XI.              SEVILLE

 

Seville – Overview and Terrain

 

Strolling in Seville is delightful.  The scenery, the plazas large and small, the pedestrian-only shopping streets, the warm weather and the long days - all are conducive to leisurely, convivial street life.  Even more than in other cities, we saw Sevillanos of all ages – families, couples, individuals – strolling in the late afternoon, evening and night, meeting friends, window shopping and enjoying themselves in cafes and tapas bars.  Parents didn’t seem overly concerned (or, indeed, concerned at all) about childrens’ bedtimes.  Seville is large enough to have many areas to explore, yet the major sites are within easy walking distance of each other.  The people were friendly and gracious. 

 

Most of central Seville is flat, but some of the narrow streets in the lovely Santa Cruz area (the old Jewish quarter) are gradually sloped.  Most intersections have curb ramps or curb cuts.  Many streets and sidewalks around the Cathedral, the Real Alcazar and city hall are comprised of rough stones; this poses no problems for a person using an electric wheelchair but in a manual wheelchair the ride would be bumpy and assistance might be required in some places.

 

Seville – Transportation

 

Buses.  Because the old city center is compact, we didn’t use public transportation.  We saw many buses with retractable wheelchair ramps at the side door; they appeared to have the same design as those in Barcelona. 

 

Taxis.  Radio Taxi Giralda has wheelchair accessible Eurotaxis.  Phone 011-34-954-675-555. 

 

Seville – Hotels

 

Where We Stayed

 

Casona de San Andres.  Three star.  Calle Daoiz, 7. Phone 011-34-954-915-253; fax  011-34-954-915-765.  www.casonadesanandres.com.

 

This atmospheric 25-room hotel, in an exuberantly restored 19th century building of typical Seville style, opened in 2003.  It’s well located on a neighborhood plaza that’s lively but not too crowded or touristy.  During our stay two weddings were held at the small church on the plaza, drawing festive, joyful guests all dressed up.  The hotel is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Real Alcazar and Cathedral, and near a pedestrian-only area with high quality stores. 

 

The inviting lobby is tiled in Mudejar style.  Two internal courtyards with huge skylights afford luminous sunlight to the lobby and breakfast room.  There is a large roof deck, accessible by the elevator and up one medium stair.  There is no on-site parking but the hotel has an arrangement with a nearby garage.  The hotel has a café next to the lobby.  The room rate was reasonable.  The staff was extraordinarily gracious, welcoming and attentive, offering recommendations for restaurants, flamenco performances, etc. and helping us in any way possible.  A modest continental breakfast was included in the room rate. 

 

There is one high stair from the street to the front entrance and one high stair from the vestibule to the lobby.  As is typical in the old neighborhoods of Seville, Granada and Cordoba, the entryway is flush with the street, not set back.  A portable ramp would have protruded into the narrow street, so Howard used the café entrance.  There is a small step from the street to the café entrance (it is uneven, so Howard required a bit of assistance backing down it), then a fairly steep permanent ramp through the café up to the hotel lobby.  A person in a manual wheelchair would require assistance on the ramp.  The café door was always opened quickly whenever we needed it, so this arrangement worked well.

 

Room 001, the adapted room, is on the ground floor.  Facing the plaza, café and church, it can be noisy at times, but it’s fine if you are not especially sensitive to noise and don’t mind church bells.  The room is medium size, with extremely high ceilings and inviting decor.  There is sufficient space to maneuver a wheelchair because there is not too much furniture.  As was typical in Spanish hotels, door pressure is heavy and the heating/air conditioning controls and receptacle for the master cardkey necessary to turn on the electricity are inaccessibly high.

 

The bathroom is small.  There is a small stand-up shower with one grab bar and a two- or three-inch high lip at the opening, and the shower is too narrow for most wheelchairs.  The shower hose is somewhat long but because the shower has a solid wall, the hose doesn’t reach the sink.  The sink has separate hot and cold controls, and only a small ledge for toiletries.  The toilet, like many in Spain, has no fixed grab bars and one wall-hung fold-down grab bar between the toilet and the transfer space, making a side transfer difficult or impossible unless one is strong enough to transfer without using grab bars.  Also, the bathroom door takes up a lot of space; it’s impossible to close the door with a wheelchair in the bathroom. 

 

So, unfortunately, from an access standpoint, we can recommend this hotel only for wheelchair users traveling with a companion and who either don’t need to transfer to use the toilet or who are strong enough to transfer without using grab bars.  But we enjoyed this hotel so much that the access barriers seemed less problematic than similar barriers would have been at other places.  If you are able to sacrifice bathroom access for charm, a wonderful staff, excellent location and reasonable price, try Casona de San Andres.

 

Other Hotels to Consider

 

Hotel Alcantara.  Two star.  Calle Ximénez de Enciso, 28.  Phone 011-34-954-500-595.  www.hotelalcantara.net; info@hotelalcantara.net. 

 

This small recently renovated hotel shares an entrance with Casa de la Memoria de Al-Andaluz (a non-profit cultural center featuring Flamenco performances and a small museum – see “Seville - Tour Guide, Monuments, Museums and Flamenco Music,” below).  It’s in a terrific location in the heart of the Santa Cruz area.  From the common entrance to the building, the hotel entrance is up a narrow stone ramp.  We inquired and were told there is one adapted room, but it was occupied and we were unable to see it.  The room is on the ground floor and is only large enough for one person.

 

A Plug for an Inaccessible Hotel

 

The following hotel doesn’t have an accessible room, but it’s the sister hotel of Casona de San Andres and we had such a marvelous experience at Casona de San Andres that we recommend considering it for people who don’t need an accessible hotel.

 

Hotel Zaida.  Two star.  Calle San Roque, 26.  Phone 011-34-954-211-138.  www.hotelzaida.com; info@hotelzaida.com.

 

Hotel in Osuna

 

            We learned about the following hotel in Osuna located in a lovely 18^th century palace renovated in 2001.  Osuna is 80 kilometers from Seville, and we didn’t stay there, but we recommend checking this hotel if you are considering staying in Osuna.  The access details seem excellent, and the hotel told us it has a roll-in shower. 

 

Marques de la Gomera.  Four star.  Calle San Pedro, 20 - 41640 Osuna.  Phone 1-866-376-7831 or 1-305-538-9697 (Miami).  www.epoquehotels.com; info@epoquehotels.com.

 

Hotels Without Adapted Rooms

 

            We visited the following hotel; although the grand lobby and elegant ground floor patio and restaurants are accessible via an elevator from the porter’s entrance, it doesn’t have an adapted room:

             

Hotel Alfonso XIII (Westin).  Five star.  San Fernando, 2.  Phone 011-34-954-917-053.  www.hotel-alfonsoxiii.com or www.westin.com. 

 

The following hotels told us they do not have adapted rooms:

 

     Hotel las Casas de la Juderia.  Callejon de Dos Hermanos, 7.  Phone 011-34-954-415-150; fax 011-34-954-422-170.

 

     Hotel Casa Imperial.  Five star.  Imperial, 29.  Phone 011-34-954-500-300.  www.casaimperial.com.

 

     Hotel AC Ciudad de Sevilla.  Four star.  Renovated in 1998.  Avenida Manuel Siurot, 25.  Phone 011-34-954-230-505.   www.achotelciudaddesevilla.com.

 

     Hotel Inglaterra.  Four star.  Plaza Nueva, 7.  Phone 1-866-376-7831, or 1-305-538-9697 (Miami).  www.epoquehotels.com.

 

     Tryp Macarena.  Four star.  San Juan de Ribera, 2.  Phone 011-34-915-675-900.  www.solmelia.com.

 

 

Seville – Tour Guide, Monuments, Museums and Flamenco Music

 

Tour Guide.  We took two fascinating, informative walking tours with Luis Salas.  Luis is very knowledgeable about Seville’s history, architecture, culture and lore, generous with his time and fluent in English.  His knowledge is deep and broad, so he answers questions meaningfully rather than giving a standard tour guide speech. 

 

Luis Salas.  Phone 011-34-629-960-817.  luissalas@aspectocommunicacion.com  or ashjbazek@yahoo.es

 

            Luis is affiliated with Sevi-Ruta, a tour service operated by Concepcion Delgado, and may also be reached at www.sevi-ruta.com; www.sevillawalkingtours.com.  Phone 011-34-616-501-100; fax 011-34-954-164-407.  If he is unavailable ask for one of his colleagues.

 

Real Alcazar and Gardens.  The stunning Palace of King Pedro I (we express no opinion about whether he was Cruel or Just), the Mudejar style centerpiece and jewel of this huge complex, was built by Moslem artisans from Granada sent to this Catholic king by his ally the caliph of Granada.  It is similar to the Alhambra architecturally but its decorative details include a combination of Islamic, Christian and royal Spanish motifs.  Other structures reflect a variety of styles, from the 10^th century Moorish walls to the Gothic and Baroque rooms built centuries later.  The stylistic variety dramatically illustrates the complex history of Spain and Seville.  Because of the scale and complexity of the Real Alcazar, advance reading will be well rewarded.

 

Several areas have one very high stair or one medium stair; there are a few portable ramps, but not enough.  Ramp availability is haphazard.  But it’s possible to see almost all the Palace of King Pedro I with the assistance of a guard or if, as Michele did on our second visit, you open a closed door and tour the rooms starting from the impermissible direction, where you will encounter only a few very low stairs.  (Backtrack to exit and avoid the higher stairs.)  The Gothic rooms of Carlos V, including the tapestry gallery, are accessible.

 

Admission is free for a wheelchair user and one companion.  The ticket window is up a high stair, so the wheelchair user must wait in the entrance courtyard and the companion must get the attention of the ticket seller and bring the seller out to the courtyard to verify eligibility.

 

The upstairs royal apartments, still used by the Spanish royal family when they are in Seville, are open to the public when the royal family is not in residence.  There is an elevator, but it was broken, so we didn’t see them.  Viewing is by guided tour only.  Tours are given throughout the day and require separate admission but not advance reservations.

 

Most levels of the gorgeous, serene, lush and varied gardens and pavilions are accessible.  The compacted dirt paths are easy to roll on and are flat in most places.  The lower level pavilions behind the palace are accessible but it takes some meandering to find the accessible routes.  Don’t give up – strolling in them is a relaxing treat.

 

Cathedral.  Access is very good.  There is a very low stair at the front entrance.  A few of the chapels have one stair, but have ramps.  One of the items on display in the treasure room is Franco’s sword.  There is a clean, medium size accessible bathroom with a wall-mounted fold-down grab bar at the side of the toilet with the transfer space.  There is a stair from the Cathedral to the Patio of the Orange Trees, with a large, steep, non-skid ramp.  A refreshing break from the cavernous interior, the sunlit patio was originally the courtyard of a mosque, and some Islamic artifacts survive. 

 

Giralda.  There is one high stair from the Cathedral to the tower entrance.  To permit a mounted horseman to ascend, the tower has a series of over 30 ramps. But they are extremely steep, so Howard didn’t try ascending.  Moreover, although there are view balconies along many of the ramps, the windows are above eye level of a seated person, and there is one large stair from each ramp to the corresponding view balcony.  The ramps end below the top of the tower and a flight of stairs leads to the top. 

 

Flamenco Performance and Museum of Andalusian Culture - Casa de la Memoria de Al-Andaluz.  Calle Ximénez de Enciso, 28.  Phone 011-34-954-560-670.  http://sefarad.rediris.es/textos/0casamemoria.htm; memorias@teleline.es.   We attended a stirring flamenco performance – singing, guitar playing and dancing – in the courtyard of this ancient Sephardic Jewish residence.  Casa de la Memoria is a non-profit organization that sponsors music performances and has a small museum of Sephardic and Islamic artifacts.  The current exhibit includes women Arabic poets of Al-Andaluz.  The website has extensive information about Sephardic history; it’s primarily in Spanish but some of the pages have been translated into English. 

 

The museum is upstairs and is accessible via a fairly large modern elevator.  The courtyard is easily accessible, but small and crowded, so when reserving tickets it’s advisable to mention you use a wheelchair; the staff will save a good spot for you.  There is a nice gift shop next to the courtyard.  A large accessible bathroom is nearby.  As in many bathrooms in Spain, the grab bars are poorly placed.  The employees were very welcoming and proud of the museum.

 

 

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