Sunday 22 November 2009

HOTEL ZENIT SEVILLA

Zenit is a Spanish hotel chain that so far, is surprising me quite a lot. In Madrid, I have stayed in the Abeba, which was fairly good. In Barcelona, I stayed in Conde de Borrell; good, but not so happy with the breakfast. But I am here to talk about the Zenit Sevilla. It is located in the traditional district of Triana, well known for restaurants and fiesta. In fact, someone told me to avoid Triana if I wanted to sleep. Far from my reality. I got there, and the hotel was rather strange. You had to enter through a tunnel to an inside patio that gave you access to the main entrance. The staff at the desk were very nice. In fact, I asked for a big room, as I was staying there for a few days, and they gave me a bigger one. (My experience is that rooms in this hotels, tend to be rather small). The lift took us to the 4th (and last) floor. The corridor took me back to the medieval times. Really old fashioned furniture, lighting, decor in general. The room was at the end of the corridor. It was big all right. But again, more like a pseudo medieval castle than a 21st century hotel. The room had a little living room with a rather uncomfortable sofa.
The beds were comfortable, maybe too many layers, as Seville is never that cold. But as I always say, it is better to have too many and get them off than not to have enough. In terms of noise... I have to say it was really quiet. The first night someone rang on the telephone mistaken for another room, but appart from that, nothing else. Cleanliness is perfect.

The bathroom was fairly well equipped. The crisis has reduced considerable the little goodies the hotel used to offer.

TV Channels were not scarse. However, for foreigners, there weren't that many. TV was the old huge type, not a flat screen... And it was not that good placed to watch it from the bed. An important point for me is that WIFI is free of charge, so if you bring your laptop with you, you can surf the net as long as you want.

Breakfast was ok. Some fresh fruit, cereals, some cold meat, bread for toast... And only the last day, I was given some squashed tomato sauce and omelette. I was very disappointed about this. Also, the coffee was horrendous (not only in the hotel, but the whole city). I asked for some expresso and they told me the cafeteria was not open until 11, hence, the coffee machine was still not on. Good excuse.

The hotel was far from the buzz from the Cathedral side Sta. Cruz district, but well situated for some Triana restaurants... and just a few minutes walk from Sta. Cruz district... It all depends on what your plans are... but this hotel is, without any special expectation, a good hotel, specially for families and business people.

Pagés del Corro, 90
41010 Sevilla (España)
Tlf.+34 95 434 74 34
Fax+34 95 434 27 07