Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza

Cool, contemporary wonderland with gorgeous courtyards and a rooftop pool, in the heart of Seville's old town

A sublime city, a lovely hotel. You’re in the old town with a palace on one side of a cobbled square and a whitewashed church on another. Step inside and crisp, contemporary interiors seduce immediately. Impeccable rooms, airy sitting rooms and a rooftop swimming pool all elate, but it’s the 3 courtyards that take the biscuit. Old ceramic pots and mill stones are scattered about, colour spills from flowerbeds, stone pillars flank the sides and steps lead up to cloistered walkways that wrap around above. A great place to eat at any time.

Inside, the style is warmly chic: smart, but you feel at home. In the dining room, a wall of glass looks onto a tiny courtyard where 2 giant banana trees take to the skies. Sitting rooms flood with light and are adorned with modern art, leather sofas, perhaps the odd occupied Victorian birdcage. You sleep on starched linen in airy rooms, the best of which have French windows that open onto the square. Deligthful.

Highs

• The whole place is drop-dead gorgeous, but the aesthetic overdose of courtyards is hard to beat
• The tiny rooftop pool and spa with views across Seville's terracotta skyline
• Good location - a quiet residential area, yet the labyrinthine alleyways of the old town are just round the corner and the Catedral and Alcazar are 10 minutes' walking

Lows

• Rooms are expensive (breakfast and tax are extra) but worth it
• A few of the rooms only have windows overlooking the inner courtyard making them darker and less private than those facing outwards
• The lower level rooms can be noisy, particularly those around the courtyard. Try to get a top floor room if you can