We spent 2 nights (Friday and Saturday, October 14th/15th, 2005) at the elegant 4-Star Hotel Alhambra Palace .

NOT knowing exactly where the hotel was located, we simply followed the signs to the Alhambra because this beautiful, 1910-buit hotel is located just below and to the side of the Alhambra Palace (a.k.a. on "Alhambra Hill"). We drove in circles for a few minutes trying to find the hotel entrance so here are your directions:

Follow road signs towards the Alhambra, go up "the hill" on the 2-lane road, following signs, come to a "roundabout" at the car entrance of the Parador Alhambra. HERE'S the confusing part for those "directionally challenged"... hehehe... Here, you have a kind of "guard house" and a mechanical arm where you must put a kind of pass-card into the recepticle in order for the arm to raise. THIS IS ONLY FOR THE ALHAMBRA PARADOR SO DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENTER HERE!! There's a sign directly to the LEFT of this entrance, a different entry, which says "HOTELS" or "OTHER HOTELS" or something like that. But here, to the LEFT of the entry for the parador is the actual entrance to all other hotels on "Alhambra Hill", including to the Hotel Alhambra Palace. This is a narrow-ish road going DOWNhill, winding left and right, passing smallish hotels (including the famed and seemingly now-closed Hotel Washington Irving) and shops. You'll go around a tight turn before leaving "Alhambra Hill" and see before you the TALL, pinkish Hotel Alhambra Palace with this green shutters and trip.

We pulled up, mentioned we had a reservation, and someone took the car keys and parked the car (right in front) while someone else took our bags inside to the receptionist desk where we checked in. After doing so, another attendant carried our bags to our suite, down the elevator to the -2 level to room -204. Yes, it was -204, two levels below the receptionist level, the lowest level of the rooms. This in itself was fine. We had a wonderful view of the city below and total privacy through the window. On the down side, this room was directly below the banquet room in which there were wedding receptions both nights we were there so we could hear frequent "clunk cluck" sounds from heals, we presumed, but those sounds faded the later it got.



We had a Junior Suite which had a nice, large bedroom with a king-size bed (only upon request at arrival, as I understand it) and an inlaid, lighted, ceiling star of David over the bed - QUITE NICE! The bed was HUGE, so very comfortable and only slightly firm. On our first night we went to visit the Alhambra by night and when we returned to our room the bed had been "turned down" (the covers pulled down neatly at the corners) which was such a nice touch! I'd never been to a hotel where they did that for you.

In the "living room", there was a small couch, coffee table, and a large selection of Granada tourist and history books about the city and The Alhambra, most of which were in English but some in Spanish. I wondered if they put the English langague books there because they knew I was an English-speaker. The living room was larger than the bedroom and had a large, wide window looking out over the city of Granada below and the mountains to the left. We had a wonderfully clear night, stars, and a mostly-full moon to look at while we had our room-service-delivered dinner there Saturday night. Since the room was one-level from the lowest level (which was used for service, probably) we had total privacy. TVs in both rooms, ambiant classical and instrumental guitar music (Baroque, mostly) was controlled by a dial behind the lamp on the end table.

The bathroom was LARGE! There was the obligatory toilet + bidet, large bathtub with shower curtain, and a virtual waterfall of water (excessivly so) from the showerhead, two sinks, two baskets of freebies of lotion, shampoo, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpastes, combs, showercaps, the works. On the stool under the sinks were two pairs of plastic wrapped slip-on slippers with the hotels initials. What a nice touch! "But where were the fluffy, terrycloth robes," I wondered! hehehe.. The bathroom floor was tile as were the walls but with a kind of copper or brass inlay which had oxidized to a nice burnt-orange color. VERY CLASSY! Just beautiful.

On our last morning, Sunday, before checking out we had the buffet breakfast. Now THAT was a buffet breakfast! And the dining room was just beautiful what with the windows, some stained glass, on two sides of the huge room which had huge, green marble pillars in the center and large wooden beams at the ceiling. On the buffet tables were all cheeses, cold cuts, scrambled eggs, bacon, 3 kinds of sausage, breads and cereals of several varieties, 4 different juices, coffees, tea, and so many other things. Wow. What a breakfast! All the wait staff were wearing their tuxedo uniforms and always very attentive although they didn't serve us since we had the buffet. FYI: Starting January 1st 2006 all restaurants and bars in Spain will be smoke-free.

Overall: This Junior Suite was 259 Euros per night and my ladyfriend and I both agreed that it was BY FAR THE MOST EXPENSIVE hotel either of us had been in. This was ONLY for special occasions or romantic getaways and it was both for us. We loved it but probably wouldn't stay there again - unless we won the lottery or had a rich, long lost relative who left us a load of cash.

So that's my review of the 4-Star Hotel Alhambra Palace . Lovely place with the arched doorways and Mudejar design.

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay at Alhambra Palace. From time to time one has to pamper oneself, and this seems to have been one of those occasions.

Just want to point out something re:
This is not exactly true, as far as I know. The rule will be:
- if the place is bigger than 100 square meters, the owner can choose to have a smoking area, that cannot be bigger than 30% of the place and children will not be allowed to access this area.
- else, the owner can choose if he/she permits to smoke in his/her place. If smoking is allowed, it has to be clearly signed at the entrance, and children will not be allowed to enter the place.

In addition, there will be rules about the location and the air renovation conditions in the smoking areas where existing.

Looks like you had the same room we stayed in on our visit there last year (in the basement with a view, right?). Great location, but limited eating possibilities without going for a long walk.

ChrisR: Our room was down the elevator to floor -2. Stepped out of the elevator, turned left and it was the 2nd door on the right - just about directly across the hall from the doors to the staircase. The first night I went out and closed the doors to the staircase because of the noise from the banquet room upstairs. GREAT view too, yes.

The first night we were QUITE late to eat after the 10pm nighttime Alhambra tour and starving to death throughout. We went down the hill (a lonnng walk, searching high and low, not knowing exactly where it was yet) to the square below the hotel and chose one place which was still open. It wasn't even a restaurant, really, so we only ordered a plate of hams and cheeses and had a bottle of Rueda white wine. It was an unfortunately simple meal for what should have been a romantic meal at a nice restaurant for our first night in Granada. Oh well. That's the way it goes sometimes. Even the hotel's restaurant was closed as was room service for dinner. They could only send sandwiches.

Saludos, MadridMan