Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville, Spain [Master Thread]
 

I stayed at the Alfonso in Seville 3 years ago. it was absolutely stunning.
The room was large and the bathroom was nice and the public spaces of this outstanding hotel were just beautiful.
The pool area is really nice and the lovely restaurant where one takes breakfast was a highlight.
I was lucky enough to stay there on a UA 50% so it only cost me around$A180 per night and it was certainly well spent!!

[This message has been edited by tinkybelle (edited 07-23-2002).]

We stayed at both the Westin Palace in Madrid and Alfonso 3 years ago. Both were wonderful, but the romance of Seville was truly felt at this property. Silk walls, ornate crown moldings and ceilings, excellent welcome amenity. Try the tapas down the road and across the street- best shrimp we have ever tasted and the finest tapas in all of Spain! They have a fancy restaurant at night that serves excellent meals, too. Have fun!

By all means, stay at the Hotel Alfonso XIII for as long as your wallet or your points hold out. We stayed there two summers ago during a 17 day trip through Spain, including Madrid, Toledo, Jaen, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, Oropesa, Segovia, Rascafria and mentrida. Stayed 2 or 3 nites at the Alfonso, and it was spectacular. We used an award stay, and were still upgraded to a very nice room, and treated very well as Starwood Gold. Nice amenities, and great staff. The breakfast buffet down in the courtyard is certainly one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. And being in Spain on a hot day, touring around the nearby Sevilla sites like the Reales Alcazar and the Cathedral and the bullfighting museum, and then being able to relax and refresh in the Alfonso's great pool, was fantastic. Surely one of the great hotels in Europe.

(If you want any information on other places in Spain we traveled, feel free to e-mail me).

Djlawman

Seville Alfonso XIII [Master Thread]
 

This summer I stayed a weekend, AMEX promotion, in this hotel. It was a wonderful stay, the hotel is built as a palace. We had a cornerroom/juniorsuite?, with a great view. Service is great, the food in the mainrestaurant is soso and service can be cool but the location in the patio is wonderful. The restaurant near the nice pool is casual, basic, bit good, is has a service with a smile.
There is not fitness room or clublounge. Though there is a happy hour at the poolrestaurant.
The only negative experience http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif I had was not recieving a newpaper and difficulties checking out at 4 o'clock. As a gold preferred I had almost to beg for it!

For the rest it is a great hotel.

Great hotel--got the corner room/suite upgrade also as a Plat. no problem with early check-in or 4:00 pm checkout.
Found the hotel's restaurant recommendations to be poor--otherwise great stay

I'm staying here for a night in June, and the lowest rate I get is about 252 Euros, including breakfast and a "horse-drawn carriage ride"! Is this worth it-- don't have a whole lot of time in Seville, but I'm very intrigued by the overwhelming praise for this hotel and the rate seems fair to me and I assume the hotel will give me a late checkout as a Platinum.

I was offered a choice of Spanish, Baroque, or Moorish style room, and chose the Moorish. Anyone know the pros and cons of the various types? Also, what are people's experiences w/upgrades here?

Thanks for the info.

OK, here's my update.

We took my parents to the Westin Alfonso XIII a few weeks ago, and I had requested the Moorish room type.

Upon check-in, we received (I'm not kidding) two ENORMOUS suites next to each other replete with silk walls, chandeliers, living room, bedroom with Heavenly bed, huge marble bathrooms, and tons of fancy toiletries.

IN ADDITION: I got,
* Night 1: fruit and sparkling water for both rooms
* Night 2: bottle of Rioja and antipasto platter for both rooms
* To Go: two gift boxes of Tio Pepe and two pairs of sherry glasses.

All this on a pre-paid voucher rate of 150 Euros that was quite cheap given the normal rates and quality of this hotel.

Starwood gets a lot of my business going forward.

I just returned from 4 days at Hotel Alfonso XIII and I think you are making a wonderful choice. My fiance is a platinum and we were automatically upgraded to a very nice suite overlooking the pool. (we did not request any upgrade) We received platinum amenity gifts every day. The general manager's email is [email protected]. Let me know if you have any other questions.

The Alfonso XIII is a great hotel. We had an award stay there, got upgraded as golds to a very nice room, nice amenity (bottle of wine). Hotel is in great location in Sevilla--few blocks to the Cathedral, very close to Alcazar, great location. And the breakfast buffet is expensive, but probably the best I have ever had. Anything you could possibly want there. Nice pool, an oasis in the middle of the city, protected by walls and trees from the street, great for cooling down after some hot sightseeing.

Djlawman

Seville Alfonso XIII [Master Thread]
 

Westin Alfonso XIII - Seville (1 award night and 2 VO1 free nights) - This is an absolutely amazing property. Excellent location close to the cathedral; stunning moorish architecutre and awe inspring lobby. We were upgraded to a huge a lavish suite (121) that had 3 rooms w/foyer. Large sitting area and dining area. 2 bathrooms each w/his and her sinks. Large, comfy robes and slippers and of course the Heavenly bed. One unexpected perk was the butler service. They are available to pack/unpack and offer coffee and cocktails (complimentary). The location of the suite could have been slightly better as it was next to the "pool elevator". Fortunately at this time of year there wasn't a lot of pool activity, but it could get annoying in the summer I'm guessing. The suites affected would be 121,221, etc and 122, 222, etc. There were amenities left everyday we were there - 1st day a bottle of sherry from Jerez dela Frontera, Day 2 olives and olive w/bottle of champagne, and Day 3 another bottle of champagne. This property is now by far the best *wood I've stayed at.

I don't know which room style I had
 

but the bathroom was lined in copper tiles wallsr to and including ceiling. The bedroom was huge with large closets and a long sofa. The room faced the pool which was much quieter than a room in the front. Long walk to the elevator, but worth it. We had wonderful service with the exception of trying to get bar service at about 5 pm. Fantastic location! The a/c worked very well. We had a special dinner in the dining room (an anniversary dinner for one couple) and the hotel did a great job from soup to nuts. A lot of steps to get into the hotel might be a problem for some folks. We felt like we were in a glam Hollywood movie of the 30's!

2 night stay - really a bit disappointing.

Good things

Suite upgrade without having to ask
2pm check out without having to create a scene
Superb location

Bad things

Corner suite was right by the pool elevator. Fairly intrusive mechanical noises from dawn till late - this would affect any of the x20 and x21 rooms.
Front desk service was sloooow. 10 mins waiting to check in and out, one member of staff playing with computer and ignoring the queue.
Lots of irritating niggles; 45 minutes (and 3 phone calls) to get an ironing board sent up, no bath gel - 2 shampoo bottles instead, no 'do not disturb' sign
No European Plat amenity offered - just a bottle of average quality olive oil
Glacial service in the bar too.

All in all the stay lacked the special touches that would have justified the rate of Euro 340. I'm glad I was on point for one of the nights.

Last year at this time we spent five nights at the Alfonso XIII. I did a thorough search of FT before making my reservations which I would highly recommend for anyone planning to stay there. We chose an interior (garden) room as they were reported to be the quietest. I have no status but tried to work an upgrade with an old business card from a Starwood competitor but this did not work. I was told I had a very nice room. This was absolutely correct. The room was large, elegant, and really wonderful. We did not eat in the hotel as I had been cautioned here about prices at the hotel. Having worked in the hotel industry I usually avoid dining in hotels and there are so many great dining opportunities in Seville. We did not request any special services except some extra pillows which arrived quickly. The only negative I would report is we found some of the front desk staff quite pretentious, and my wife speaks fluent Spanish. All in all this was the best 30,000 points I ever used. At the time Starwood had a special; 5 nights for 30000 not 40000 for this hotel. I would highly recommend the property.

Alfonse X111 Seville
 

Im currently at the Alfonse X111 in Seville ,torn couch and for SPG its a dump. I asked for an upgrade on coments section of res.,25th anniversary,all but ignored, and the room looks like an old whore,better at night than in the daytime. Desk people were rude, as the website showed JR. Suites available but they kept saying all booked.

All I can say is that as a Plat, the best *wood award stay I have ever had was at this hotel. It was simply amazing! Full review available through a search function. ^