Hotel Palacio de Santa Ines, siglo XVI — Hotel in Granada

Firstly this review only gets 3 stars from our own personal experience over 2 nights.

We were upgraded to a room with a sitting area and balcony. We were very excited about this. However the room was at the top of the hotel (3 flights) and no lift and no offer of help with our bags. (We are not young’uns). This didn’t feel like a room upgrade. The view was good of the Alhambra though. We felt the hotel has a sort of ‘tired’ feel to it.

The room was ‘quaint’ but with no soft furnishings, it was very echoey and the floors were terracotta tiled. The door into the bathroom and bedroom was quite low so definitely not a room for tall people. My husband is 6’ and found himself having to bend quite low. I am not very tall but did bang my head at 4am when I had to go to the bathroom. Our bathroom door dragged noisily across the tiles so I’m hoping anyone underneath us wasn’t disturbed. We could hear anyone having a shower and anyone talking in the reception area and we could also hear every time the front door was closed. It was all very noisy.

The other issue was that there is an electronic nightclub in the courtyard outside the front of the hotel. It starts at 10 and finishes around 4am. You can’t hear the music but on our 2nd night we were kept awake by people talking in the courtyard whilst smoking/meeting friends until early hours of the morning.

If you are driving to the hotel, recommend parking at one of 2 big car parks nearby and getting a taxi to the hotel as the street is very narrow. Only about 6 mins away and the hotel refund the cost of the taxi and discounted parking fee if paid at the hotel.

Ask for a room on the other side of the hotel and avoid the roof/attic rooms on the courtyard side.

Having said all of that, the beds are really comfortable and the location...

Old fashioned, quirky rooms, each one different but each thoughtfully conjured from the historic original building. Very clean. Lots of windows, some with a view or a glimpse of the Alhambra on the mountain above. Expect a lot of stairs, as there is no elevator, but of course Aaron or someone else will help with luggage if you need a hand. BTW, the taxi drops you off about 50 yards and several steps from the front door of the hotel, so there's a bit of bump-and-drag involved in getting your luggage to the small plaza that fronts the hotel. Aaron, the concierge/ greeter/ person behind the desk was wonderfully kind, friendly, and knowledgeable. I'd give him six stars! He seems to be there afternoons and into the late evening. The breakfast is fine for its inexpensive price, and you can add it on any time, so I would not include it in the initial room price option unless you aren't too picky about food variety. One thing to note about the breakfast that is worthwhile, however, is that although it's advertised as starting at 8:00AM, which makes it too late if you have a first-in-line (highly recommended) 8:30 reservation for the Nasrid Palaces at the Alhambra, you can let them know the night before and they'll open the buffet to you as early as 7:00, which lets you leave the hotel at 8:00 to walk over to Plaza Nueva (4 minutes) to grab a taxi to take you to the Justice Gate of the Alhambra which is where you want to go for the Nasrid Palace area entry. Regarding taking a taxi up there in the morning, I'd suggest walking up the day before, just to see if you want to begin that day of a lot of walking and climbing, with that...

Two of our group stayed in a Standard Room and the other two stayed in a Room with an Alhambra view. Apart from the room size, architectural details, extra furniture, and the view from the window -- both accomms were virtually identical in terms of bedroom and bathroom amenities.||Both rooms were very clean, with proper mattresses and pristine beddings, airconditioner and hot water kettle. All facilities, electrical and plumbing were flawless. The front desk staff is staffed 24h is a plus (not very common in Spain). especially if checking in/out at odd hours. The property has no elevator, which is not a big deal for most able-bodies people but may present a challenge to some.||And now for the views. The room with a view, located on the 3rd floor -- has truly gorgeous views of the Alhambra from several windows in the room (including one while lying on the bed). The standard room, on the other hand, located on the ground floor had windows looking out to a somewhat dim, tiled courtyard. I don't mind a courtyard view, but the lack of privacy was an issue for me. There was no way to get any cross ventilation in the bathroom (ie open the windows) without anyone from the upper floors being able to see inside. There were no other window coverings to help remedy that.||The location of the hotel is good, right in the city center. The Alhambra shuttle buses, a taxi stand at the Plaza for airport access, or the airport bus stop are all within a 10 minute walk from the front door.||Overall a positive experience at this hotel but would decline a room on the ground...