Arenal Luxury

Nice place, but the washing machine was broken :(

Fabulous.

Don't trust the photos, and avoid coming in summer! We arrived during one of Seville's hottest weeks, which isn't the apartment managers' fault. There was a national taxi strike, so when we reached the bus station and couldn't find a cab, I called the managers. The apartment is only four minutes from the station, but they couldn't arrange a pickup or even tell me which bus to take. The manager apologized but had no solution. Luckily, I found a taxi driver and let them know we were on our way. Even with more than half an hour's notice, nobody was there when we arrived. We spent another 20 minutes standing in full sun, with our suitcases and no shade, at 47°C before a young man finally showed up. He didn't apologize for the wait, but showed us around and was kind enough once he arrived. The apartment looked nice at first, but it was unbearably hot inside, at least 50°C, because nobody had switched on the air conditioning. The living room unit barely cooled the room, and the top-floor apartment has a sunny terrace, so it felt like a greenhouse. The old, yellowed unit had a faulty remote and louvers that wouldn't move. The two bedroom air conditioners were just as old and unreliable. The kitchen gets sun from 2 to 9 PM and was too hot to cook in. Even trying to make pasta around midnight, when it cooled a little, would be difficult because many dishes were missing. The next day, a staff member got in touch to explain that the living-room air conditioner blows less cold air than the one in the bedroom. We had noticed that already. The bathroom was nice, but there was a nauseating smell coming from the shower. The lighting was dim, and the apartment felt dark. A skylight was left uncovered in the blazing sun all day, making the bedroom extremely hot in the afternoon and evening even with the air conditioning running. The terrace was pleasant in principle, but nothing like the photos, which looked at least ten years old. There was a flimsy umbrella that gave no shade, and the tartan sofa and chairs were in terrible condition. The cushions didn't help, and the seats were uncomfortable. There was no proper dining table, just a small wall-mounted one with very uncomfortable chairs. The floors were filthy, and the whole place felt neglected and poorly maintained, even though the apartment itself isn't inherently bad. They need better service, customer care, organization, and maintenance. They should also change the air-conditioning remote batteries. If we hadn't thought of it ourselves, we'd have been stuck in 46-50°C heat, which would have been awful. Wake up!

Our family had a lovely stay in this cozy, beautiful, and very clean apartment. The location was excellent for exploring Seville on foot. Thanks for everything, we'll definitely come back!