We stayed in the hotel in June 2006. From the picture it looks a charming place in it was in some places. The staff was very unfriendly and unwilling to help. My grilfriend was ill and the receptionist wouldn't even give me information where I can find a hospital. Only when I get rude he gave me a map.

Also it was very loud there, some rooms have windows going out to a schoolyard and others go to a place where is a construction site. When I complained there was no help from the receptionist in giving another room.

The breakfast was not good in quality and the waiter very rude.
I cannot recommend the hotel.

A member of staff stole from our room. Two staff dealt with this with very polite inactivity, when on leaving I requested a complaint form from a woman member of staff she was obstructive, inaccurate on correct procedures, rude and unprofessional. A power cut occurred at breakfast which resulted in a member of staff having a shouting match with a worried woman with a young child. Many groups of school children stay at the hotel. One group behaved well. An older group shouted unsupervised out of their windows across the square between rooms until gone 2.a.m. On mentioning this to a manager he blamed the teachers in charge and said an Australian couple had complained to them, (as had I), with no success. He was not prepared to write to the school about inappropriate behaviour from teachers and pupils.

The position of the hotel is good, the cloisters and garden beautiful, another garden which rooms overlook was neglected, the price was reasonable, the beds were comfortable, the bathroom efficient, the food unexciting and below average, the staff need retraining for guests other than children.

The hotel could be excellent. Macia are missing an opportunity if they do not improve it.

I think Macia missed a chance here to make this into a 'charming hotel' (as it says on a sign next to the entrance). I don't think this hotel is charming at all. Neither does it breathe centuries of history, like it says on their website.
The only historical part we saw when we were there, was the passage around the patio.
When I take a look at the picture of the dining room on the website, it indeed looks very charming. But it also looks like a complete other room than the one we had breakfast in (yet it is the same). The way the hotel has been furnished and finished is just not charming. It is purely practical.
Due to the dominant presence of groups of young people it felt more like we were staying in a youth hostel than a hotel. Let alone a charming, historical hotel.

If you take into account that in the few days we spent there (four nights) we saw about four different groups of youngsters coming in, it makes sense that the hotel has been furnished in a practical way. It's understandable, but then they shouldn't present themself as a historical/charming place.

Breakfast
The breakfast buffet had a wide choice, the quality of the products was average. Some products seemed to come in just once or twice a week. When they ran out of yoghurt on Saturday, new yoghurt would not be come untill Tuesday.

Our room was located next to sports grounds. Some days there was screaming from dust till dawn and after that. We weren't bothered by it, but I can imagine that others might be.

Some positive aspects of the hotel:
■The location of the hotel with respect to the city/centre. It was a pleasant walk of about 15 minutes there.
■The hotel has little kitchen type cabinets in the bathroom. Really practical. I think more hotels should provide a good place for your toiletries.

Great hotel, clean & tidy. A good base for looking around the city. 15 mins walk to the Alhambra.
The restaurant menu is very limited, we are veggies & there wasn't much for us (2 streets back there is an excelent veggie place Racies I think).
There is no bar which is a bits of let down as the info said there was.