Puerta de Jerez / San Fernando

Hotel Alfonso XIII, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seville

★★★★★

There is no more glamorous address in Seville than the Alfonso XIII. It was built to house the dignitaries and royalty who came to the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII himself on 28 April 1928, and it has been the city's grandest hotel ever since. The Sevillian architect José Espiau y Muñoz designed it in the regional neo-Mudéjar style, and it is a building to explore as much as to sleep in: arches and arcades of brick and carved plaster, ceramic friezes, coffered wooden ceilings, wrought-iron lanterns and marble floors, all built from the traditional materials of Andalusian craftsmanship. At its heart is a colonnaded inner courtyard with a fountain, where the Restaurante San Fernando serves Spanish classics with a modern twist beneath the arches — one of the most atmospheric places in the city for breakfast or dinner. The Bar Americano, an Art Deco wine bar, is a classic spot for a cocktail, and Ena Sevilla, an outdoor terrace restaurant, serves tapas and cocktails in the gardens. The outdoor swimming pool, set among palms and orange trees, is a precious refuge in the Seville summer, and there is a complimentary fitness centre. The hotel went through a thorough renovation that closed it for nine months before it reopened in 2012 as part of Marriott's Luxury Collection, and it has kept its Moorish-revival grandeur while adding modern comforts. Rooms are richly decorated in Andalusian, Moorish or Castilian styles with dark wood, tiles and warm colours; the suites are generously sized, and the Alfonso XIII suite is the most lavish in the house.

Who it suits: honeymooners, milestone celebrations, and any traveller for whom the hotel is part of the story of the trip. The location is outstanding for sightseeing at a gentler pace: the hotel stands on the Calle San Fernando between the Puerta de Jerez and the old Royal Tobacco Factory, now the university and once the setting of Carmen; the Real Alcázar and Cathedral are a few minutes' walk north, the Plaza de España and the Parque de María Luisa a short stroll south, and the river and the Torre del Oro just to the west. It is less suited to travellers who want to step straight into the bars of Santa Cruz at midnight, though they are only ten minutes away on foot.

Living in it: ask for a room facing the gardens or the pool for quiet, and consider a suite for a special occasion. Book dinner at San Fernando in the courtyard at least once, take a cocktail in the Bar Americano, and plan an afternoon by the pool between sightseeing sessions — in summer, it is the best way to beat the heat. The hotel is a popular venue for weddings and events, so the public areas can be busy at weekends in season. Pets are not allowed.

Value: rates sit at the top of the Seville market and rise sharply during Holy Week and the April Fair, when the city's best rooms sell out months ahead. Seville does not currently charge a tourist tax, though the mayor continues to press for one. The value case is a once-in-a-lifetime setting combined with a central yet calm location and a pool — few hotels anywhere offer a 1920s Moorish-revival palace a few minutes from a UNESCO World Heritage Site.