I'm surprised how few reviews this hotel has! Given its Marriott and Google reviews I was enthusiastic to arrive.

This could be a phenomenal hotel but has some important and easy-to-address issues. As it stands it's a 3-star managed 4.5-star property in a 5-star location. ~310Eur at time of booking and 350-450 near-in. Pts rates were 65-70k at the time.

Booked a Deluxe Giralda View room and that's what we received. All rooms appear to get a box of cookies. Some get tins of cookies (suites?) We received a traditional fan as welcome gift.

Issues to be addressed: (1) stinky black mold in shower and (2) chaotic/slow breakfast. The mold alone makes it a 3.

Querencia is perfectly situated. As a first-timer this city is *busy*. Nothing like the shoulder-to-shoulder Madrid Gran Via but busy in its own right into the weekend.

Beds were super comfortable. AC was functional to 19c but slow to get going. Rooms are small but well-appointed. Nice sheets and towels. Incredible shower!

Lots of Brits at the hotel. A few Americans.

Breakfast: they had enough staff but everyone seemed to be doing everything which just doesn't work for the guest experience.

The first morning: 20 minutes to get a staff member to walk by so I could put an order in. I went and got my own coffee from the Nespresso machine. Someone else was doing the same and they shooed us off. Eggs took another 20 minutes. A few couples left before receiving their hot food.

The Benedict's egg had runny/clear whites. I sent them back and 20 minutes later received the same. Sent it back again saying I didn't want anything, but they returned with a fried egg on an English muffin bottom, no hollandaise 😂. Oddly the next day I just ordered hard boiled eggs (they asked for time and I said 12-minute) and received instead 4-minute perfectly-poached eggs.

The rooftop is a highlight but is often closed for private events and can get brutally hot in the sun. The pool is small but a nice novelty. If you lack a view of the Giralda from your room, this is the place to check it out at night.

We didn't use it but a concierge spent 20 minutes providing all the local deets to a pair of British ladies over breakfast. They may have been some sort of VIP as they also received a gift during the exchange.

Everything about the hotel seems clean and crisp. The housekeeping staff is large and is constantly at work and were very sweet. BUT the showers! Black and orange mold all over the grout. The shower and bathroom each lack ventilation and they don't seem to scrub or bleach the grout. While the basin and tile were very clean, the grout had a stinky black mold. Leaving the bathroom closed led to an oppressive stink. We pointed it out and asked them to clean it, but they didn't actually scrub the grout. It was a short stay and they were fully booked else we would have moved. I brought it up at checkout again as a health issue and they threw a token 5k pts my way without asking in recompense.

I called down for a taxi at checkout and one was waiting within 5 minutes.

Pros:
+ Location unbeatable as a tourist. Better than Alfonso.
+ Floor-to-ceiling windows.
+ Views of Giralda super cool.
+ Incredible sound proofing. Lively bar just outside the window, but you couldn't hear a peep with them closed.
+ Gym ok for location. Nice treadmills. Weights only to 10kg.
+ There is a small rooftop soaking pool.
+ Breakfast has a 4-star spread with to-order menu. Their little pastries were fresh.
+ Water pressure that would make [MENTION=10072908]ElevatorEnthusiast[/MENTION] blush. Shower very fancy with large dual-waterfall and humongous wand.

Cons:
- MOLD! Black and orange mold on shower grout.
- restaurant staff inattentive to guests and service/food painfully slow.
- Three elevators for 8 levels, each individually called and a bit slow.