The Alma Hotel Palacio De Villapanés typifies why I love the city of Seville so much. From the outside it’s unassuming, a small doorway on a narrow street outside the centre of the City.
A short stroll through the doorway and it opens into a beautifully understated but expansive courtyard and quite a magical setting. Seville is a city full of life and energy, but you have to know where to look for it.
As with lots of the architecture in Seville the hotel combines the city’s Moorish history with a more contemporary, Southern European style. The result at Alma Hotel Palacio de Villapanes is a hotel that is tranquil, elegant, plush and absolutely perfect for a relaxing, restorative city break.
The hotel offers a small spa and relaxation centre; a courtyard reception with cool, calming water features; a large sunny patio area; a gorgeous study equipped with brand spanking new Macs for guests to use; and a very smart, minimalist looking restaurant serving delicious produce from Seville.
The place to relax though is the sun trap rooftop complete with loungers, a plunge pool and fantastic views of the higgledy Seville rooftops.
If you stay in this hotel make sure you’re there at dusk, order a bottle of sherry to be served to you on your lounger and relax in the sunshine listening to the prayer calls echo around you.
The small collection of rooms and suites all offer something a little different, but are united by a distinctive 1950s-inspired style. Heavy velvet drapes, herringbone floor tiles, lots of burgundy and deep purples, and great, warm lighting makes the suites look like a set from Mad Men.
Bathrooms come with vast, steep-sided baths, Bulgari toiletries, wet rooms and big Hollywood style dressing mirrors and make for quite the indulgent dressing room.
Our suite also came with a walk-in dressing room and two balconies – one looking over into the cool courtyard of the hotel, and the other letting the sunlight stream into the room with a view of the quaint cobbled streets below.
Just a short walk from all the finest tapas and sherry bars in Seville, this hotel really is a great find. Its elegance, comfort and amenities make it a fantastic boutique choice and well worth a visit.
Ask the travel experts at Bon Vivant to book your next trip to Seville – email us now. For further inspiration in Seville, read our review of Corral del Rey.
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