Date: 11th September 2008
Seasoned travellers in Spain
This hotel is just not what it is made out to be in its website – it is overpriced and badly run. The décor throughout, whilst pretending to be opulent and regal, turns out to be garish and over-ornate. Some of the features in the website we could not find in the premises: the Hall, the Music Room, the Palace Chapel, the Lodge serves a restaurant. The fountain which seems to serve as a swimming pool is not in use; it is empty, except for a thick layer of green scum. One of the waiters claimed that there was a problem with the flooring of the pool and it needed re-tiling. This at a time when temperatures are still between 28° and 34° C and we were looking forward to a refreshing dip in the hot afternoons. The terrace below the fountain was also unusable, the cushions of the seating had been removed, and the only seats available were uncomfortable metal chairs. What a pity that what could be one of the quaintest areas of the hotel was wasted. The facilities for car-parking are very unsatisfactory. Initially I was encouraged to leave my car on the hotel loading bay on the other side of the narrow road, assured that it was safe; my car was vandalised during the night – a first-time experience for us after 25 years touring throughout Spain. I was later informed that there was an arrangement with neighbours to park in their yard, which is locked-up at night (at a fee of 12€ + 7% tax per night – the usual fee charged by hotels in Spain for a space in the hotel lock-up garage!). When I challenged the manager about her not having informed us about this (no problems with language – our Spanish is flawless!), she insisted she had, which was not the case; we did particularly ask if it was safe to leave our car on the road, as we are always very fastidious about this. Later she admitted that she may have forgotten to mention it when we checked in.
The room we were given “Frederick” was below ground level (no lift!) and somewhat damp and gloomy – its smells masked by two electric room deodorisers, which only worked when the lights were on. In keeping with the showy décor of the hotel, it was over decorated and crowded with unnecessaries, yet lacking in some essentials: a comfortable armchair, a room safe, bedside rugs, bedside tables and an adequate wardrobe. The tall-grilled foot of the extravagant bed obstructed the view of the TV set. This room boasts an outside patio, which was extremely small, the little space there was taken up by an enormous mock-Roman marble tub. When we arrived we found that the bulb of one of the lights on the side of the bed was missing, as was one of the spot lights in the alcove over the bed. We also found wasps coming from behind the curtains behind the bed. We killed some of them. We then reported it to one of the waiters; some more were killed and we had to insist that if we saw any more we would have to change room.
As we were the only ones staying in the hotel we thought that the food might not be too fresh so we had no meals there. Breakfast was adequate, but not plentiful – very little choice, two mini-croissants were available on the first morning but not on the next.
We had booked for four nights initially, but only stayed for two. Admittedly although they didn't seem very pleased, they did not charge any cancellation fee.
This hotel is over-priced for the poor quality of service it offers, it is amateurish and bordering on the sloppy; we paid 195€ +7% tax per night. Even by today’s prices this is exorbitant for southern Spain. This price is charged only by top-rate hotels, which this establishment cannot claim to be.

I have been remiss in not reporting my experience at the Palacio as I usually review Trip Advisor before I make choices, and so, I know it is a valuable recource.
After months of trying to book at an establishment featured in Vogue magazine last summer, also in Cazalla, and having no success in pinning down actual costs and availabilities from this property (even after countless emails and two international calls), I found a Traveler magazine report from 2003 giving the Palacio high marks. In fact, it was suggested that this was the competitor to the place I originally wanted to stay at.
After only three emails in one week, I had a reservation to my liking with all my questions answered.
The Palacio is not easy to find (we drove by it three times) because it blends into the architecture, and unlike what Frommer's states, it is not a converted Palace, it is a converted Church. It is located only yards from the "round about" into Cazalla.
The rooms are every much as they appear on the Website. My travel mates were thrilled with their "Torerro" room, and I was satisfied with the "Grabados". These were stunning and "over the top" rooms, although I would like to have had the "Frederick" room as this is my maiden name.
As to service...this is a small Hotel in a VERY SMALL town. One is not quite waited on "hand and foot", but god forbid you ask a question, someone will be called,even in the middle of the night. This is not a luxury hotel, no one will be there for your "beck and call",but if you can "go with the flow", your needs will be fulfilled.
Overall, this place is a gem.

When we looked at the web site we felt that we had found somewhere special, the site make the hotel look far better than it is. When we arrived we were met by the manager wearing jeans !!! the rooms are ok but not as good as they looked on the web site. We had booked dinner for 9pm so decided to have a shower about 8pm and the water was cold, I spoke to the manager who told us it was because of the time of year !!!!!!!!!! (it was may 1 2005) i take it they had solar heating, but it had been about 30c most of the day, we went down for dinner and was met by a spanish spaeakin waiter the English speaking manager had gone home, when the food arrived it was luke warm, I tried to explain this (my Spanish is not that good but i knew I was saying the right things frio after all is Spanish for cold) they did not understand. Again the water in the morning was cold and so was the breakfast apart from the tea that was made with HOT milk, we could not wait to leave the cost of the stay including dinner was 320 euros !. the hotel itself is a very interesting place but the service and food was poor that are far better hotels in Seville itself.