Very disappointing hotel. The smell in the room was like an outhouse, wreaking from the bathroom plumbing. So we changed rooms, and guess what? Same smell!! The front desk then did nothing. It was really intolerable to stay in the room. We managed to survive by keeping the windows wide open.

Other features of the hotel: Mostly tacky decor and furnishings.

The only positive about the hotel is that it is close to the Alhambra and has good views, but most of the view is of the modern part of the city. And there is no view of the Alhambra itself .

If you have a nose, definitely choose another hotel.

I was reminded of The Shining during our stay in late January. The place was so quite, I felt like Jack Nicholson walking around the floors. Roof locked, seating areas practically covered up, restaurant closed (at least hard to find anyone to help us), etc. I expected to see a pair of twins on Big Wheels riding down the halls...so if you are going in winter, expect to be alone...if you want to be alone, go in the winter!

The lobby was nice and the (quite and lonely) common areas, when they were open. The staff was REALLY helpful, which was nice. But the bedroom was poor. The beds (two twins) were lumpy and hard and the room stunk with a sewage smell coming from the bathroom....given that the hotel was all but empty and yet the room was poor quality and stinky, I assume that the whole place must reek.

The location was very good, if you are here to see the Alhambra and the views from our rooms of the city were stunning. It's a bit far from the life of the city, but cabs are easy to come by. Being near the Alhambra and the service were the plusses. The hotel falls far short of modern standards, even in quaint places like Granada.

The Alhambra Palace has long been a Granada favorite of mine. The service is good, the people friendly, and the location perfect for visiting both the Alhambra and the downtown historic area. The breakfast was not great, though the bar is very pleasant and romantic. Views are not of the Alhambra, but are nice enough, overlooking some of the palace's park area or over the historic area called Realejo and out towards the modern city. The rooms and general ambiance take you back to a former era of grand European travel.

Granada was the first stop of our 9-day Andalusian trip in October, 2006. We picked the Alhambra Palace Hotel for two reasons: location and style. As we were only in Granada for two nights, we wanted to be as close as possible to the Alhambra, our only planned activity for those two days. We also wanted to travel "in style" and were sparing no expense on hotels, food, wine, and our itinerary.

This is the right choice of hotel for those purposes. The location, in regards to the Alhambra, is perfect. A quick walk up the hill, on a lovely, shaded, quiet paseo (a pedestrianized street) takes you right up to the Alhambra gates. A free shuttle takes you down the hill to the other spots and sights of Granada.

As for the hotel itself... wow. It was nothing short of exotically beautiful, and the service was excellent, after allowing for the differences between Europe and what we're used to in the States. The views from the restaurant's terrace, and also our room, were amazing, and you could sit out and enjoy them with your (also excellent) coffee at all hours of the day and night.

Word of caution: Ask for a room away from the elevators. Our first room, a junior suite, was right next to the elevator doors and we were kept up very late by noisy guests coming and going. We switched rooms the next day - without a problem at all from the gracious staff - and didn't hear a peep. The decor of both rooms was gorgeous (check out the picture of our celing)... it was a bit dated, but the exotic nature of it kept it from seeming too much so. Our view down the hill towards the city was amazing, and I snapped some pictures from our balcony.