Property
Large business-style hotels have certain charms. Such as, when the air conditioning in your room stops working (in Seville, in July), there is something undeniably appealing about a hotel with full-time maintenance staff and lots of spare rooms. This place is not pretty from the outside, but who cares? It’s clean, comfortable, and a terrific value for families. Spacious junior suites accommodate four. Superior doubles sleep four as well, but with less privacy. Some rooms have enormous balconies.

Location
From the hotel it’s a 20-minute walk (or much shorter bus or cab ride) to Barrio Santa Cruz, the historic center of Seville. There are two big, shady parks on your doorstep (Jardines de los Reales Alcázares and the Parque de María Luisa) so your kids can frisk around a little on the way.

Sleeps
2-5.

Highlights
Although you cannot tell from the photos the pool is actually on the roof of the first floor. The resulting peaceful atmosphere belies its big-city location. The hotel (and many of the rooms) has a delightful view of the Plaza de España, particularly at sunset.

Good to know
Seville is an everything-is-closed-on-Sundays kind of town. If you’re here on a Sunday, that’s the day you’ll want to set aside for swimming, reading, writing postcards, and hanging out at the park.

Contact
www.solmelia.com

March 29th, 2008 | by Jamie Pearson