Casa de Carmona

Recommended Restaurants in Seville

Felipe — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:40:06 +0000

Sabina  954 562 547 www.restaurantesabina.com
C/ Dos de Mayo, 4  ·  41001 Sevilla

Elegant space, comfortable, tasty food. 25 € pp

Bodeguita Casa Blanca · 954 224 114 · www.bodeguitacasablanca.com
C/ Adolfo Rodríguez Jurado, 12 · 41001 · Sevilla
Best Tapas in town. Crowded. 15 € pp

Oriza · 954 227 254 · www.restauranteoriza.com 
C/ San Fernando, 41 ·  41004·  Sevilla

Classic kitchen, elegant, renewed, open space. 

Restaurante Tribeca · 954 426 000 · www.restaurantetribeca.com
C/ Chaves Nogales, 3 ·  41018 · Sevilla

Extraordinary Wild Fish. Select Wines. Modern, stylish ambiance. 60 €.

Restaurante Jaylu · 954 33 94 76 · www.restaurantejaylu.com
C/ López de Gómara, 19 · 41410 · Sevilla
Small, Luxury. Best Seafood -anywhere. 70 €.

Manolo Mayo · 955 81 10 86 · www.manolomayo.com
Avenida de Sevilla nº, 29· 41720 · Los Palacios y Villafranca (20 km south on the NIV)

20km south of Seville. Take the road towards Cadiz, exit NIV Los Palacios, once intown, on main street, to your right.

Reliably excellent. Memorable rice with partridge.

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These are Felipe's few personal favourites - where I personally go at least once a year for the last 10 years.

The insider guide to hidden Andalusia

Felipe — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:54:52 +0000

This fantastic article was written about Andalusia in The Times by Robert Elms. Thought it was worth sharing here, not least because he recommends Casa Carmona as one of the places you should stay when visiing Andalusia:

Escape the chaos of Seville and within 20 minutes you can be sitting in a fragrant plaza admiring Mudéjar architecture

Andalusia, once the glittering caliphate of Al Andalus, the deep south of Europe, has long exerted an almost hypnotic pull over me. We’ve had a house high in the old Moorish redoubt of Vejer de la Frontera for more than a decade, and every summer my family are dragged on yet another trawl around charismatic white towns beneath unforgiving blue skies.

I’ve come to realise that most great Andalusian cities have a smaller twin town amid arid, undulating countryside only a few kilometres away. We ventured out to some of these unsung satellite towns and discovered three of the most remarkable little places in the south.

Leave Seville, head for Carmona

Seville should be the starting point of any journey into Andalusia. The ravishing, operatic capital of the region is a highstepping, foot-stomping fiesta of a city; a swaggering, sensual experience. But if you want a more tranquil introduction to Andalusian style, turn right instead of left when you emerge from the airport and in far less time than it takes to get to La Giralda, you’ll be taking tapas in a fragrant plaza and admiring elaborate Mudéjar architecture, with no crowds and no tourist tat. Carmona, 20 miles from the centre of Seville, is a perfect replica in miniature.

Although its origins are Roman, Carmona was largely fashioned in the 16th and 17th centuries by aristocratic Sevillano families who wanted more room to build grand palaces to accommodate the booty they had plundered from the Americas. So it has an abundance of elaborate monuments, imposing churches and ornate plazas.

You must visit the Parador, which sits inside a ruined fortress on a high escarpment, to see the wondrous views over the plain, with its numerous olive trees. But stay in the imposing Casa de Carmona, which is still home to the noble family who built it, and among the most atmospheric hotels that you will ever experience. Gracious and spacious, rambling and crumbling, it is eccentric in the extreme and lacking in some of the modern amenities that we take for granted. But it is redeemed by its breathtaking architectural beauty and its charming owners. Don Felipe, a man of impeccable manners in many languages, will serve orange juice freshly squeezed by his wife in the lovely conservatory, while gently regaling you with tales of his efforts to preserve this glorious pile in such straitened times. Just don’t tell him that his rates are scandalously low for such a priceless experience.

Leave Jerez, head for Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Jerez is fine if you’re into flamenco — or horses. If not, it can feel strangely subdued. You might want to bypass this stately but somnolent town and head to Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
The road to Sanlúcar, less than 30 minutes away, passes through the most remarkable terrain of blanched hills, crested with elegant white farmhouses and blessed with rows of vines. This is sherry country, but as we approach the sea, the salty air changes the flavour of the wine to make Manzanilla, the crisp, dry variety that can be produced only in Sanlúcar.

We have shadowed the route of the mighty Guadalquivir River from Seville and this is where it meets the sea. The ramshackle but vivacious estuary town features aristocratic mansions and fishermen’s huts-turned-restaurants; and it is splendidly named — Bajo de Guía, which literally means “bottom of the map”.

Sanlúcar is as far as you can go. It has that dreamy “end of the road” feel, and a hazy shimmering light that bathes everything with its glow. It could, of course, be the wine, or the wonderful seafood, but it feels like a perpetually happy place. Unkempt, windblown and so thoroughly Spanish that there are no concessions made for foreigners — and few seem to visit. It’s a place for those who like their Andalusia rough and real. I like more than just about anywhere else in the world.

Here you can stay in a palace, the elegant Posada del Palacio, eat in great restaurants, or sit on the beach or in lively squares. In August you may encounter the annual horse races. Jerez has equine thoroughbreds, but in Sanlúcar it is more a case of noisy gallops along the beach, where children set up impromptu betting offices and gamble with sweets. Even if the horses aren’t running, there is a good chance of a ride on the beach as the sun sets.

Leave Cádiz, head for El Puerto de Santa María

Cádiz is a terrific town, a working port that is historic and interesting, but if pleasure is your purpose, look across the bay to El Puerto de Santa María. This is where locals come to play, and you could get the ferry across or drive through the eerie salt marshes to join them. El Puerto, originally an important port in its own right — it was from here that Columbus set off to discover the New World — is now as close as Andalusia gets to a seaside resort; a lovely, jolly town, frayed at the edges, but handsome still and imbued with a great sense of fun.

There are good beaches just outside the centre, but the real attractions are along the pretty palm-lined estuary — a park, a little funfair and scores of outdoor eateries where you munch on crustacea while drinking yet more of the local sherry. The real attraction is just wandering along the promenades and people-watching. If you want to stay, the best option is a former monastery, Hotel Monasterio San Miguel, right in the centre of town. It has a lovely garden with a pool and a clientele that includes the King of Spain himself.

It’s always worth veering off the main road away from the big cities, because their smaller counterparts are just as wonderful.

Need to Know

Stay

Carmona

Casa de Carmona. Doubles from €65 (0034 954 191 000, casadecarmona.com)

Sanlúcar

Posada de Palacio. Doubles from €72 (0034 956 365 060, posadadepalacio.com)

Santa María

Hotel Monasterio San Miguel B&B doubles from €76pp (0034 956 540 440, monasteriosanmiguel hotel.net) All prices are low season.
Robert Elms’s villa, in Vejer de la Frontera, which sleeps six, is available for rent at £700 a week. andalucia-house-vejer.com

Eating

Carmona
La Yedra (0034 95 414 45 25, restaurantelayedra.es) serves Andalusian cuisine in an elegant setting.

Sanlúcar
Casa Bigote (0034 956 36 26 96, restaurantecasa bigote.com) Spectacular seafood at this respected, family-owned restaurant. There is a more relaxed bar, or taberna, for lighter meals and snacks.

Santa María
Romerijo (0034 956 54 12 54, romerijo.com) is a popular seafood eatery where your order is served in paper packets. Informal and fun.

Published The Times 9th October 2010. (Need a Subscription to The Times to view)

Aristocratic Family

Felipe — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:17:58 +0000

The Casa de Carmona ocuppies a XVIth century palace that has been in the same family – as far as we know – since it was built – and that has passed through inheritance successively, 7 times since the property registry begun operations in the early 1800s. The propiertors listed in the registry of property were called Don Manuel de Quintanilla y Briones ( , his daughter Doña Maria del Carmen de Quintanilla y Melgarejo (Carmona 1798 + Carmona 20.08.1866), her daughter Doña María de Gracia Lasso de la Vega y Quintanilla (Sevilla, Carmona 08.12.1814 + Sevilla 05.06.1889), her daughter Miquelina de Solis-Beaumont y Demassieres y Lasso de la Vega, who bequeathed the palace to her grandchildren Ignacio Romero de Solis-Beaumont (b. 20.10.1937) VI Marqués de Marchelina , and his 9 brothers and sisters, Pedro, Diego, Enrique, Matilde, Gracia,

Passed by descent 7 times: The first recorded transfer took place from one document ( a will) in which it was referenced this property, the now hotel Casa de Carmona, and 59 others. The successive transfer, it was that property and 57 others. Then 36 … and so on, until the last generation, Marques de Marchelina and his 9 brothers and sisters, now in their 60s, inherited it directly from their grand-mother.

The last owners: The Marqués suffered the ill fate of inheriting a palace, together with 9 brothers and sisters, with no land or other business to support it – for it had all been divvied up or sold un previous generations. Also, having no farm or business that would keep the family in Carmona, the family grew up in Seville and travelled. Finally, with nothing keeping them tied to Carmona, the palace was left mostly uninhabited and with scarce maintenance. Playing the part of the wealthy Marqués with his own prime palace was not a reality – the house was prime for a new story.

The sale: Ignacio Romero de Solís, and his 9 brothers and sisters, sold the house on plaza de Quintanilla nº1, and the square on which it sits – now called the Plaza de Lasso, to Marta Medina Muro Benjumea, a childhood friend, on July 10, 1987, who bought it with money she had inherited from her successful architect father, Felipe Medina Benjumea, and incorporated it into a company, Casas de España, S.A. she then owned together with her second husband.

Palatial Life in Andalucia

Felipe — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:03:41 +0000

I have been fortunate to have grown up in large houses, and after my parents separated when I was 14 until around 20, when not abroad in school I lived mostly with my father at my grandmother’s house, a house palace in the centre of Seville, the “Casa Palacio de Guardiola”.

Life in a palace provides many differences to life in an apartment, and in most cases, the difference is for the worse – at the palace. Most of all, there is the sense of homeliness, which in a palace is challenged simultaneously on many fronts – the cohabitation of a private life with a family office, with employees, business visitors, coming and going. There is also the cohabitation with the service, who live in several parts of the house, and you share the courtyards, the kitchen with them. There is also a cohabitation with other members of an extended family, in various generations. Each member ends up in one corner of the house, and has their own bedroom, bathroom and sitting area, so for any particular member, the real part of the house they use has a particular path with some stops, and perhaps most of the house, is not for anyone.

Furthermore there is the aspect of your use of the house: a large palace is seldom the property of a single person, and many persons live in it. Property is something that is still mostly of the old. When you have access to property as a young person, many times it comes with ties – be it state taxes, a mortgage, maintenance demands, or pro-indiviso sharing with brothers and sisters. Older people are more likely to have lived in the house for longer, have made up their minds on what yes and what no, and have learned how to impose their rules – and this was truly our case.

In our case, rules where not written, but many times told, forbid us to inviting any of our friends to stay, or have lunch or dinner – for the rationale – we were told – went: being a member of a large family, it would not be possible for every grandson (I was one of 50) to invite their friends. But this rule, in our house was not only for my, lowest generation, it was also for my father and his brothers and sisters – only once in twenty years did I see someone that was not a direct member of the family, an aunt, an uncle or a cousin, have lunch at the dining room. For this socializing there were each member’s own house, the farms or wherever, but not in the “shared” house of our grandparents.

And then also “this is not your house, it is your grandmother’s house”, was also many times told, and if not so, it resonated the perhaps six or seven times heard throughout a youth, from different members of the family. Wham, what a slap in the face! What sensation of rejection! You feel like entering borrowed time … well, without knowing at the time how to articulate it – the sensation of “where do I stand?” “what can I do here?” “Who am I here?” pervaded the time spent within walls – the answer to these questions was mostly: follow your father – accompany him and do what he tells you – which mostly I did, lovingly. The hierarchy was defining, and definition was very much top down.

Large houses have to be lived publicly – with at least people cleaning, maintaining and gardening, or you are bound to become the mad uncle in the attic with the rest of the house falling apart around you. The privacy is confined to your bedroom and bathroom, sometimes a small living room, adjacent to your bedroom, very much like in a hotel. To eat, you are served, and if out of hours you venture into the kitchen, you quickly realize it is definitely not your space – you do not know what’s to be found in the fridge, nor where things are kept, so you get used to pretty quickly adapting your eating habits to the usual meals.

There is the building, the rooms, the furniture, and then there are the people, your family, the service, the family office, and then there are the rules – the limits to behaviour. As a young boy, the demands for me were very few – just basically to behave and to be punctual for lunch and dinner (we did not necessarily meet for breakfast, so it was allowed to come up whenever you were ready).

The significance of a house is the part of the house that you use, what you use it for, and what demands it makes upon you. Perhaps the worst relation with a large house-palace nowadays is to be the owner. As an owner, the experience of the house cannot be disassociated with the direction it is taking. The large houses are always making demands on their owners – monetary and management – and unless the owner is sufficiently wealthy to be able to provide both without much effort, the demands become tiring, and the relationship of the owner towards the house turns into a challenge. A house too large is an instance of inappropriateness and an expression of waste, day after day.

Thus a house, simply thought of as a building in a location, in the case of a house-palace the more so, is really something very different than what is reflexively thought of – it’s size, shape, location, ownership… it is a sort of mass with gravitational forces pulling in all directions. Those forces being the requirements for maintenance, for service, for taxes, the sharing with many people, some, like a floundering employee sometimes not being all that welcome, and then the inertia that all put together builds into the habits, making it less and less probable to start new uses for the house.

Living in a house – palace turned into a hotel provides much of the positive experience without the negative of experiencing the palace as a member of the owning family. First, the costs of a hotel room night are negligible compared with the costs of owning and maintaining a house. Then the rest: no management demands, no efforts, and practically all the benefits: a great location in the centre of town, easy parking within the property, your own private room, gardened courtyards, ample, well decorated living rooms, nice people (they have been selected for niceness and it is their job to be nice), the ease of being served, no need to go shopping nor cooking, nor cleaning… in sum an amplification of the time available for yourself, with substitutes for your functions up to or better than those most people are accustomed to running their own home.

A touch of old world Spain is just right for 21st century traveller

Felipe — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:37:01 +0000

We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Emma Dance and Neil Rose from the Bath Chronicle.

“The Casa de Carmona sat nestled among the winding streets, grand, but at the same time fitting in perfectly with the town –not surprising given its history .

The Casa was built in 1561 as thehome of a wealthy, land-owning, aristocratic family.

In 1987 it was bought by the Guardiola family who turned it into a luxury hotel, which opened in 1991.

The hotel is still run by the family, with Felipe on hand to greet guests. This is very much part of the charm of the hotel, and staying at the Casa feels like staying at someone’s home, with comfortable furnishings and plenty of space to relax.

The rooms are laid out around a central patio, shaded by a canopy which sends a warm orange glow throughout the hotel, and breakfast is served in the Loggia, a bright and airy room with large doors opening on to the swimming pool.

The pool was the perfect place to spend the afternoons, the cool water providing a welcome contrast to the blazing sun and the small patio, shaded by an orange tree with a fountain babbling in the background a lovely place to relax with a book or just soak up the sun with a glass of wine.

Just a 30-minute drive from Seville, Carmona is an idyllic small, Spanish town and the ideal place to discover the Andalucian way of life.

The town is easily explored on foot and everywhere you go the people are friendly and welcoming.

Something about it is very special, and I know that I will never forget it.

The full article can be viewed from here:

Bath Chronicle article about Casa de Carmona

Ideal Spain Visits Casa de Carmona

Felipe — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:13:54 +0000

We were recently visited by Idealspain who were visiting Carmona and stayed in the hotel in September 2010. This was their review which I hope you will like!

The Hotel Casa de Carmona is located in the centre of Carmona, a few minutes walk from the historical centre, all the churches and main plazas. This makes the hotel an ideal choice when planning to explore the town. The five star hotel is housed within a huge, 16th century palace.

Outside view Casa de Carmona Hotel

With just 33 bedrooms, the hotel offers warm, friendly accommodation within luxurious surroundings. Every bedroom is different and is furnished in a style in keeping with the history of the palace. The rooms are of large proportions and although in antique style, they have all the modern comforts you would expect from a top hotel.
Balcony

The hotel has four terraces of differing sizes. Each offers a quiet and unique place to sit. There is a restaurant, games room, library and several lounges, all furnished in similar antique style. Within the building is a small but adequate swimming pool.

First impressions

You would not imagine a hotel of this size to be located within the heart of a small town. The unique, golden yellow facade gives some indication of what lies within. The car park outside the hotel (small charge per night), is a real bonus as parking is difficult in Carmona. As you enter the hotel you find yourself in a huge courtyard. The small reception area is located just to your left. When we visited the hotel (Sept 2010), the hotel was very busy and Felipe, the owner and manager was working hard to keep things running smoothly. Felipe is doing an amazing job at the hotel, with an on-going improvement and restoration project whilst still keeping the guests happy. It’s evident that there is work going on in the hotel but it didn’t affect our stay in any way and if any problems occur, Felipe is keen to resolve them immediately. Despite the complexities of running a high quality hotel, in a very old building, Felipe has managed to retain a personal and friendly feel to the hotel. The comments in the guest book prove that negative feedback and problems are rare.

Video
Our video of the Casa de Carmona Hotel

Courtyard

Rooms

33 rooms, all different. Some rooms are currently being restored and re-fitted. Rooms range from standard doubles through to luxury suites. Each has en-suite bathrooms with shower, TV, telephone, hairdryer and lots more. Every room is furnished in antique style which makes you feel you are living in a 16th century palace. The beds in particular as worthy of a mention. A good night’s sleep is almost guaranteed on the heavy mattresses. The linen was the highest quality, Egyptian cotton and the rooms were almost silent at night.

Public areas

There are lots of them. The outdoor patio areas are beautifully kept. There are quiet spots in which to relax or read. There’s a covered area fronting the small swimming pool. Inside, there are several lounges stocked with antique books, antique furniture and interesting prints on the walls. The sofas are so comfortable you won’t want to get up. There is currently a small honesty bar in one lounge, although poorly stocked. The hotel is currently having a new, separate bar constructed. It looks as though the bar will be completed very shortly.

Bedroom

Restaurants and food

The hotel has its own retaurant which is also open to the public. They have a varied menu served in an authentic and peaceful setting. The service is unhurried and personal. Breakfast is served in a room close to the pool and includes a selection of fruit, fresh orange juice, yoghurts, toast and eggs, cooked to your liking.

Dinner
Games Room
Lounge
Lounge
Suite
Bathroom
Pool

Our overall opinion

We enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Casa de Carmona but beacause we were exploring the local area, we didn’t spend as much time in the hotel as we would have liked. It would have been nice to spend more time relaxing in the public areas. Felipe the manager is facing an amazingly difficult task in keeping the hotel up to scratch. He seems to be coping and all guests seem to be 100% happy. Felipe is determined to continue to provide quality accommodation in this unique environment. He is trying to offer all the modern trappings that guests require yet maintain the 16th century feel. There is no doubt that the Casa de Carmona offers an insight into what it would be like to be an aristocrat and enjoy life within the palace walls. There is an air of calm about the hotel and you are free to wander, unhindered as you wish. Our stay here gave us our best night’s sleep all week due to the quality of the beds and the peaceful surroundings.

Good	Bad
A nice character hotel	Parking difficult – allow for the cost
Beautifully furnished	Temporary improvements being made at present
Good location
Parking available (at cost)
Very comfortable beds
Very friendly and accommodating manager
Family run

Would we stay again?

Possibly if we were in Carmona. We may visit in 2011 to see the improvements the hotel were making.
Our rating of the Casa de Carmona Hotel in Carmona

The full review can be found on Ideal Spain.

Fabulous 16th Century Palace by I-escape.com

Felipe — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:00:32 +0000

Fabulous 16th-century palace, elegant and stylish yet friendly and relaxing, in the charming town of Carmona, outside Seville

The Casa de Carmona is one of those special little hotels you’ll want to return to again and again. Peaceful, welcoming, comfortable, furnished with grace and style, this palace has it all. It was built in the mid 16th-century in Moorish-Renaissance style – with 2 interior patios, broad landings, arched colonnades – and a loggia was added later.

But in 1986 it underwent a transformation at the hands of a Spanish Doña with a flair for decor. Terracotta walls and ochre arcades, having drunk in the summer’s warmth, radiate it back like a Tuscan autumn. The sound of gurgling water accompanies you throughout this mini-Alhambra. A palm frond tickles the corner of every view. An inviting wicker chair is never far away, with a mosaic table for that chilled sherry from the well-stocked honesty bar. Behind the scenes, discreet hi-tech facilities and quietly efficient service ensure this remains a truly sensual haven, a secret oasis within striking distance of bustling Seville.

For the full review visit I-escapes Casa Carmona review by clicking on the link.

Frommers Review

Felipe — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:53:36 +0000

Casa de Carmona Review by Frommers

One of the most elegant and intimate hotels in Andalusia, this plushly furnished hideaway was originally built as the home of the Lasso family during the 1500s. Several years ago, a team of entrepreneurs added the many features required for a luxury hotel while retaining the marble columns, massive masonry, and graceful proportions of the building’s original construction. The most visible public room still maintains vestiges of its original function as a library. Each bedroom is a cozy enclave of opulent furnishings, with distinct decor inspired by ancient Rome, medieval Andalusia, or Renaissance Spain.

Onsite is an outdoor restaurant serving modern interpretations of Andalusian and international cuisine. Set at the edge of the village, the hotel also has a flowery terrace and an inner courtyard covered against the midsummer heat with canvas awnings.

Facilities:
Restaurant; bar; outdoor pool; room service; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning; library

Plenty of Old Town Sevillian Charm

Felipe — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:51:04 +0000

Review of Casa de Carmona, by Jenny Pidgeon

The Casa de Carmona is a beautiful Mujedar 16th-century palace, which has been carefully renovated to a small boutique hotel of character. Carmona itself is very charming and well worth a visit, reminiscent of Salamanca with its honey golden stone, myriad churches, winding streets and little tapas bars.

The facilities

You enter the boutique hotel through a deep-red terracotta patio, which leads through to the reception area. A second patio, filled with plants in large pots and decorated in the same rich colours, forms the central focus of the hotel. Around this patio are the very well preserved public areas of the boutique hotel. The chess room and library are both formal and very beautiful, with carved wooden ceilings, antiques, original rugs and a grand piano. The rooms are comfortable but not very inviting, as a lack of any music and a certain chill in the evenings makes them feel rather museum-like. The numerous brochures for Christies and Sotheby’s only enhance this impression.

More informal is the light-filled loggia, next to the small shady swimming pool. The dining room is slightly anomalous to the rest of the boutique hotel in its décor – rather like Reads in Mallorca with pastel painted walls and frescoes of white horses, and low lighting. Dinner is good, with an extensive wine list and helpful maitre d’. Breakfast is an impressive buffet; attended by waitresses in country wench garb (you might also glimpse a manservant in tights and pantaloons as he whisks your bags away to your room on arrival).

Casa de Carmona also has a small gym and a miniature sauna for winter warming. The staff at the boutique hotel is friendly, eager to help and speaks good English. Only a fifteen minutes drive from Seville airport, the Casa de Carmona makes a great destination for a weekend escape.

The rooms

The bedrooms are light, comfortable and more homely than the boutique hotel’s public areas. Some are overly floral, with the same fabric covering bed, headboard, chairs and curtains. However, careful lighting and framed prints on the walls, CD players and mini bars all help to make you feel relaxed and at home. The junior suites are worth splashing out on; some of them bi-level, others with large sitting areas in the bedroom. Bathrooms are large with double sinks, green and terracotta walls and good-looking shower attachments in the bathtubs.

For the full review please visit Travel Intelligence.

A Magnificent 15th C Palace

Felipe — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:47:52 +0000

Secret Places visited us and wrote this review:

This magnificent 15th century palace belonged to an Andalusian family for centuries and dates back to a number of past civilisations, including the Moors. The hotel is located in the picturesque town of Carmona and only 15 minutes from Seville airport. No two bedrooms are alike yet all are exquisitely decorated with superb antique furniture and refined elegance. They are a dream come true and remind one of how the nobility must have lived hundred years ago. The hotel enchants with its “secret” courtyard, potted fruit trees, marble colonnades, fragrant flowers and the gentle gurgling of fountains. It is justly recognised as one of the loveliest hotels in the whole of Spain.

For the full article please visit Secret Places