My friend and I love a bit of luxury for our birthdays (affordable, of course). Why not?! It’s our birthdays! You only have to look at my Malta blog to see the sort of hotel we love to stay at! We chose the Hesperia Sevilla as it seems to be a good mix of comfort, price and location, close to the centre. We’ve also seen some very positive reviews on TripAdvisor, where, at the time of writing, it’s ranked 27th out of 221 hotels in Seville. Hopefully we won’t be disappointed!

Where is it?

The hotel is in Nervión, Seville’s main shopping district, where many businesses are based, so it’s a good spot to explore the city from! It’s just outside the old town, about 800 metres from the edge of the historic centre, and about a 20-minute walk to Plaza de España, the Royal Alcázar and the cathedral. That’s where we’re heading on 6 November, so look out for a blog that day.

The hotel is really well connected, with a metro station right on our doorstep and the tram just up the road. The airport is only about a 15- to 20-minute drive by Uber or taxi, which will make life much easier since we’re landing in the evening.

On top of that, there are lots of shopping centres, supermarkets, bars and cafés all within a few minutes’ walk, which will help us grab any emergency supplies or food when we arrive. It’s also close to the Buhaira Gardens.

What the hotel has

According to the website, the hotel was fully renovated in 2024 to make it more modern, while staying inspired by Seville’s history. It features bright colours that reflect the city’s vibrant centre. Looking at the photos, I think I’m going to love the colour scheme. With its bright hues and colourful style, it’ll make relaxing there a whole lot easier!

As I mentioned, we love a bit of luxury for our birthdays, so we’ve each booked a Suite with Terrace. We’ve asked for our rooms to be near each other, so let’s see if they can accommodate us. The suites have a living area and a walk-in shower, which will just add to the relaxation.

Breakfast is a buffet from 7:00 to 10:30 every morning, in the Barbarita restaurant. We’ll see how it compares to Malta’s buffet breakfast, which has big shoes to fill! Barbarita also serves lunch and dinner, and there’s a lounge bar called Porta Coeli.

The hotel also has a terrace, a pool, and a fitness centre. However, the fitness centre costs around €15-€18 per day, which is disappointing, as Malta’s was free. So it’s unlikely we’ll use it much, maybe for one day, but we’ll see!

If you fancy a sneak peek, head over to the Hesperia Sevilla website, where you can find photos and a virtual tour. I’ll be putting my own photos up too when we get there.

What we’re looking forward to

Well, after our trip to Malta last year, the Hesperia Sevilla has a lot to live up to! Our rooms look stunning in the pictures, so we both hope they live up to our expectations. We just want a comfy place to rest our heads and relax after a busy day, and with four things planned already, we’ll definitely need it! You can catch up on our plans in my itinerary post from earlier this week.

Full review coming after the trip

I know I keep forgetting to review my trips… but this time is different! Once we’re back, you can expect a full review of what I liked, what I didn’t, and how it went. I’ll be upfront and honest, so hopefully I can help you decide if you’re thinking of visiting Seville and staying at the Hesperia Sevilla. As usual, I’ll give you a sneak peek of my thoughts with a room tour on day 1 of the blog.

For now, head to Spain 2026 to see all my Seville posts so far, and look out for more soon!

See you on the next blog, not long now!

So, in just 15 days, we head to Seville, Spain! We both need the break. I thought I’d use this blog to share our Seville itinerary so far. We’ve already got four things booked, which is great!

Travel day

Firstly, today I booked our seats for the outbound flight to make sure we’re sitting together, and my friend booked the return flight seats. The flights were filling up fast, and we couldn’t risk being split up, so we paid for seats.

We fly out of Gatwick in the late afternoon and arrive in Seville around dinner time. The plan for the first evening is simple: settle into the hotel, then pop to the shops to pick up any supplies and food for our stay.

Our Seville itinerary so far

Friday 6 November: the Royal Alcázar and the cathedral

Our first booked trip is to explore the Royal Alcázar and visit the cathedral. They’re only about a 30-minute walk from the hotel, and apparently it’s a nice walk, so we’ll get to explore a bit on the way!

Saturday 7 November: my birthday at the Seville Aquarium

On my birthday, we’re heading to the Acuario de Sevilla, as I love aquariums! After that, we’ll spend the rest of the day relaxing around the hotel.

Monday 9 November: a boat trip on the Guadalquivir

On the 9th, we’re doing a boat trip called “Los Rincones del Guadalquivir”. It should be a good little trip, and maybe it’ll be similar to the one we did in Malta!

My friend’s birthday: the White Villages and Ronda

The last thing we’ve booked so far is for my friend’s birthday: a tour of the White Villages and Ronda, which is set to be a full-on day of sightseeing!

What’s next

That’s everything planned so far! It’s shaping up to be a busy little week, and we can’t wait. It’s been a rough year for both of us, and now we get to explore somewhere new (for me, anyway) and enjoy the sights and sounds of Seville.

The next blog will be all about packing for the week, so look out for that as we get closer to the trip. See you on the next one!

Where have I been?

Well… hello there, people! It’s been a LONG time since I last spoke to you, back in February. It’s been a crazy year, but things are starting to slot into place. Not as quickly as I’d have liked, but we’re getting there!

Unfortunately, the plan that was in place in February didn’t go ahead and has been delayed until next year. That’s left me unable to afford trips and travel, which is why the blog has been so quiet. A bit disappointing, but as we head into next year, things should start to kick in, and I’ll be able to tell you more about the plan.

I haven’t been resting on my laurels, though! My entire server setup has moved to a dedicated server, which has improved the site’s performance, so expect snappier browsing.

A birthday trip (and a big one)

Now on to the exciting stuff! As you’ll know by now, my friend and I agreed last year to go on holiday for our birthdays every year, and this is year two. It also happens to be my 40th… which is quite scary! Thanks to my friend’s brothers, we can get away for our birthdays this year.

So… where are we going?

Drum roll, please… We’re heading to Seville, Spain, from 4 to 12 November 2026! Yes, we’re revisiting Spain, and anyone who saw the photo will have guessed it by now. Next month we’ll be flying out of Gatwick with British Airways.

We’ll be staying at the Hesperia Sevilla, a 4-star hotel in the centre of Seville. The rooms look great, and I can’t wait to finally get away after a whole year.

What’s coming up on the blog

As always, you can expect regular updates as we build up to the trip, and posts from Seville while we’re there. I can’t believe it’s come round so quickly. I can finally start to get excited!

I’m sorry for the lack of content lately. It’s been a difficult year, very much a knock-on from the last one. I hope you’ll follow along with our trip to Seville, and as we head into 2027, I’ll have much more for you.

See you on the next blog!