Hotel Casa 1800 (Lodging)
Address and Website: Rodrigo Caro 6, 41004 Sevilla; www.hotelcasa1800.com
Location: The hotel was very well located in the city. It was about a block from the Cathedral, 3 blocks from the Alcazar & a 10 min walk to the Bull Ring which was great for sight seeing (never needed to use a taxi). There are plenty of bars and restaurants near the hotel, but our room was quiet at night. Sevilla, was a great stop-off, and I would definitely recommend seeing the city of you’re going to Spain. The Hotel provided this guidance for driving directions: When arriving at the Cathedral, go around it until you reach the bell tower, then with the Archbishop Palace on your left take the second left- the only traffic accessible street- called Mateos Gago. The hotel entrance is 100 mts up on the right hand side. (When using GPS, please input street “Mateos Gago” if number allowed input “9” that is right opposite the door of Hotel Casa 1800.)
Overall: Overall, the hotel was very nice. The lobby of the hotel was very nice, and there was a computer with internet access that you could use free of charge there. We do not usually do hotel breakfasts, but I would hands down recommend this one. It was fully worth the 10 Euros (I think that’s how much it was when we were there). They did eggs made to order, had a bar filled with fruits, cheeses, meats, breads, pastries, great muffins, eggs, yogurt, jams, a capuccino machine, tea, coffee, etc. I was extremely full from breakfast for most of the day. Our room was actually on the rooftop. You took the hotel elevator up to the top and came out outside and went to your door from there. We had a little patio with a hot tub outside of it which had little bushes around it for privacy, and we had a decent view from the room we picked, as well. We booked a “DeLuxe Room with Terrace and Jacuzzi.” We paid the “best available rate for it at the time (€184/night), and if there were no issues, it would have probably been worth the slight splurge for the room, location, and hot tub/view.
Hotel Staff: We arrived at this hotel at night exhausted, and the person at the desk (Javier) was extremely friendly, helpful with city information, and overall just very professional. When we woke up in the morning, we had some issues, though. First, to preface this, I saw an ant on our bed the night before and killed it, but I know that can happen and I was exhausted, so I disregarded it. When I got out of the shower in the morning, though, I found that there were ants everywhere in our room. So, I called down to the desk and asked for someone to please come and assist. We were on our way out, and no one came, so when we left, we told the woman at the desk the situation again, and asked that it please be taken care of before we came back. When we came back, nothing appeared to have been done, so we called down again and this time asked a little less nicely that someone come immediately to resolve this issue or move our room. Also, for some reason, they had taken our umbrella off of our patio, so we couldn’t even sit out there and wait because of how hot the sun was (they later said it was discoverd to be broken or something and had been removed and could not be replaced). A cleaning woman eventually came and sprayed this aerosol stuff everywhere and then left. So, now I had dead ants everywhere. So, I called down and asked to speak to the manager. The (same) woman on proceeded to blame me for the situation and said we must have eaten in our room (which we hadn’t–we had no food in the room–but since when can’t you eat in a hotel room) or done something that caused the ant problem. It was one of the most unprofessional things I have ever encountered. By this point, I was very upset. Luckily, Javier from the night before eventually arrived back at work and he stepped in and seriously fixed everything. He was exceptional. I cannot say enough about how professional and curteous he was. In my husband’s words, “you can tell he’s going places.” The other woman, I think after Javier spoke with her, suddenly changed her attitude and was suddenly very apologetic. (He also went out of his way to help us on a recommendation for an excellent restaurant for dinner and told us to please enjoy breakfast on the hotel in the morning.) If we had not had the issues we did, I would have given this place a 5, and if it weren’t for Javier, I would have given them a 2. Javier was exceptional.
Room: Despite the ant issue, I really did like our room a lot. If it weren’t for that (and I assume having not seen other reviews complaining about this that it was hopefully an isolated incident), it would have been great. The room was spacious, had nice hardwood floors, the bathroom was really nice, we had a hot tub with a view of the cathedral which was a great place to relax at night with it all lit up, the bed in our room was very comfortable, and other than the ant’s presence, the room and bathroom seemed really clean.
San Marco Santa Cruz (Restaurant)
Address & Website: Calle Meson del Moro 6-10, 41002 Sevilla; http://restaurantesanmarcosantacruz.es
Location: About 2 blocks away from the cathedral off of Calle Mateos Gago.
Overall: Our hotel recommended this Italian restaurant, and everything we tried was very tasty. It was a welcome change from Spanish cusine after a long trip. We sat inside (I noticed after we sat down that the menu said there was a 10% surcharge on menu items if you sat outside, so you should know that if you choose to sit on the square). We actually ordered the salmon and spinach entree as an appetizer, and then I had the tortellini with gorgonzola and my husband had one of the meat dishes. All of the dishes were tasty, and we liked them, but if you’re a true Italian, you might not find it up to par. For a restaurant in a touristy area, though, we liked it (and the atmosphere definitely helped).
Atmosphere: The inside of the restaurant resembled a cave and was very cozy feeling. There was a musician playing, as well, which added to the atmosphere. It would be a good place for a romantic meal. They also had seating out on the nearby square if you prefer to sit outdoors.
