The hotel staff was very friendly and very helpful. One other person who wrote a review said he/she thought the staff was awful. I find that very hard to believe. Perhaps, he/she got in return what he/she gave. We found everyone to be extremely polite, caring, and helpful. Our room was not elaborate, but it was just fine, as was the bathroom. The beds were very comfortable and we enjoyed the hotel's free wireless Internet connection. The tub was large and we had plenty of hot water. In fact the water was almost too hot! Out our windows we had a spectacular view of the city. The hotel's lounge and bar areas are very pleasant, as is the balcony. The decor of the hotel is exquisite and it is kept spotless clean. The dining room and the main lobby are gems. We only ate two breakfasts at the hotel. That said, both breakfast buffets were superb! The hotel's location is terrific for visiting the Alhambra, since it's only a 10-15 minute walk to the entrance. Also, it's just a short jaunt down the hill to the city. We'd definitely return, if we wanted to again visit the Alhambra, but touring the Alhambra once is sufficient for us.

We too booked this hotel based on reviews from Tripadvisor after being unable to get reservations at the Parador. I had some fears after reading many of the negative comments. We however have only good comments about the front desk staff, the wait staff and the porters. The hotel lobby and common areas were meticulously clean and the view from the bar terrace, especially at sunset, is fabulous. The room and bathroom were certainly not huge, but by European standards more than adequate. Our only complaint at all was the poorly functioning A/C.

Be aware that although the location and views are magnificent, and the hotel is very convenient to the Alhambra itself, it not terribly convenient to the rest of the city. We found ourselves making a number of treks back up the hill to the hotel at the end of the day or after dinner, usually at night up the relatively dark and somewhat forboding footpath to the Alhambra. There are options to take a cab for about 5 euros from Plaza Neuva, and there is an "Alhambra" bus which we didn't use that comes up the hill. If you are spending much time in the city of Granada itself, this hotel may not be the most convenient.

Finally as an aside, the restaurant Carmen San Miguel is an easy 300m walk from the hotel and was one of the high points of Granada for us. The tables on the terrace overlook the city, and at night are about as romantic as it gets, and the food and wine list were excellent. Highly recommended, though a little pricey.

The hotel is only a 10 minute walk up a forested hill to the entrance of the actual Alhambra. And for us, the location was everything: We tried to book direct tickets to the palace on line a few weeks in advance of our visit, but the park was sold out during our stay. However, there are a limited number of tickets to visit the Sultan's palace right when it opens. Due to the close proximity of the hotel, we were able to trudge up the hill at 7AM (in the dark!) and wait in line before it opened. We visited the palace using the self-guided audio tour, were able to walk back to the hotel for a late breakfast, and then walk back to the Alhambra to visit the rest of the site. Of course, being near the park means you are NOT in the center of town near the night life, but it was worth it to us.

The hotel actually dates from the very early 20th century, is decorated in Moorish kitsch (think if Disney were to build a Moorish hotel) and given why you are probably in Granada is a rather fun experience. The Parador and some other smaller hotels are deep inside the park itself, definitely more intimate and authentic if you can get reservations, but are not that much closer to the ticket entrance.

The hotel staff is average bordering on surly at times (especially the bartenders!), with one outstanding exception: At the front desk, ask for Irene. Irene lived in Florida for many years and speaks fluent english. She was professional, charming, and passionate about ensuring we enjoyed our stay and had great recommendations for restaurants, tapas and shopping. Irene made a huge difference in our stay of Granada.

Our room, decorated in pleasant orange tones was blandly comfortable but certainly didn't give the Moorish atmosphere of the public rooms. Furnishings were of average quality. Bathrooms were rather small, but are completely tiled in dark green (almost black) and white tiles. The toilet was inconveniently wedged in next to the sink at a 90-degree angle. Cleanliness was passable but not spotless. Beds were comfortable but not of "Westin" level. We had trouble getting the A/C to make our room cool enough at night. We had asked for a balcony room, which had spectacular views day or night overlooking Granada.

Breakfast buffets included a large variety of eggs, breads, cereals, fresh fruits and juice, and meats. Quality was above average. Service was friendly but almost non-existent after they brought the coffee to our table. Dirty dishes definitely built up in piles after making successive trips to the buffet!

We used the front desk at the hotel to book us a private guide to visit the Alhambra again the next day (we had been too busy snapping photos the first time it is so spectacular, we really felt distracted from the historical aspects). Private guides and tours automatically get in through a different entrance with their clients, no reservations are necessary. The private guide price (over $300 for 3 hours) is not for the faint-hearted but was worth the additional historical insight to what we were seeing. They also booked us a Granada city tour in the afternoon at an even higher price, but given how poorly everything is marked in town (seeing Queen Isabella's crown and jewelery box from whence she gave the jewels to Christopher Columbus for instance) needed if you want to know what you are seeing.

Given the ultra-convenient location however, I would still choose to stay here again over staying downtown, despite the service shortcomings.

Check In - Helpful lady (originally from Miami). Porter outside - unhelpful, grudging in assisting where to park the car, and only half wished to help with unloading the bags.

Standard room -Medium to small, basic, and smelly.

Bathroom - Very basic - long time for hot water to come to the shower and when it did alternated between luke warm and scalding and freezing.

Hotel recommended El Heurtadde Juan Ranas restaurant for dinner. My wife and I gave it 10 out of 10 for the view (over the Alhambra), 5 out of 10 for the food - mediocre, fussily presented and way over priced, and 2 out 10 for the service-unless you were a pretty girl in which case they fell over you.The waiter basically ignored us and the service, at best, was perfunctory.

Saw other diners from the hotel there so presume the hotel rates this restaurant.

Overall impression - based upon the room (patches of worn out carpet) and the service we had and the staff (apart from the receptionist) no reason to come back.