|
The first time we stayed at the Pension El Patio de las Cruces, it was high season. We were without a reservation, and every room in the city was booked. Dragging our luggage around under the hot Seville sun, we met a Gypsy man, who mysteriously appeared from a side street. He offered us a room at his pension. It seemed too good to be true, but we followed him anyway, moving through Santa Cruz's dark passageways with curiosity and caution.
Moments later we were on the patio of an ancient Sevillana palace. Canaries chirped in birdcages and sunrays streamed down into the original stone wells. We were saved! (And so were our wallets.)
Francisco Almeida has run this pension with his family for nearly 200 years. Before that the building was used by nuns from the convent next door.
Since our last visit last year, the family has transformed the establishment from a lowly pension into their own Hospederia Flamenca—a working Flamenco school for dance and guitar: www.flamencoschoolelpatio.com.
Of the 21 rooms surrounding two interior, two-story patios, make sure to book an upstairs room. These are the most recently renovated, with squeaky-clean bathrooms, air-conditioning, and heat. The owners are installing new wood-beam ceilings to replicate the traditional style used centuries ago. However, stone-tile floors keep all the rooms naturally cool during summer months. French windows open up to one of either two interior patios. The rooftop boasts a solarium, complete with sun shower.
|
