라 히타니야

Situated in a quiet street and set back a little from the more commercialised old town centre. It only takes a few pleasant minutes to get into the action and along the way, you get to explore some well presented and quiet thoroughfares with loads of photo opportunities. La Gitanilla is also very close to the Cathedral and Alcazar, which both merit a visit. Virginia and her excellent team, made us very welcome indeed, took care of the bags and introduced us to the ‘honesty bar’ which, though we only used it for water/milk, has all the stuff you need if you’re short of wine, snacks etc. what a good way of doing things. There are no ‘house rules’ as such, but they do ask that you keep the noise down between 11pm and 8am, which suited us just fine. You’d never know there were other people staying here unless you bump into them at breakfast, which is served on the rooftop terrace. It’s continental, but more than enough choice to set you up for the day. The desk is not staffed 24 hours, but there are people about for all the main times of the day. There is key access to the foyer, so guests can come and go as they please. The hotel itself is wonderfully furnished and decorated in the public area and in the rooms. Lots of variety and plenty of attractive/quirky touches. A little boho, but in a great way. Our previous stop in Seville was in a privately managed apartment in Seville, which cost twice as much as La Gitanilla and had a fraction of the atmosphere, no views and nowhere to sit and enjoy the sun. It also employed staff who had zero charisma and no idea of what decent customer service looks like. Virginia’s view of the world is supremely different - you can’t help but appreciate her warm and engaging manner and this has visibly influenced the rest of the team. You could say that we stumbled upon this place but if so, what a happy accident it was and yes, we have every intention of returning.