Saray Hotel

My family of 2 adults and 2 children, ages 14 and 10, stayed at the Hotel Saray for 2 nights in April 2007. The Fodor's guide called the hotel the "best run hotel in Granada" so we chose to stay here. It has an attractive if slightly spartan lobby with front desk staff who routinely stayed sitting down when a guest approached the desk. The junior suite I had reserved for the 4 of us was clean with one large bed in one room and a sofabed in the other. The sofabed folded out into perhaps the most uncomfortable bed I have ever encountered. The mattress consisted of a 2 inch (5 cm) foam pad over wooden slats. Breakfast was not included with the room but cost 10 euros each for adults and children. The breakfast buffet was in a very plain room in the basement that looked like it should be a meeting room. Food quality was low-average. Parking was in a garage below the hotel and cost 15 euros per night. In summary, the hotel could be compared to a Holiday Inn. I do hope, for Granada's sake, that this isn't the "best run hotel in Granada."

We stayed at the Saray for 3 nights in September with friends. We were slightly nervous at the prospect of staying in a modern hotel as we prefer traditional hotels, however we were very pleased with first impressions. the reception area was large and airy and decor was very interesting. Service was excellent with one exception and the reception staff proved more helpful than many Spanish hotels. The exception to the good service was in the attached 'night club' (the hotel bar staff closed shop as 11.30 pm and decamped to the night club). There were insufficient staff to cater for demand and it took 30 minutes to pay the bill! Rooms were good and the bathrooms very good. All the usual things such a sattelite TV, minibar etc. There is an excellent if small outdoor pool with pool bar - just the thing after a hot day at the Alhambra. Breakfast was very good with lots of choice and an ample supply of tea and coffe. The location was very good - 20 minutes stroll into the centre of Granada but in a quiet location. Taxis are cheap in Granada and lots of buses made transport very easy. Overall, excellent value for money and we would go there again.

My wife and I stayed at the Saray for eight nights in late August this year. We booked through Hotels.com and paid an average of £40 per night for a double room. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and thought the Saray Hotel suited our purpose ideally and was excellent value for money. The winning factor for us was the fabulous water garden and teraces and cool pool essential in August with temperatures of 80+. It's a proper pool you can swim in !!! Quiet edge of town location. It is located just off the inner ring road near the Congress Hall with a small park, supermarket and shops (and internet Cafe) all nearby.Town bus tours start at the roundabout at the roundabout 5 minutes walk. The 10 minute walk into town is along the Carrea de Gentil a marble surfaced wakway which is the main promenade for the locals evening stroll and is close to the best depatment store in town; Cortes di Ingles ?? Hotel staff are helpful but their English is limited so comminication on all but routine matters is poor but that's the price you pay for getting away from our fellow Britons and seeing some culture. On reception the tall dark one with the deep voice seemed to be have a personal crusade to discourage people from visiting the Alhambra!!! Seemed incapable of mentioning the Bono Touristica an all inclusive tourist ticket at 22 E each ;well worth while. Book the Alhambra at The Royal Palace next door to the Cathedral. Adequate room on 7 th floor had limited window space but views of Alhambra. House keeping spot on. As for the entry from the member from London ( Beware ......!!) I was unaware that it is the responsibilty of the Hotel to look after or manage the itineray of an 8 month old child. Might have used his intelligence and checked its location on map before booking. Would a city centre location have solved his problems??? Breakfast buffet was acceptable for 8 E with a good range of cold meats, fruits, cereal cooked items.Would have liked to see a good selection of fresh (not tinned fruit) which is abundant and cheap.Bacon is always stringy in Spain. Poolside dining available but service can be slow. Very good but with a few tweaks could be superb (for the money ) richard@brown4429.freeserve.co.uk

In Granada the Spaniish tend to be reluctant in making approaches and this was evident at reception. However the staff were courteous and helpful. The Hotel bedrooms are very comfortable and clean but do not expect choice of TV channels. For the English it is CNN news only. Food was first class and the soups inspireing - a must be tried experience. Allthough children are made welcome at the hotel it is not ideal in this respect and the pool is rather deep for youngsters. In terms of location for exploring the Granada area there are no problems. Access to the main roads is reasonably easy and within one hour you could be walking in the mountains or on the beach. All in all this is a very good city hotel with very minor critical points.

Before launching a tirade, I will say the hotel itself is nice. Its spacious with a nice pool. Rooms are OK sized, but the windows are tiny so you dont get much natural light in, so it appears smaller and pokey than it actually is. The bar is OK and the restaurant (I use the word loosely) is more of a canteen. Breakfast buffets are nice. The main problem is the hotel is in the middle of nowhere. Its 1-2 km from city centre. There is nothing around there. If you think you may be hotel bound during the day, there is literally nothing around it. It is real siesta land with absolutely everything closed. Also the local area is very build up (housing estates etc) so its depressing walking around). We had an 8 month old with us and realised that with her timings we sould be stuck there with nothing to do during the day (unless we wanted to spend €5-10 and 20 mins in traffic every morning). We told reception our concerns and the first guy we spoke to agreed that the main centre was 20-25 mins away (with buggy) and that nothing was open during the day. We told him we were chekcing out the next day. When it came to check out, we got a different bloke who decided to read us the riot act and threaten to charge us for our whole reserved stay. He also disagreed with everything the first guy said and reckoned you can walk 2 km with an 8 month old in the middle of the summer sun in 5 mins !!!! We werent helped by the reservations manager every now and again whispering to this guy what other reasons we couldnt check out for. We were threatened with being charged for commission to hotels.com, to penalty fees etc. Sorry Saray, but hotels are customer services based businesses. When you're guests need assistance, ranting on doesn;t help anyone. Do you really want peed off guests staying ?? Eventually they relented and let us check out. This was more to do with my 8 month screaming and other guests wondering what grief reception was giving us. If you are young free and single (like I used to be) you'll be Ok here. If travel is in anyway a bit of a hassle, then this isnt the place for you.

This hotel was recommended to us by a local Granada group, and I was stunned at how posh and deluxe it was, for the price that was paid. (It was around 64 Euros per night for a 2-adult room). From top to bottom, we totally enjoyed staying here. The facade and exterior are magnificent (the elevators, and the Muslim/Islamic (moorish) architecture. The rooms were a very good size (they were suites with an extra room having a 2nd tv and a sofa). The breakfast cost per person 8 Euros, but it was pleasant. It had most standard fare, although I would have liked bagels. Coming back to the room after a day of sightseeing and travelling was a welcome experience. Maid service was good, and front desk staff was courteous and helpful. It was a slight irritation that no iron was provided (hotel staff said it was against local law to have it in hotel, so we accepted that). Compared to the prices and quality we got from London hotels, this place was a God-send, and a wonderful stay. I'd highly recommend it anytime. The rooms were nice and quiet (totally clean -- it looked new, maybe it was recently refurbished or is a new hotel), the a/c worked great, and the beds (sheets, pillows, mattress) were all comfortable. Regarding proximity, it is a bit away from the city center (around 10 blocks maybe?) so as i was with older adults and family (plus child), we took a taxi from the airport to the Alhambra and other sites (this would cost 4 euros + 1 euro tip = 5 euros). Not bad given it was also a good way to see the city.

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.

The hotel was ok, pool etc impressive but rooms average for a 4 star. Reception staff were very helpful, but bar man was the most rudest spanish person we came accross in 10days. There were ants in the room, don't know if it was just a problem with ours or the hotel. Location is pretty good, not right in the centre but a nice leisurely walk.

Good location, easy walking access to all of old Granada. Parking was reasonable. Would stay there again. Staff helpful in arranging tickets which were very hard to obtain otherwise.

I notice that another reviewer has said that this hotel is off the beaten track. Not so. It is about a 10 minute stroll to the centre of town. The walk is pleasant and not arduous and frankly I am amazed that the previous reviewer felt that this was too far to walk. The hotel rooms are pleasant and clean. The facilities are good. I also notice that another reviewer remarked on the breakfast provided. When I stayed the cost in the hotel was 7 euros. Not a lot to spend really. I did not think that the breakfast deserved to be commended or criticised. It was just breakfast. Nothing special. However, if you walk around the corner to the Gran Cafe you can get really good coffee and tostadas with choice of topping for about 3.30 euros for two. If you go out for a drink do beware of the tapas. Each time you buy a drink you will get a tapas. Sometimes these can be quite substantial and if you continue to eat them ( the temptation is to do so) they will keep arriving with each drink and you will not want to eat an evening meal. My advice is not to eat one of the tapas and then you will not be given any more. This at least means you will be able to face eating dinner. The weather in Granada was gorgeous when I was there ( last week in September) and this meant that I did spend some time sunbathing. Unfortunately, the pool was not heated as I understand that the heating is turned off at the end of August. Surely to God you need heating in the pool in October just as much as August and July when the heat from the sun will have warmed the water more? Finally, I really do think that the reception staff were not as welcoming as they could have been - it seemed to be a case of take it or leave it with a couple of them. All in all I really enjoyed my stay in Granada. Ladies, if you enjoy shopping (I do) please be aware that if you are looking for virtually anything the prices in Spain are at least 30% cheaper than in England for virtually anything. There were a couple of things that were more expensive or about the same price - e.g I bought a pair of glasses that were about £200 - and thus what I would have paid in the UK. They are however absolutely stunning and far nicer than I would have found in Britain for that price. I also found leather boots, shoes and handbags very inexpensive and extremely stylish. It is not expensive to eat in Granada. Finally, and possibly most important- go by what the rough guide says - go to Los Italinos and have a cassata ice cream - worth the whole cost of the holiday - unbelievable - 5 star