We arrived on Maundy Thursday morning and left Easter Monday on our last trip. Next time, we'll arrive in Seville on Wed. before noon and leave Saturday morning and go to another spot for Easter Sunday.

We were very happy to be in Ubeda, Baeza and Ronda earlier in the week, where the processions are quite somber in tone compared to Sevilla's.

I do want to witness the processions in Jerez next time and also those in Málaga.

This past Easter we saw them in Madrid on Maundy Thursday and in Burgos, Good Friday.

The processions of Castilla (Zamora, Valladolid) are much more somber and solemn in tone, in general.

Hope this helps.

It does help, very much. Your descriptions make me even more anxious to experience the Santa Semana. I'm not one to stay up late at night, so it looks like it will be nap time in the afternnon.

I will be experiencing all this alone. I hope that won't be a problem.

I'm very excited about this.

Hi Pegontheroad,
Yes, the secret is to take a very long siesta! That's what we did. And no, experiencing this on your own won't be a problem at all. It will actually give you the freedom to wander about exactly as you wish, following the processions from neighborhood to neighborhood. When out on the streets late Thurs. eve, early Fri. morning, it's impossible not to run into the processions, as they're everywhere.

As a Seville resident who stays every year to see the processions there is certainly something to be said for La Madruga (processions which leave on Thursday at midnight and later). And while it is something many don't want to miss, there are also many reasons why it's better to visit in the beginning of the week:

1) As mentioned above, Saturday and Sunday have less acitivty. On Saturday there are 4 processions and on Sunday just one which leaves before 5am and finishes around 2pm. As the rates for rooms are high you end up paying a lot to see fewer processions.

2) Rates in some hotels are less expensive earlier in the week (from Sunday - Wednesday) than they are later in the week (from Thursday - Sunday). Most hotels have the same rate the whole week, while others will structure the rates into two parts (more expensive later in the week).
There are almost alwasy last minute offers for rooms early in the week as hotels try to fill empty rooms.

3) Minimum stays - many hotels will require that the last 3 or 4 nights (Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat) be booked together. Some will have more flexibility with minimum stays earlier in the week, so if 3 or 4 days seems like a lot you can stay less.

4) Palm Sunday processions are some of best, certainly for locals. The first day of Semana Santa is very popular and perhaps my favorite day.

5) Crowds - while Palm Sunday can be crowded, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday processions are generally less crowded than the end of the week. Thursday and Friday are national holidays in Spain, and just about everyone is trying to visit Seville. And while I love the Madruga (Thursday midnight processions) there are times when it is so crowded that it can be annoying. One note: you can get a great view of the Macarena on Friday morning around 8 - 9am as it goes back to the church. By then many people have gone to bed from the night before.

Prices tend to double for hotel rooms, although there are a few which don't. Hosteria del Laurel is one which typically adds only 20 - 30 Euros on top of the normal rate, which makes it a very good deal. There are a few more, but a very few, which also offer more reasonable rates.

I certainly second the rec for Hosteria del Laurel; http://www.hosteriadellaurel.com/ It is located on the pedestrianized Barrio de Santa Cruz, 5 minute walk to the cathedral, great breakfast, and an excellent restaurant. Typically, their rates during Holy Week are High Season + 20. This supplement is definitely one of the lowest ones during Holy Week for a hotel with such location. I paid $90/triple back in Nov 2004, so if you pay less than $150/double in Holy Week at the Hosteria, you got yourself a heck of a deal!

exploreseville,
It's great to see you posting here! Your intimate knowledge of the city and your generosity in sharing this with others on your fabulous web page are so appreciated! What you share there has greatly enriched the experience of so many who travel to Seville.

Pegontheroad,
Make sure to read all the invaulable info available regarding Seville, Semana Santa, Feria, day trips and gobs of other insider tips at this wonderful web site:
www.exploreseville.com

I will do so. Thanks so much for the information. I have always wanted to be in Sevilla during Santa Semana, and I'm finally going to do it.

BKMK

I stayed in Seville during HOly Week, at least part of it. I stayed at the Hotel Amadeus, a 2*, and I believe their website says what the rates are, at least it used to. As I recall, it wasn't double the regular rates, but certainly higher than normal. Right now the regular rates are around 100 euro a night for a superior double, and I think I paid more around 150 euro, or perhaps a 50 pct increase, but it might have been double (this was a couple years ago, so could be 80 to 160 euro, I wouldn't have paid 200 euro for that hotel). It definitely was not triple, as I wouldn't have gone if it were that much.