The Royal Gateway

The Hotel Alfonso XIII was built to house international dignitaries in 1929, during the Ibero-American Exhibition.

The architect was a native from Seville, Mr. Jose Espiau y Muñoz and the materials used to build the Hotel were brick, plaster, wood and ceramic. The predominant style of decoration is Mudejar: a historical version of the regional tradition inspired by Arab architecture.

The Hotel was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII and since then, The Hotel has had numerous royal dignitaries as Prince Rainier and Grace of Monaco, Prince Charles and Princess Diana and all members of European royal families as part of V.I.P guest list. Presidents and celebrities also like to be treated as royalty, which is why personalities such as Ernest Hemingway, Evita Perón, Audrey Hepburn, Sofia Loren, Plácido Domingo, Brad Pitt, and Shakira had been guest of the royal suite of the Hotel.

During my visit to Seville I was lucky enough to get a quick tour of the Hotel. The first butler and the one who has to take care of kings and high profile personalities, was the guide who show us around the whole place. We started at the lobby, where he told us the history of the Hotel. After that we went up stairs, the walls were all tiled with unique pieces of local ceramic. The first room that he show us was consider a standard room, but for me it was not standard at all. The bedroom was full of light and the linens were so elegant that it was hard to even think to seat on them. The bathroom had a gorgeous view of the garden and all the imaginable creams and shampoos next to the sink. The whole suite had traditional decorations and high tech gadgets; it was just perfect I could live there without any problem.

Suddenly, the butler asked us to go to the royal suite. I couldn’t believe it! I quickly followed our perfectly dressed guide and as soon as he opened the doors I saw an enormous room. That place is bigger that many apartments that I know. It has a living room, a dinning room, a huge marble bath; a bedroom that has a super size bed; a library and even a little room were the service can organize the meals. After walking out of the royal suite we were full of questions and we even got some information about a picky lady who has three pages of special requirements.

We went downstairs and we saw the ballrooms. The floors and ceilings were breath taking and the chandeliers were pieces of art. For a moment I felt like a princess but unfortunately that was the last part of the tour and it was time to wake up from the dream

The Hotel Alfonso XIII is also known for top class gastronomy. During May, the hotel hostess two different gastronomic festivals: The Bull Meat Festival and the Galicia Festival. Both of them; unique opportunities to enjoy Iberian delicatessens.