Barrio Alfalfa

Corral del Rey

★★★★★

Corral del Rey is one of the most stylish small hotels in Spain, and a favourite of travellers who prefer a private house to a grand hotel. It occupies an original seventeenth-century casa palacio on the street of the same name in the Barrio Alfalfa, the old town's most characterful quarter, about five minutes' walk from the Cathedral, and it has been meticulously restored and converted into a small private luxury boutique hotel with just seventeen rooms. The restoration kept the bones of the house, including its courtyard and original wooden ceilings, and layered on a quietly luxurious modern style of natural materials, soft colours and carefully chosen art and antiques. Each room is individually decorated, and each has an en suite bathroom in marble and limestone. The roof is the hotel's prize: a terrace with a plunge pool and an extended mirador with views over the rooftops to the Cathedral and the Giralda, a wonderful place for a late-afternoon swim or a glass of wine as the bells ring. Downstairs, the bar and dining room under the original wooden ceiling serve an all-day tapas menu with Spanish wines and an excellent selection of sherries, so you can eat well without leaving the house. The hotel is part of the Aluz Collection, whose sister property, the Hacienda de San Rafael, is a country estate in the olive groves between Seville and Jerez, and many guests combine the two for a city-and-countryside trip. The service is warm and personal, the scale intimate, and the atmosphere that of a beautifully run private home.

Who it suits: couples, discerning travellers and anyone who wants a small, design-led base with real character, in a neighbourhood where Sevillanos live and eat. The Alfalfa is full of tapas bars and small squares, and it is ideally placed between the Cathedral, Santa Cruz, the Setas de Sevilla and the Casa de Pilatos. It is less suited to travellers who want extensive facilities such as a gym or spa, or to families with young children, given the size of the rooms and the boutique atmosphere.

Living in it: book early, since seventeen rooms fill quickly, especially in spring, Holy Week and the April Fair. Ask for one of the brighter rooms if you are staying several nights. Make time for the rooftop at sunset, and for a sherry tasting in the bar — the staff know their manzanillas and finos. The lanes around the hotel are narrow and partly pedestrianised, so check the best taxi drop-off point. If you plan to explore Jerez, Cádiz or the white villages, consider adding a few nights at the Hacienda de San Rafael.

Value: rates are in the upper range for Seville, reflecting the small scale and the quality of the restoration, and rise during the major festivals. There is no tourist tax in Seville at present. The value case is intimacy and taste: a house you will remember, in the neighbourhood you would choose to live in, with a plunge pool and a view of the Giralda on the roof.