Spain 2018: background and where we stayed

by | Dec 9, 2018 | International Travel, Travel

My parents have a friend with a home in Southern Spain near Malaga, and they’ve talked about staying there over the past few years. With their 50th anniversary in Dec 2018, Leandra and I thought that would be a good excuse to get them to Spain so they could try out some of the amazing food we’ve loved during our trips there. After watching fares for a few months we saw a good deal for Thanksgiving week and convinced them to meet us in Seville.

boarding through the back door

After a few days there we drove across the mountain to Ronda, then down to the Costa del Sol.

We did have some bad luck with gloomy, chilly weather for most of our trip, but we still made some great memories, including figuring out how to light a European butane gas space heater!

figuring out the butane space heater

The Zentral Plaza de Armas, Seville
A small collection of apartments with a good location near the bus terminal, thankfully it is tucked down a quiet side street which kept the noise down. Located just a 10 min walk to Real Alcazar and with a supermarket across the street, the Zentral Plaza de Armas fit our needs quite well. Staff had limited hours but were friendly when available.

chalkboard welcome in Seville

Our one bedroom apartment on the second floor was spacious, with a sitting area separated from the kitchen by a four person counter/table.

our apartment in Seville

our apartment in Seville

The kitchen had lots of utensils, nice appliances, and a good-sized fridge.

our apartment in Seville

ham and cheese croissants from Mercadona for breakfast!
fresh croissants from the supermarket across the street- so good!

The bedroom was a little tight but manageable, had decent storage options due to a closet on one wall, and a comfortable bed with good pillows.

our apartment in Seville

Our bathroom was oddly shaped– missing a shelf (brackets were there, but no shelf) and no hairdryer (just the box). We also had a leak from the light above us on the second day. That was fixed along with the cover for our electronic lock.

My parents room on the first floor was more of a studio, so no wall between the living room and bed, and with a smaller kitchen area. We liked our layout better.

Overall, these apartments were a good value, and I would definitely consider returning on a future trip.

NH Madrid Chamberí Hotel, Madrid 
We had an overnight in Madrid before our flight home, and wanting to try out a different part of the city than Centro, we decided on Chamberi. The NH Chamberi was a good price, an 18 min walk from metro, so we thought we would try it.

cool staircase in our hotel

Check-in took ~15 minutes as the one person at the desk had several other tasks and some high maintenance guests. Once we got our key things were smooth. Our room was a reasonable size, clean and modern, with a view to the courtyard. The bed was a bit firm for our taste, but at least room was dark and quiet, especially with the second interior door.

As a bonus, the room had a wine opener, which was a nice touch.

The hotel was fine, though the surrounding neighborhood was mostly closing down just as we got there on Sunday afternoon. Probably a much livelier area just about any other night of the week, Google maps was very inaccurate on restaurant open times! It may have been easier to stay in Centro for Sunday in particular. If nothing else, the Uber ride in the morning was easy and relatively cheap, so we didn’t need to hike back through the metro during rush hour!

Tagged with: hotels | Malaga | Seville | Spain | Spain 2018

Our Itinerary

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)