Just back from Granada on July 16th 2006, and stayed at the Hotel Saray. Walking past the 3 glass-sided elevators of this 600 room hotel before going into the wonderfully ornate lobby was impressive.. until I saw the room. It was 4* luxury I was expecting, but I soon thought I was wrong... The room was small, very dark, with only a window in the far corner that didn't let in much light. The view? A skyscraper beside us (brick wall). The bathroom was far from clean. Old toiletries, some of which had been covered in goo that looked like make-up and mascara didnt exactly make me feel I was in a clean place, neither did the pubic hairs lying underneath the sink and the dirt marks on the floor (sorry, but I'd want to know beforehand what a place is like). There were a couple of ants - one on the sink surface in the bathroom (plus a silverfish), and one on the bed... Of course, it could be that we were unlucky, and I know they were trying to rush to get a room ready for us when we arrived. Still, I'd happily wait a whole half hour in the lobby or bar if it meant getting a cleaner bathroom or whatever...

The 2 chairs in the room were too hard to sit on to even sit for a drink, the bed was also quite hard. The shower in the bathroom was simply a shower head over a tiny, old bath. I expected something a lot more modern.. While there was a hairdryer, mini bar and TV, there was no iron and the hotel only offered a laundry service, charging 4.50 Euros to iron one pair of man's trousers... The TV had all Spanish channels, bar 2 German ones and 1 English station (CNN). It said all room's have radios, but this wasn't the alarm clock kind - the TV doubled as a radio but none of the channels worked.. The minibar ice tray was damaged, so no ice available for drinks. Glasses provided weren't very clean and had spots on them.

Breakfast was a buffet and was dire... The scrambled eggs were cold, had a liquid like greasy milk all over them. Sausages were like american weiners, cold and submerged in grease. Bacon, the same. The boiled eggs were also totally cold. Cereals were on offer, with warmish milk and I resorted to a bowl of recognisable Sugar Puffs to escape starving before lunch..

On the upside, the pool is absolutely beautiful and surrounded by lush landscaping, even if it is small. You can order drinks and food by the pool, although service is VERY slow. Beware, though, the water in the outdoor pool was absolutely freezing! Not even 40ºC temperatures could entice me to suffer the coldness of it more than once!

The hotel reception staff were top class, very friendly, very helpful, can't fault that at all. The same goes for the bar/restaurant staff. The maid service was good - beds made and clean towels put in the bathroom, although only 1 XL bathrobe was provided.

Safes were provided in all rooms and I would strongly advise ALL valuables - jewelly, cameras, passports, money, etc are placed in them and locked securely EVERY time you leave the room, even for short periods. It was advised in the hotel book to lock your door when you're even IN your room! The maid service tried our door even though we placed the "Do Not Disturb" sign outside. We took to locking the door anytime we were in the room and while we slept.

Regarding the location - easy to get to from the airport as the bus drops you off around the corner at the last stop. However, it was a bit far from the centre - walking 20 minutes (minimum) in hot temperatures was a little much just to get to a tapas bar or club etc.

Overall, the hotel lobby/pool/decor is 4*, but the rooms were a standard and disappointing 3* - I stayed in a B&B near Liverpool airport (costing £40) the night before flying out and that room was by far superior to the Hotel Saray.