Casa Palacio De Carmona Hotel

We left early and lost the cost of the second night, which we expected, but the owner said Booking.com wouldn’t let him cancel even though I can now see the room listed there. The restaurant menu was very expensive, and it was completely empty on Friday night, so we ate elsewhere. Getting there was stressful: Google Maps sent us down painfully narrow roads even in a small car. Room 24 was run down, with cracks in the walls and ceilings and furniture needing repairs. There were old power socket holes in the wall, and I couldn’t tell if they were live. The TV remote was missing, and when we asked, staff just said to keep looking and we’d eventually find it. The bathroom smelled awful and made it hard to sleep, so we cut our stay short.

Parking in town is nearly impossible, and the staff are few in number and sometimes grumpy. There’s a lot to like in the building itself: a grand staircase, broad patios, a pretty courtyard, and a maze of sitting rooms and patios. It was apparently renovated in 1991, which may have been its heyday, but it seems to have had little upkeep since then. The facility badly needs major renovation. Our bed had old, torn sheets, the ceiling paint was peeling, and the room Wi-Fi didn’t work. Staff just said, “oh the building is old”. It could be a great place with some TLC.

The menu had very few options, and some of the listed choices weren’t available. The hotel also felt worn and gave us the impression that it was being presented as grander than it really is. There often weren’t enough staff, so people had to cover other duties, and we waited a long time for help. We didn’t feel much welcome or helpfulness from the service. Sadly, it didn’t live up to our expectations. A great shame.

I liked spending time in the sitting rooms, with their large old sofas and lovely paintings. Casa Carmona is a very pretty building with plenty of old-world charm, though for some people the word “old” may stand out more than “charm.” The 1991 renovation is showing its age. Parking is very difficult, and breakfast is very expensive.