The Inn on the Square (Hotel Hostería del Laurel (Seville))

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	Hotel Hostería del Laurel (Seville)
Date:	18/09/06 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great value for money and location

Disadvantages: Tiny bath; Poor TV selection

Last year we visited Granada for the first time. The incentive was to see the Alhambra. It was an unforgettable experience. But, of course, Granada isn't the only Spanish city with Moorish associations. Another is Seville which, apart from it's other places of note, features the Alcazar, not a Moorish palace itself but one built to Moorish designs and by Moorish craftsmen. The visit would require another long weekend and in consequence somewhere to stay, but where?

Seville is not short of hotels, located all over the city. What was needed was one that offered decent facilities at a reasonable price and close to the attractions. The one that I found that appeared to meet all of these criteria was the Hosteria del Laurel. I knew nothing of the hotel other than what I found on the website and what I learned from some feedback on TripAdvisor where opinions were generally positive.

I didn't actually book directly with the hotel but through one of the agencies, in this case www.sevilla5.com, on which I found a number of photos of the hotel. All appeared to present an attractive location with good facilities although, as we all know, it is unlikely that a bad image would be presented, so you have to take it on trust that they are accurate. I was quoted €103.79 per night for the room, including breakfast. As this worked out at around £35 per person per night I thought this extremely good value for money, if the facilities lived up to expectations.

Seville is divided up into a number of districts. Perhaps the most famous is the Barrio de Santa Cruz. This is one of the oldest parts of the city and includes the Alcazar. It is mostly a rabbit warren of alleyways and courtyards, which are almost impossible to reach by car. It is here that the hotel is to be found, within 50 metres of the walls of the Alcazar itself. The hotel fronts onto the Plaza de Los Venerables, a small courtyard that can be reached by car but through which traffic cannot pass. This we expected to be a good thing due to the expected lack of traffic noise. As it turned out this was true but there was a degree of noise from revellers out for the night, but then this is to be expected in most city centres.

We took a taxi from the airport. We were charged €22 and the taxi driver dropped us in Plaza de Santa Cruz, which is about 100 metres from the hotel entrance. As I said, it is possible to reach the hotel by car but this was late morning and the alleys were filled with tourists so I don't think the taxi driver fancied the problems of negotiating the tortuous route with such “obstacles”. This wasn't a problem on our return to the airport early on Sunday morning as the alleys were deserted. It did cost us an extra €3 though!

The hotel is quite large being L shaped around 1½ sides of the square. The entrance is into the Bar and Restaurant and to get to Reception you need to walk right through the Bar to the back. The receptionist when we arrived spoke reasonable English, better anyway than my Spanish, and the formalities were resolved without pain.

Our room (109) was on the first floor entered from the main atrium and right next to the stairs. There is a small lift as well. The atrium goes to the roof light and on the next floor up a balcony runs around it so that you can see down to the first floor but not to the ground floor. There are also other rooms accessible via corridors from the atrium.

The first impression of our room was of cleanliness, well decorated and well maintained. The room was quite large with various items of furniture plus a fixed wardrobe where also could be found a safe for securing valuable items. The floor was marble and without rugs but did not feel particularly cold to bare feet. There was also a TV which, according to the hotel information, could provide a service from the BBC. This turned out to be incorrect. In fact none of the channels appeared to be what they were supposed to be! Just as well we didn't need to occupy ourselves that way!

The room has an En Suite. This contains the usual basin, toilet and bath/shower. However, the bath is only half sized. It would be big enough for a child but an adult would only be able to sit down with their knees under their chin! Fortunately I only take showers, for which the water pressure was entirely adequate. The toilet is one of these continental mains flush type, in other words, no cistern. Consequently, there was no refill delay, which was just as well as it didn't empty very well. I don't know if we were expected not to put toilet paper down the loo. There was no sign indicating as such. However, a bog-brush was provided to “encourage” evacuation! This is not an unusual problem in foreign destinations.

One wall of the room had two sets of French Windows, both with their own small balcony, overlooking the alleyway between the hotel and the next building. This was so narrow that you could literally lean out and touch the other wall! As you will gather from this, there wasn't much of a view. Also, there were windows in the wall opposite! The windows are provided with net curtains to ward off prying eyes and, something I have never seen before, a wooden shutter over the glass portion of the window to exclude all light and intruders.

The bed turned out to be firm but very comfortable. It was provided with a full width bolster rather than individual pillows. We enjoyed a good night's sleep throughout our stay, apart from those occasions when we were woken by noisy revellers wandering the alleys.

I can't make any comments about the quality of the food in the restaurant. We were only in Seville for three nights and it so happened that on no occasion de we decide to eat there. It was for no other reason than that there was far too much choice available and so little time. All I can say is that the restaurant was full every night, both inside and out in the courtyard and so I suppose that it can't have anything about it to complain about. Note, however, that the courtyard is shared with another restaurant so not all of the tables belong to the hotel.

We did sample the Bar though! What a selection! I have rarely seen so many different bottles, of some of which I had never previously heard. You would need a month at least to try every one. The two barmen were very friendly and very generous with their measures!

Breakfast is taken in a room at the back of the Bar. Breakfast consists of the usual things you would expect; croissants, pain chocolat, even toast and jams. You can have fruit and yoghurt, cheese and cold meats. You can even have a “fry up”, sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs. Fruit juice includes freshly squeezed orange juice.

We very much enjoyed our stay and, in view of the price and location, considered it pretty well unbeatable value. I would have no hesitation in recommending the Hosteria del Laurel as a base from which to explore Seville.

Summary: A comfortable hotel on the heart of the city at a very reasonable price