Mar 3, 2019, 11:19 pm
Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville, Spain [Master Thread]
May 28, 2019, 10:39 am
I had booked a Deluxe room for around $500/night and applied SNAs. My SNA request was denied the night before my stay, and the certificates were redeposited into my account. So it was a great surprise when, upon arrival, I was told we had been upgraded to an Executive Suite on the 2nd floor. The suite was massive and gorgeous; there was even a relatively playable piano in the living room. The hotel also supplied a bed in the LR for our son and waived the 80 fee.
On our first night, they left a bottle of Laurent Pierre rose on ice for, along with a dozen high-quality chocolates. Another night they left a local bottle of wine, and for our final night they left a bottle of locally-produced cologne. The front desk also proactively checked in almost daily to ensure we were having a good stay and see if there was anything we needed.
We ate ate at one of the restaurants, Ena, and found it quite good. The lobby bar selections were excellent. I found the breakfast quality to be a little hit-and-miss, but Im not much of a breakfast person in the first place.
Overall, this was one of my best stays anywhere. Id consider returning to Seville just to experience the hotel again, using it as a home base for exploring more of the surrounding area.
May 28, 2019, 3:47 pm
May 29, 2019, 5:45 am
May 29, 2019, 9:27 am
Jan 20, 2020, 12:19 pm
Amenity breakfast was the full buffet -- which as others have said, is very impressive for a European hotel, with someone to please just about everyone. We enjoyed it a great deal.
As per acrophobia 's review above, we also got a nice welcome amenity of chocolates and sparkling wine on the first night, a bottle of another local wine and cookies on the second night, and a cologne spray the final night.
I did find the staff to be a little curt on a few occasions -- for example, when we checked in, they gave us details about breakfast (including showing us where it was and writing down the hours) but apparently forgot to give us coupons. When we got to breakfast the next day they took our room number and nodded, and so I was surprised to get a check for the full price. When I mentioned we'd selected breakfast as an amenity, they were very insistent (almost to the point of rudeness) that I sign the folio and go to the front desk to resolve the issue. At a Luxury Collection property, I would expect a bit more grace; would it have been so hard to phone the desk quickly and confirm? It was eventually resolved by the front desk, but left a bit of a bad taste.
I also found the bathroom in our room to be disappointing. In particular, the bath made for a terrible shower; it had a nearly useless glass half door that leaked profusely, a rain shower head mounted far too low, and a hand shower that couldn't be raised to a reasonable height. The leaking water ends up on a polished marble floor, making for a slippery mess when climbing out over the high, contoured walls of the tub. We eventually ended up having them bring two anti-slip mats (one for the shower and one for the floor) which improved the situation a lot.
Despite those quibbles, we enjoyed our stay a great deal -- it's a lovely historic property in a great location in Seville. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again, though I would probably be a lot more proactive about trying to get myself into one of the suites with a separate shower.
Jan 20, 2020, 12:56 pm
Jan 27, 2020, 3:15 am
Hotel Alfonso XIII
San Fernando 2 Seville, ES 41004
Alfonso XIII (7 Photos)
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Check In
I arrived at the hotel a couple of hours before official check in (15:00) and was told that the room was not ready. They took down my phone number and told me they would call me, once it was done, after about 30 minutes. Within 30 minutes I did receive a call, but I was already on the hop-on hop-off bus getting an overview of the city.
Once I returned I was personally brought to the suite. The luggage magically followed without any intervention. I had used an SNA to get a better room, plus had paid 9k more points for an upgraded room. In the end I got a huge suite with lots of space. According to an in-room leaflet the list price of the room was around 4500 EUR per night. I found online rooms of a similar size for around 650 EUR per night for the same night. In any case, I was happy!
Room
The living room was very spacious with a dining table, piano and large sitting area. Some of the original decorations from 1929 are still on display. The suite had 1.5 baths. All of it was just wonderful. It is better that I just let the pictures tell the story.
If I had to be picky and critisize then I might mention that the cleanliness was not perfect. The minibar items, for instance had dust on them. It was certainly not anything more than a minor item.
Dining
I had the breakfast, which was good. It was not exemplary as I had been lead to believe from the posts. There was an omlette station and a wide selection of items European and Spanish items available to cater to carying tastes. There were also two tables set up with Chineese cuisine. Not sure if this is always the case, or only when they have many Chineese guests, as was the case during my stay.
There is also a brunch offered on Sunday. I suspect that this meal may be more exemplary. However, the brunch costs additional. After the big breakfast, I did not even begin to think about eating a brunch. :)
The staff was not particular fast about cleaning dirty tables and it was sometimes challenging to get their attention for coffee.
Location
The location is extermeley central. For tourists, you cannot get better. Most things are in walking distance. Simply perfect.
Service
The staff was always very friendly and quick to meet needs. I always enjoy when they have shoeshine service included as this hotel does.
The hotel offers a 20-30 minute historical tour of the hotel at 17:30. I did not make the tour, but imagine it is interesting. I think it is targeted to status customers, but I imagine that all interested guests can join.
I liked the chocolates and cava on ice that was in the room. Nice touch!
Aug 16, 2021, 3:44 pm
Mar 6, 2022, 7:38 am
The room had a small living area that could be closed off from a large bedroom and generous bathroom too.
The complimentary breakfast was quite the delight. It was more like a brunch.
I did think the housekeeping was a little lax. They didn't empty the trash, replace soap, left crumbs on the couch, etc. Not what you would expect at this kind of hotel.
Overall though it was nice and staff was lovely.
The hotel booked a Covid test for me at a nearby private hospital. It was EUR 40 for a rapid test including round-trip taxis. The taxi was about 10 minutes each way.
I know just a bit of Spanish and it was still a challenge to figure out what to do.
It was a Saturday morning but I had to ask in my terrible Spanish where to go. You had to find an office on the 2nd floor and you kind of just figured out what to do. They called a taxi for the return and wrote the number down so you knew which one was prepaid.
The results were available, printed and given to me in 15-20 minutes.
Dec 10, 2023, 12:59 pm
The only scary part is if you're driving in - you're basically going into a pedestrian walking area and need to fight horse-drawn carriages and people to get into the hotel.
Dec 11, 2023, 2:01 am
Bottom line - worth staying purely because of the stunning building and interiors, but multiple issues with maintenance, service and breakfast mean it's absolutely not Four Seasons territory.
Dec 11, 2023, 11:45 am
Bottom line - worth staying purely because of the stunning building and interiors, but multiple issues with maintenance, service and breakfast mean it's absolutely not Four Seasons territory.