Top 10: the best hotels in Seville Old Town
An expert guide to the top hotels in Seville Old Town, including the best places to stay for access to La Giralda, the Alcázar, cathedral, great shopping and tapas, near to the Santa Cruz Jewish quarter, the Nervion area and more.
So discreet it doesn’t even have a sign. This restored 17th-century mansion offers service worthy of a five-star establishment, plus nightly live guitar performances, a superbly-stocked bar, and a large roof terrace with cathedral views. The hotel is built in the typical Sevillano style of rooms around an arcaded patio with a fountain. You’re in the heart of Barrio Santa Cruz, the picturesque old Jewish Quarter – perfect for exploring the streets in the quieter early mornings and evenings. You’re also five minutes’ walk from the cathedral and the Alcázar Royal Palace; the shopping district is about 10 minutes away.
There probably aren’t many hotels that mix a rock 'n' roll vibe and smart, contemporary styling with 15th-century colonnades, but this is certainly one of them. The building is part of the historic, Archbishop’s Estate and retains various original features. You’ll find 15th-century stone columns and arches in the breakfast bar alongside contemporary mobiles and modern glass doors open out to a pretty, orange tree-filled patio. The hotel is slightly hidden away on a quiet, narrow backstreet in the Old Town Santa Cruz area, and can take a bit of finding at first, but La Giralda is just around the corner and you’re less than 10 minutes from the Alcázar. You’ve also got tapas bars and restaurants aplenty on your doorstep.
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A 17th-century palacio in the heart of Seville’s old town, on an extremely narrow, winding lane in the Alfalfa district, has been reinvented as a deluxe boutique hotel by English brothers Anthony and Patrick Reid. It’s a classy affair with fine art on the walls amid marble and Romanesque pillars. Farrow & Ball-style muted sandstones and greys are not shades you’d normally associate with the golden sunlight and warm-blooded drama of Andalucia, but then most Seville hotels are not run by Englishmen. Nearby streets are lined with shoe shops and you’re less than 10 minutes’ walk away from the cathedral and La Giralda.
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A wonderfully idiosyncratic, family-run hotel in an 18th-century townhouse just a short walk away from the Cathedral and Alcázar Palace. This amazingly good-value, classy establishment has a musical theme, with harps, pianos and saxophones dotted around, and classical concerts hosted. It sits on a narrow, pedestrianised street in Seville’s old Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz; you’re within five minutes’ walk of the city’s major sights and equally near to the main shopping streets. If you’re in your own car, you may want to drop off your luggage at the hotel first, as the hotel parking is about 100 yards away.
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This great-value, small hotel is hidden away on a winding alley in the warren of the Santa Cruz Old Town, only yards away from the Cathedral and La Giralda. The hotel feels amazingly quiet, but it couldn’t be more central. It’s simple but smart and contemporary, and staff are wonderfully courteous and helpful. There’s a tasteful mix of original features and contemporary furnishings throughout. The small downstairs lobby is a mix of vividly patterned, traditional, Moorish-style, Andalucian wall tiles and stylish white leather seating, while the rooms have high, wooden-beamed ceilings.
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A simple but excellent-value, family-run, budget choice in the heart of Seville’s Old Town, just moments away from La Giralda and the main sights. This makes a great, central base with some of the city’s best tapas bars and restaurants on your doorstep. The hotel can take a while to find, but couldn’t be more central. Vast wooden doors lead you into an entrance with a lofty, Moorish-style arch, decorative Andalucian tiles and parlour palms before you arrive in the hotel foyer. Book well in advance as rooms go quickly.
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The hotel is converted from 14 adjoining 16th-century townhouses. The classy mix of chic, contemporary design, period features and amazing views — the rooftop terrace bar looks straight onto the cathedral’s Giralda bell-tower — has proved a favourite with celebrities such as Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman. As soon as you walk in the lobby, the dim lighting, gently burbling chill-out music and mid-century modern furniture stylishly assert the hotel’s hip credentials. The Alcazar palace and main shopping streets are within five minutes’ walk away.
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The idea of a cool oasis amid the heat and hubbub of the city centre may be a cliché, but this elegantly converted mayor’s mansion is exactly that. As you enter the vast wooden doors, the gentle sound of a trickling water fountain belies the fact that you’re just yards away from La Giralda. Casa 1800 is behind one of the area’s main tapas bar-lined arteries, Mateos Gago, in the thick of the Santa Cruz district’s winding cobbled lanes. You're only minutes from the Alcazar Palace and the city’s main shopping areas. One of the best local tapas bars — Bodega Santa Cruz, is also right outside the hotel.
Some hotels ooze class, and this grand, former 18th-century palacio feels every inch the Andalucian palace that it is. It's not just period glamour – there are Moorish arches and ornate tilework, mottled marble pillars and parquet floors, but also highly contemporary styling throughout. It's slightly further off the beaten track than some other hotels; on the edge of the Nervion area, you’re still within 10 to 15 minutes' walk of the cathedral and Alcázar Palace. The advantage is that the hotel is much quieter than other more central rivals and you won’t find yourself walking out into a throng of tourists.
Chain is often a dirty word when it comes to hotels, but, unlike many more run-of-the-mill groups, Hospes has become a byword among those in the know for chic, good-value city bases, and this is no exception. It's housed in a whitewashed 18th-century building; the whole place is effortlessly stylish. Down a quiet street in a residential area on the edge of the Medieval Santa Cruz district’s winding alleys, this isn’t quite as central as some other hotels, but the Alcazar palace and Giralda are still less than a 15-minute walk away.
