Seville has a striking new place to stay. Serras Sevilla opened its doors on 11 September, bringing the Spanish Serras Collection's personalised style of hospitality to Andalusia for the first time. The hotel sits at the foot of Seville Cathedral — the world's largest Gothic cathedral and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — with the Real Alcázar, Plaza Nueva and City Hall all within a short walk.
The property is built around the Casa Álvaro Dávila, a landmark residence commissioned by the Marquis of Villamarta and designed between roughly 1915 and 1917 by Aníbal González, the architect whose Sevillian Regionalism shaped much of the city's look. Fittingly, the opening coincides with the 150th anniversary of his birth. The project also absorbed a neighbouring house by José Espiau y Muñoz, and the whole thing took three years and £37.7 million to restore — over £755,000 per key, one of the priciest hotel renovations Andalusia has seen recently.
Inside, designer Eva Martínez created almost everything from scratch. There are nods to local tradition everywhere: leather armchairs referencing Seville's equestrian culture, sofas echoing the bullfighter's montera cap, hand-glazed ceramic headboards, and fringed Andalusian curtains. Even the tableware is a collaboration — hand-painted designs by Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, daughter of the Duchess of Alba. At the heart of the building, a restored courtyard sits under star-shaped octagonal skylights spanning more than 158 square metres of glass.
There are just 43 rooms and suites (38 rooms, five suites), from Superior Rooms up to a 100-square-metre Grand Suite. Many look straight at the Cathedral and La Giralda, and the rooms are soundproofed against the noise of the historic centre. The Almagra Rooftop, reached via a spiral staircase in González's restored tower-mirador, is being pitched as the best uninterrupted view of the Cathedral in the city, with a guests-only pool, restaurant and cocktail bar.
Food is a headline act: fismuler, the restaurant beloved in Madrid and Barcelona for its seasonal, producer-driven cooking, has opened its first Andalusian outpost here, set in that historic courtyard.
Where the hotel tries to differentiate itself is in access. Staff arrange private Cathedral and Real Alcázar visits with historians, introductions to ceramicists at Armando Arts & Crafts, the shawl-makers at Juan Foronda, flamenco nights at Tablao Los Gallos, and meetings with chefs and producers across the city's tapas and fine-dining scene. Wellness comes via in-room Natura Bissé treatments and a Technogym-equipped gym.
For travellers, this is one to know about if Seville is on the list and you want small, design-led and hyper-local rather than a big-chain palace. Book early — 43 keys in this location will not sit empty — and consider timing a stay around autumn or spring, when the city is at its most pleasant. Source: Breaking Travel News.
