Madridman, thanks for the kudos, but my review is only preliminary, or I should say just based on the emails that I have swapped with the owner. I'm really looking forward to my stay at the Hostal Adriano in March.

Truthfully, the owner, Alberto DiStefano is charming (well, that's from a femme's perspective) and very friendly. We swapped about a dozen email messages on Saturday, and Mr. DiStefano could not have been nicer to a total stranger. He provided me with a great deal of information that he didn't have to go out of his way to give me -- a lot of it was not about the Hostal Adriano, but was amongst other things, about train travel, sightseeing tours, arrangements of how to get from the airport to the hostal, and how much to pay for a cab.

Mr. DiStefano was very modest when he responded to my email about my itinerary for Spain -- I had mentioned the other hotels that I have reservations at. He said "Your trip seems great and well planned, so well in advance! Your tour to Andalucia is also a good choice. I love Sevilla. The hotels you will stay at are excellent. I feel flattered, but also a little worried: our rooms are very nice, but certainly the building and facilities are not the ones of a 4 or 5 star hotel such us the ones you will stay at in Andalucia!"

In another email I had mentioned Mongo's review of the Hostal Adriano here at the Madridman board. Mr. DiStefano was most appreciative that the Hostal Adriano was positively reviewed, and said that he will write to Mongo to thank him personally.

By the way, the Hostal Adriano is doubling in size, and all renovations except the completion of the installation of the elevator will have occurred by the end of 2002. The elevator should be operational by March (when I arrive). I've also been invited to stay in the new 'Maria Callas' room -- in case you haven't figured it out, Mr. DiStefano is an opera buff.

So, I feel very comfortable with my decision. I'll certainly write a detailed review when I return.