Vibe Sevilla

The room itself was mostly clean, with a good-sized fridge and a small microwave, oven, and grill combination. But the floor had dust and grit and several long hairs, and there was no broom. There wasn't a single glass or cup, either, or any cleaning supplies. Two bins, one green and one blue, came with no explanation of what went in each. I stayed five nights and nobody serviced the room. I had to get replacement toilet paper from the cleaners myself. There were good communal facilities, including indoor and outdoor seating areas, tennis, a small pool, table tennis, indoor games, and a cafeteria. It was cheap, but the lifts seemed to be out of order, and the place didn't feel very accessible. There are steps at the entrance and a lift beside them, though I couldn't tell if that lift worked. Check-in was a mess. The staff seemed overwhelmed and assigned rooms from a scribbled piece of paper. The first room, on the second floor, had a man already staying in it. The second, on the first floor, had a couple inside. On the third try, the receptionist checked the ground-floor room before sending me there. It had a balcony, so I wondered if it was an upgrade, but she didn't say. The balcony door opened but wouldn't close, and couldn't be repaired until the following day. Noise from the nearby tennis court, which was in use late, the main road beyond it, and planes descending into the nearby city airport kept me up. I waited until 11:20 the next morning for someone to fix the door. Nobody came, so I went to reception. The man there asked me to return in 20 minutes, then said another 20 when I did. I told him I'd sit where he could see me and he could let me know when he had an update. About 10 minutes later he did, and a housekeeper quickly fixed the door. I'd lost the whole morning, though, when I hoped to see some of Seville before going to work that afternoon. If I hadn't kept chasing it, I don't know if anyone would have fixed it. The room door let in both hallway light and noise. I could hear every word and footstep outside, and light shone around the edges at night. Motion-sensitive corridor lights might help save electricity. In mid-November it was cool at night, but the heating wasn't on. I emailed for instructions, and they said it wasn't on yet but would be switched on “very soon.” When I politely asked twice when, they never replied. I had to sleep in my clothes to stay warm. The fuse box in my room also started buzzing a couple of nights ago. I couldn't face arranging a repair while attending the conference, but it disrupted my sleep. It's described as a student place, though I saw all kinds of guests: construction workers, working musicians, an older couple on holiday, and young adults who looked like students. I was there for a conference at the nearby convention centre. I'll look elsewhere if I come to Seville for it again.

Hello, I booked a day in October 2 several months ago. Reviews here say the hotel may not even be open yet, along with many complaints. I've tried several times to reach your facilities so I could sort this out and find another hotel, but nobody has responded. Can you please explain promptly what's happening with the bookings so people can make arrangements, and return the money? Thanks.

My honeymoon plans were completely wrecked when a February booking through booking. Com was cancelled just two weeks before we were due to arrive. Judging by the reviews, this seems to be their usual reservation policy. That's totally unacceptable, and I'm surprised booking.com allows it.

DO NOT RESERVE HERE You can make a booking through the website or booking, but they can't accommodate you. The place is real, but it's a student residence, not a hotel. The woman at the entrance didn't seem to care. She just said something obvious and unhelpful, along the lines of, “I'm sorry, this isn't a hotel, they should have paid you back.” I never got an email saying my reservation had been cancelled. Luckily, AMEX got my money back.