"In the Heart of the Barrio de Santa Cruz" Hosteria Del Laurel Tip by Hopkid

This three-star hotel is situated in the intimate Plaza de los Venerables in the middle of the Barrio de Santa Cruz. Spanish playwright, Jose Zorrilla, wrote his play version of Don Juan and the rooms are named for characters in the story.

Your taxi driver will have to drop you off for the short walk to the hotel as vehicles cannot pass through the narrow alleys that feed into the plaza which is a great thing about the hotel and the plaza as there is no traffic to deal with. The hotel staff are very friendly and the woman at reception, although I’m sure she knew English, allowed me to use my broken Spanish and responded to me in a slow delivery to make it as easy as possible for me to understand her. After spending a total of 5 nights here, the staff came to recognize us and would give us our key or morning hot drink choices without having to ask us. Plus the hotel offers a nice breakfast buffet that is included in the price of the room. The buffet has the typical Euro offerings (cold meats and cheeses, yogurt, croissants, bread/rolls, mixed fruit) plus they have scrambled eggs, sausage, and fried ham. Oh and some nice chocolate-filled pastries as well! We got a rate via the Internet of 103 euros but were only charged 97 once we arrived.

Unique Qualities: Lift, air conditioning, safe, buffet breakfast included in room rate, good restaurant with al fresco seating in plaza, good housekeeping service. Great central location!

Address: Plaza de los Venerables 5
Comparison: about average
Directions: East of the cathedral and a tad northwest of the Alcazar in the Barrio de Santa Cruz
Phone: 954.22.02.95
Price: US$120-180
Theme: Hotel