My wife and I (fiftyish) just got back from a 3 week visit to Spain. My first visit in 10 yrs. We drove, flew, and trained between various destinations. Since I used this forum to seek out info prior to my trip, I wanted to report back some lodging experiences.

Barcelona 3 nights: Stayed in the comfortable and reasonably well located (Examplie) Hotel Balme. However we arrived a day late due to airline and weather foul ups and still had to pay for the first night of our reservation. My 18 hr advance notice of this problem notwithstanding.

Granada 4 nights: Palacio Santa Ines is a nice hotel but run by amateurs. Our room was located with a window next to a school play yard. Very noisy. Some of our laundry was lost but they made good on it. No parking and difficult to locate initially. Near Plaza Nueva which has become a cesspool of scum. As bad as you will find anywhere in Europe. I really loved Granada 10 yrs ago and was devastated to see what has become of it since. The Alhambra is now the ONLY reason to visit Granada. Anything else you might want to do (including party) should be done in one of Spain's other fine cities.

Ronda 3 nights: What a great break after disasterous Granada. Stayed at a WONDERFUL country inn about 15 mins. outside of town--Molina del Santo. Half board with wonderful food and facilities.

Seville 4 nights: Everyone loves Sevilla. A large and slightly sterile but comfortable Hotel Melia Sevilla. Quiet, all amenities and terrific breakfasts.

Madrid 3 nights: Very well located, comfortable but worn, Hotel Green Prado. Very close to Plaza Santa Ana. Madrid has really become a more fun international city than it was 10 yrs ago.

I'll post other Spain impressions on another forum.