by Isabella Noble, The Telegraph, Janaury 8, 2018
An insider's guide to the most romantic hotels in Granada, including the best places to stay for atmospheric properties, gorgeous gardens, luxurious rooms, views of the Alhambra and more.
Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
It took four years of restoration work to transform this 1880s carmen (a typical walled-in Granada home with lush terraced gardens, orchards and vegetable plots, and origins in Moorish times) into a totally charming seven-room hotel. The magical gardens are full of lemon and orange trees, ancient cypresses, creeping bougainvillea and patterned cobblestones; terracotta pots dot the wall beside a pillared pavilion, while rose bushes adorn the entranceway. Read expert review. From £135per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hospes Palacio de los Patos Granada, Andalucia, Spain
7Telegraph expert rating
The heart of the hotel is a grand 19th-century sugar magnate’s mansion. A wrought-iron-balconied entrance gives way to a central marble staircase, Doric columns, doorways topped by classical figures and fabulously elaborate cornicing. A colour palette of whites and greys, artfully tangled cord chandeliers and pieces of designer furniture offset the historical features. The 42 rooms are split between the palace and an adjoining glass panel-clad annexe. Read expert review. From £134per night, Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
• The best hotels in Andalucia
AC Palacio de Santa Paula Hotel Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
The hotel is set within two remarkable historic buildings: the 16th-century convent of Santa Paula and a neighbouring 14th-century townhouse. As a result it’s dotted with intriguing spaces, from the main cloisters with their vaulted ceilings and cobbled courtyard and a plant-filled Moorish patio, to an alcoved staircase lined with religious icons, and even the tombs of a few of the convent’s former inhabitants. Courtyard and patio also serve the function for which they were designed hundreds of years ago: as cool, calm sanctuaries to escape from the busy – and often swelteringly hot – city outside. Read expert review. From £104per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Parador de Granada Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
It isn’t every day that you wake up in the grounds of Spain’s most spectacular, historic and romantic Moorish palace-fortress. This is the country’s most desirable parador and easily Granada’s most splendidly located hotel, tucked between serene gardens within the World Heritage-listed hilltop Alhambra complex. The 40 rooms are split between the original Moorish palace and a later extension. In the palace, tasteful up-to-date décor is in calming shades of cream and taupe, with terracotta-tiled floors and Alpujarran rugs. Silvers, greys and glossy wooden floorboards dominate in the newer sections. Read expert review. From £255per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Hotel Casa Morisca Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
Granada’s original boutique hotel. Casa La Morisca set the standard for how to sympathetically convert a historic townhouse, and with its handful of inviting rooms clustered round a stunning patio, it’s still one of the city’s most atmospheric places to stay. Passing through a heavy, studded wooden door you enter a central patio with a pool and tinkling fountain at its heart and a deep well in one corner. It’s held in by a beautiful wooden gallery lined with thick, hand-carved wooden beams and balustrades, and columns of marble and brick. Read expert review. From £78per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
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Hotel Villa Oniria Granada, Andalucia, Spain
7Telegraph expert rating
With its blend of stylish contemporary interiors and historic premises, Villa Oniria is perfect for those who want a characterful boutique bolthole but not at the expense of modern luxuries. Throw in a bijou spa and one of Granada’s best restaurants and you’ve got a great all-round package. As is the case throughout, the 31 rooms are contemporary and stylish. A neutral colour scheme layers lots of creams, golds and russets over pale wood and marble without ever slipping into blandness. Half-canopy beds, designer fixtures and fittings and bathrooms with walk-in showers and double sinks cap things off nicely. Read expert review. From £86per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel Casa 1800 Granada Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
This small boutique hotel in Granada offers character in spades at a very reasonable price. It’s the location that dazzles, though – with hours of wandering through the winding alleyways and quiet plazas of the Albayzin right on your doorstep. Rooms feature Baroque décor - think twiddly rococo mirrors and bedheads, chandeliers and gilt floral motif wallpaper - plus worn, dark-stained terracotta floors, high, wooden-beamed ceilings and simple but comfortable bathrooms. Read expert review. From £51per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Santa Isabel la Real Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
This charming hideaway is set in an attractively restored 16th-century casa de vecinos (house lived in by various different families). The rustic-inspired style is elegant yet understated, focused on beautiful antique banisters and beams, cream-coloured décor, local-life artwork, and woodcarvings and metalwork by Granada artisans. Rooms rise up around a hushed, fountain-bathed patio with original-period marble pillars. Velvety red furnishings and lively wall hangings add splashes of colour. Read expert review. From £70per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
Gar-Anat Granada, Andalucia, Spain
8Telegraph expert rating
This hotel puts a smart, literary-inspired boutique spin on a beautiful, balcony-decked 16th-century house that was a pilgrims’ hostel in the 17th century. Rooms are scattered across three floors around a central courtyard, where you’ll find a tinkling fountain and a metallic, contemporary-design ‘wishing tree’ on which guests are encouraged to tie their own notes. Colourful artwork adorns the lobby, original-period wood-lined halls frame the patio, and there’s a peaceful, intimate feel throughout. Read expert review. From £72per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
El Ladron de Agua Granada, Andalucia, Spain
7Telegraph expert rating
Traditional meets modern in El Ladron de Agua, a strikingly renovated boutique hotel in Granada. The location is the city at its bewitching best, providing easy access to the Unesco-protected Albayzin quarter, while some rooms come with views of the Alhambra up on the hill directly opposite. Rooms have simple, dark wood furniture, gleaming terracotta floors, wooden beams and roughly pointed exposed brick columns, and simple bathrooms with decorative blue and green tilework are all typically Granadino. Read expert review. From £71per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.
This article was written by Isabella Noble from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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