For years, Marta Medina, who comes from one of Seville’s most illustrious aristocratic families, had wanted to open an exclusive hotel in Andalusia. "We had to offer something more intimate but at the same time more professional than a chain of government paradors. Look at England, France, Italy, Austria -they are full of private country house hotels. And certainly there is no lack of historic buildings to save in Andalusia; there are countless landmarks that are crumbling!".

When it came time to choose an architectural eye that she decided upon the sixteenth-centruy Lasso de la Vega Palace, a noble pile near collapse, but eminently worthy of the three-year renovation. "The last residents were using only a corner of the palace, and the worst one. I don’t understand it". Original marble columns were excavated from walls that dated from periods of indelicate renovation; fountains and pools were set flowing; tiles were restored and gardens replanted. Each of the hotel’s thirty rooms has been painted in distinct motifs and trompe l’oeil, adorned with antiques acquired from the...

The pool- where palms, cypress, and mimosa thrive, and where the expansive arches recall those of the Mezquita in Córdoba- the Casa de Carmona’s provenance is unmistakably clear: the private and aristocratic Andalusia.

The hotel staff is mostly young and obliging and, above all, flexible. You can, for example, request meals on the patio, in your room, or on a sequestered terrace at poolside. Medina often welcomes visitors into her private quarters and willingly shares her insider’s tips on the region, on Carmona, and on nearby Seville.

WHERE TO STAY
Those convinced that there was a mix-up at the baby hospital and they were actually meant to be born into royalty can see how they might have liked it at the Casa de Carmona. A palace in the Lasso family for over 500 years, the building was recently opened as a luxury hotel after three year’s renovation.

The charm and grandeur of the original design have been preserved, with modern attachments tucked into hidden nooks where they can’t upset the elegant atmosphere. The air conditioning unit is found in the trellis work, for example. The mini-bar and safe are concealed in an antique closet. And even the wealthiest palace dweller of past centuries didn’t have his own chest that opens up into a satellite TV.

Each room is individually appointed with fine furniture and decorations. The sitting room area open to all includes plush chairs, writing desks, art books spread about the low tables and an open bar in the perfect in indoor escape for a would-be palace dweller.

The center courtyard-that cooling Andalusian answer to the sun, is covered with a canvas that bathes the area in a rosy glow each afternoon. In summer months buffet meals are served here for lunch and dinner, where guest can enjoy their meals in the exotic shadow of a centuries-old column.

Amateur historians will appreciate a walking tour of Carmona, a pleasant little town less than 30 minutes from Seville on a hill overlooking a fertile plain. Gothic, Moorish, Baroque, and Renaissance monuments can be found, as well as the most important necropolis outside Rome. Annexed to the Roman empire in 206 B.C. Carmona was once the largest city in Andalusia, and as a crown city without a feudal lord, became the site of many palatial estates. One of those remaining, Casa de Carmona is a link to the past with all the modern conveniences.