CASA DE LA LUZ -Elegante Casco Antiguo 5-Hab-11PX

Maria was a great host, and this was an outstanding, inexpensive stay in beautiful Seville. Plenty of cafes are right nearby, and Santa Cruz and the cathedral are about a five-minute walk away.

The location is great, and the hostel could work if you’re young, travel light, and don’t mind noise at night. For two older people, though, it was really uncomfortable. Our ground-floor room had just one bed and not even a folding chair. It was too small to fit anything else, and our bags were hard to manage both in that space and on the narrow stairs. We were right beside the entrance, with two doors, one wooden and one metal. A very friendly man asked us to open and close them carefully, but people didn’t always do that, so every time someone came in or left, we heard it right by our ears while trying to sleep. The shared kitchen is a good idea, but it’s on the second floor, so anyone with an illness or disability can’t use it. It also rained heavily during our stay, and water came through the reception roof and soaked the floor. Given all that, I wouldn’t recommend booking here unless those limitations work for you.

The place felt neglected and dirty, not charmingly retro or historic. So much needs doing that I think it needs a full renovation. The bathroom was the worst: very old, damp swollen walls, peeling paint, a leaky shower, and a general feeling of dirt. The room was old and not very clean too. A pouf beside the wardrobe was disgustingly sticky. We found long women’s hair on and around the bed, and in the bathroom as well. We don’t have long hair, so it must have been left by previous guests. My room had a large antique wooden bed, but no windows facing outdoors, only ones looking onto the stairwell and shared area, which made it feel less private. The walls were very thin, and we could hear conversations and the TV our neighbour was watching. The kitchen was supposedly shared, but the freezer was locked with a padlock. I only had warm drinks, but the whole bag of ice I’d bought melted. There was an unbearably strong incense smell throughout the property. I can’t stand it, and after three days it had got into all my things and came home with me. The scent itself is a matter of taste, but I think they could make it much less intense. The property charged us more than a month before arrival. We’d overlooked that, so that part was our mistake, but our trip to Seville wasn’t certain yet. I asked if we could cancel and get a refund, and they refused. They said I could cancel for the full price. Poor flexibility from the owner. I felt bad staying there and wouldn’t rent a place like this again.

It’s a typical Andalusian house in a good spot for walking to the main sights. The shared kitchen was very clean, and the heating worked well. The room, though, is much smaller than it appears in the photos, and there aren’t any chairs. I thought it was decent overall.