Well planned trip!
Spain | Apr 7 - Apr 20, 2023

Deirdre
Deirdre H.
Queensbury, NY | Reviewed on Apr 24, 2023

It was an absolute pleasure planning my trip with Bea! She was extremely helpful with plenty of great ideas with places and activities to do. After I chose what I wanted, she handled all the reservations and let me know where to go to meet up for each activity. When I didn't have anything specifically scheduled, she gave me a list of highlights of what I might be interested in checking out. She handled rental cars for me and even included directions on how to get to the places I was headed to. At each city I visited, she gave me a list of many different restaurant recommendations that included their websites so I could look them over and decide where I wanted to go. While on the trip, there was a feature called "chat" so if I had any questions, I could communicate with her. It was the most comprehensive, well planned trip I have ever taken thanks to Kim Kim and Bea!

Hotel Reviews
Gran Hotel Havana
Barcelona

Location wise, it was really good. There were always taxis waiting outside the hotel which made it easy to get a ride. The hotel itself was very nice. There were many breakfast options to choose from.

Authenticity & Character
It was a big city hotel. It was nice, but not any special character to it.
Location
Mentioned above
Staff
We arrived at 10am on the first day, they couldn't seem to find us a room prior to 3pm when check in was. It would have been nice if they could have gotten us a room a bit earlier than that since we had a long trip.
Cleanliness & Comfort
It was a pretty big bedroom and very clean.
Palacio de Santa Inés Hotel
Granada

It was a very unique hotel in an excellent location to everything, easy walking distance. The hotel had a lot of charm and we had a view of the Alhambra which was spectacular. It was not just one room but also had a living room space which was really nice. I didn't love the breakfasts in the mornings.

Authenticity & Character
It's a very unique hotel with a lot of charm.
Location
Close to everything a tourist would want to see and close to restaurants
Staff
They were friendly but I didn't like that when I left the hotel each time, I'd often see one of the clerks outside the front door smoking cigarettes.
Cleanliness & Comfort
It was nice to have a bigger area with an included living space.
Las Casas de la Judería
Seville

We thought it was a special hotel with a uniqueness to it that was charming. The location was good to shopping, restaurants, places we wanted to explore. The room and bathroom were pretty spacious and comfortable. It was a bit challenging to navigate the different buildings in order to reach our room. There were many food choices at breakfast that were really tasty.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Palais Zahia
Old Medina, Tangier

Loved this hotel! The staff was incredibly helpful, the hotel felt very authentic, the room was really nice. The hotel had a lovely terrace on top. It was in a great location to where we could walk around and see what was going on. I loved the courtyard feel of the place and the breakfast was really really good. Loved this one the most!

Authenticity & Character
Location
Right in the middle of what's going on in the old section of Tangier. The markets selling fish, meat, spices, etc... were right there and so interesting to walk around there.
Staff
Went out of their way to be helpful!
Cleanliness & Comfort
Belmar Spa & Beach Resort
Lagos

We liked this hotel. It had a very nice lobby area. The location next to the beach was phenomenal. The breakfast was really good and they took your order for how you wanted your eggs so they were cooked to order which was nice. There were pretty looking pools but the outside ones were not heated so a little too cold to enjoy in April. In order to go to the old town where there were many restaurant choices, you did have to drive to in order to reach them. The room had a small kitchen area that we didn't use but if we had stayed longer, it would have been nice to have.

Authenticity & Character
I'm not sure it has a lot of character, but it was nice. To get to the outside pools was not very well marked.
Location
Really close to the beach but not close to the many restaurants in the old section of Lagos.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Alfama - Lisbon Lounge Suites
Lisboa

We were originally slated to stay at this hotel, but they changed it and so this review is for Dear Lisbon-Gallery House. This was definitely our least favorite hotel. It did not feel like a particularly safe area that the hotel was located in and it wasn't really close to anything that we wanted to see or spend time at. The lobby and breakfast area were very nice but the room was not to our satisfaction. There were many stains in the carpet in our room. The breakfast had many options and were good and the hotel clerk was very helpful and sweet.

Authenticity & Character
The lobby and breakfast area were nice but the room was nothing special and the rug had many stains on it.
Location
There were many better locations to be in than this hotel.
Staff
The one clerk helped us when we needed to arrange for transportation to get to the airport at the end of our stay.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Fado Dinner Experience
Fado Dinner Experience
Lisbon

The included dinner was delicious with many choices to choose from and the entertainment was so good! Well worth it!

Quality of Experience
Food
There were enough choices to choose from and it was all delicious!
Private Tour of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia
Private Tour of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia
Barcelona

The tour guide was wonderful and engaged and clearly loves Barcelona and being a tour guide.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Tapas Walk in Barcelona
Tapas Walk in Barcelona
Barcelona

It was a favorite activity for us! It was with a small group and we all got to know each other during the four places we went to throughout the evening. We ate some great food and drinks and our tour guide gave us some background information on the places and food that made the experience even better.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Privately Guided Visit of Granada City Center & Albaycin Neighborhood
Privately Guided Visit of Granada City Center & Albaycin Neighborhood
Granada

It was a comprehensive tour of Granada and gave us an understanding of history. Our tour guide was great and at the end of the tour gave us some specific ideas for local restaurants to go to.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Guided Visit:  Alhambra & Generalife Gardens
Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens
Granada

This is such an incredible place! It needs a knowledgeable tour guide to explain it's history to fully appreciate it.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
He spoke English, of course, it was a bit difficult to understand him.
Flamenco Show in a Sacromonte Cave
Flamenco Show in a Sacromonte Cave
Granada

Felt like a perfect show to see given where we were. The performers were wonderful and talented. Prior to the show starting, everyone was offered a drink. The chairs unfortunately were not very comfortable.

Quality of Experience
Guided Visit of Seville
Guided Visit of Seville
Seville

We enjoyed learning about Seville Church and Alcazar, the Jewish Quarters and the ancient and current history of Seville. It might have been nice to include the inside of the cathedral.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Day trip to Asilah
Day trip to Asilah
Morocco

There was not much going on when we were there. It was a 2 hour drive from Tangier, not worth the money or effort.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
The guide didn't join us, just the driver to take us there and back.
Transport
The driver did not speak any English so we couldn't ask him any questions about what we were seeing on the way to Asilah or back.
Private Guided Visit of Tangier
Private Guided Visit of Tangier
Tangier

There was a bit of confusion at the start with the tour guide trying to take us to another place that we hadn't signed up for and that would cost more money, and that he recommended we go to Asilah the second day instead of the first, after we got through all of that, the tour guide was very knowledgeable about Tangier and spend a long time with us showing us all around. Because of the confusion, they kindly gave us a bonus of a ride on camels and that was really fun and memorable!

Quality of Experience
Well worth it to learn more about Morocco.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Get to Know Lisbon with a Local
Get to Know Lisbon with a Local
Lisbon

Our tour guide had a lot of information to share and showed us many of the highlights of Spain. He was very knowledgeable and had a well thought out plan of where the tour should start and end. We loved that at one point we took a break and he got us custard tarts that are customary of Portugal. We thought that was very thoughtful and fun! We also stopped at a cherry jinger place and he again got us a sample of the jinger drink. Just some really nice touches that made our time even better!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Local specialist: Beatriz De Pablo Rocha
Beatriz
Beatriz De Pablo Rocha
Local specialist in Madrid | Replied on May 05, 2023

Hi Deirdre!!! Thank you so, so much for your super complete review! This will be really, really helpful for all of us to keep improving each day :) I already mentioned to you a few times, but it was truly a pleasure to work with you before, during, and after your trip and I'm so happy to know that you had a great experience while visiting the 3 countries! Thank you so much again. Best regards, Bea.
PS. Your photos are awesome!!!