Seville

The hotel was a little gem -  intimate, understated elegance reflecting regional traditional design with very friendly and accommodating staff. Pretty, cool courtyards and little roof-top terrace provided perfect spots for resting weary feet and relaxing at the end of the day with a refreshing drink.   The location was a great starting point for exploration on foot - everything within easy reach. We particularly enjoyed Inntravel's suggested self-guided walking tour of Santa Cruz area - would recommend starting early when the temperature is cooler and the streets quieter.  Our evening at "Rinconcello", Seville's oldest tapas bar, was another particular highlight - a not-to-be missed experience.

We combined 3 nights in Seville before with a week in the Aracena Sierra.  

The hotel (Las Casas Del Rey Baeza) is delightful and felt more like a family-run establishment. The hotel restaurant was also good on the one night we ate there.

Alajar is a perfect village to get away from the stress of city life, particularly after a few days in Seville. The village is in delightful and picturesque countryside with plenty of varied and excellent walks, both those recommended in the trip notes and also those by the hotel - more than enough to keep us occupied for the week. The Posada San Marcos (and owners) fitted the bill perfectly: Angel was a great - and enthusiastic - source of knowledge of the local area and customs, including a guided walk and explanation and tasting of the local jamon; Lucy provided excellent food. There are plenty of restaurants in the village (although not all are open during weekdays) but Lucy’s first-class cooking meant we ate in the Posada whenever possible. Her packed lunches were also the best we have experienced.  

A thoroughly recommended combination!

We would recommend flying to Seville and having the add-on there. The Alcazar in Seville was the highlight and we were glad we booked our tickets online in advance because the queue is long otherwise. The Cathedral is also very interesting. The bus from Seville Airport was good and cheap but the stops were confusing on the trip in and are a long walk from the hotel. You may prefer to get a taxi from the airport. 

Grazalema is very pretty with spectacular mountain scenery and vultures and other birds of prey all around. We had a lovely sunny week and found there were more than enough walks in the pack at the appropriate level to do. We would also recommend the walks in the 2018 Cicerone guide to the Mountains of Ronda and Grazalema. We were impressed with the quality of and interpretation on the footpaths. We particularly enjoyed walking into the reserve to see the ancient pine forest and a day in Ronda. Both restaurants were good and reasonably priced. 

1) Although Las Casas del Rey de Baeza is a very pleasant hotel, conveniently placed, its evening meals are not as good and varied as those at nearby restaurants that it recommends.

2) It is easy to get from Seville to Cordoba and back by train, for the day (45 mins each way), if one desires to do so.

3) We would certainly go again to the Posada San Marcos in Alajar.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers added a 4 night stay at Las Casas Del Rey Baeza, in Seville, before the Treasures of Aracena walking holiday.

The walk from the hotel to the cathedral, Alcazar etc was very interesting as en route we were able to identify inviting-looking Tapas bars, cake shops and restaurants as well as locate the Flamenco museum. The flamenco show at the museum was an oustanding experience, especially after learning so much of the history of flamenco and its peoples. The Murillo exhibition at the art gallery was also very good. We had a wonderful evening at restaurant El Rinconcillo 5 minutes walk from Hotel Casas del Rey de Baeza and recommended by them; great atmosphere and wonderful food, the tapas looked delicious too.

Very difficult to pick out anything as it was a perfect 10 days. I was pleased to note that drivers in Spain proved to be very courteous and the sat-nav was a bonus. Chatting to Lucy and Angel was fantastic and we felt we learnt a lot more about the area and about Spain. I would recommend a visit to the Coto Donana. The driver we had from the base in El Rocio was excellent and very knowledgeable. We were lucky that we saw very many birds and mammals. I will add that we are not twitchers and just like visiting the countryside and learning more.

An excellent holiday. The scenery in the Aracena is beautiful and the Posada a delight. Seville is a wonderful city and even though I have visited before, it never fails to impress.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Seville City add-on with our walking holiday The Aracena Sierra

A thoroughly relaxing and interesting holiday. Seville is a beautiful city, spend as much time just pottering and sitting in cafes/bars watching the world go by as visiting the sights. The countryside around Grazalema is stunning and provides lots of varied walking opportunities. My favourite walk was the Montejaque circuit (we started it in Montejaque, although a longer drive to the start it was worth it to do the long climb in the cool and shade of the morning).

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Seville City add-on with the walking holiday The Grazalema Sierra

Again, very good service from Inntravel. We were disappointed with most aspects of Alajar but very pleased with weekend in Seville. Ideal for airport access.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our Seville city add-on with The Aracena Sierra

For our 3rd trip with InnTravel, we chose the walking in Aracena, but with a Seville add-on to start with, and after the walking we booked 4 days in Cadiz ourselves.  Everything was really excellent.  Cannot recommend the Seville hotel (Juderia) enough, and the city and food it superb.  We picked up the hire car from the main Seville train station instead of the airport, and the drive to Alajar was easy (with our own gps!).  The hotel in Alajar was also excellent, and we were well looked after by Angel and Lucy.  The weather was a lot hotter than usual for June, 35-38C, so we could only manage 2.5 walks.  Luckily there was a super garden and swimming pool to relax during the afternoons.

Tip: make sure you hire a small car - all the streets in the villages in this area are very very narrow.  Do NOT attempt to drive into Aroche - we nearly got the car completely stuck!  (And it was only a small SEAT car).

Although not part of InnTravel - do try to get to Cadiz - another fabulous place.

The hotel in Seville was very well situated and interesting but expensive!

We booked the Real Alcazar on line before we left home, an excellent idea picked up from a comment on the Inntravel website. It might be worth putting that in the information pack. The queue for people without a pre booking wound around the block, we just walked in.

We loved the Posada, it felt like home, with the best ever mattresses and superb coffee at breakfast.

Angel and Lucy were perfect hosts, full of helpful advice, nothing was too much trouble.

[INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Treasures of Aracena Discovery Walking holiday with a Seville city add-on.]

Travelling to Seville by train was relaxing and fascinating and all the journeys went without a hitch; really worth the small cost to upgrade to 1st class in France and Spain. Las Casas de la Juderia (Seville) is a unique and fascinating experience! The Aracena Sierra was a revelation, green, accessible, relaxing, wonderful wild flowers and birds. Much less hot than I had feared.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our Seville city add-on with The Aracena Sierra

We thought the Sierra de Aracena a delightful discovery, hardly any Brits! it seems totally unspoilt and natural.

We found Sevilla to be a very beautiful and sophisticated city and thoroughly enjoyed discovering its alleyways and a few of its many historic architectural treasures in good states of conservation.

The 'jamon' visit and demonstration by Angel is well worth taking up. The welcome, hospitality and advice from Lucy and Angel was fantastic. Whilst the rooms are on the small side the comfortable sofas in the reception/sitting area more than compensate for this. A great supply of make-your-own tea/coffee are great when returning to hotel from a walk, unless, of course, sherry is preferred. Also a great way to mix with other guests. A really great short break. Food of the area a relevation and great tips on how to eat breakfast spanish style from Angel. Came away with a suitcase full of olive oil and jamon products.

Top tip book ahead (online only) for visiting the Alcázar in Seville. It can only be done online two days before. It saves the sometime long queues and the hotel was only too happy let us use their reception computer to do this. It is well worth paying  for the audio guide as it is such a complicated visit. It is also possible to visit Cordoba for the day.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: Mrs Blandford added a stay at the Casas Del Rey De Baeza in Seville to our Celebrate In Aracena short break