We stayed at the Hotel Cortijo Soto Real for a several days during our honeymoon. We absolutely loved the rural setting, and our subsequent exploration of the Spanish countryside was the highlight of our trip.

The hotel is situated on the former estate of an Arabian prince, and is absolutely beautiful. The activities offered include horseback riding, mountain biking and 4-wheelers, in addition to a well-appointed spa and swimming pools.

This is not the place to be if you want to party in Sevilla every night, as it is about a half-hour's drive from Sevilla (yes you will need to rent a car). But it's a great place to just relax all day, or to use as a base of operations to explore Sevilla and the Spanish countryside, including the nearby pueblos blancos. In retrospect, I'm so happy that we stayed here rather than in some luxury city hotel in Sevilla, but that's just me.

I can't finish the review without mentioning the unsurpassed service we received from the Soto Real employees. I've never stayed anywhere where everyone was so friendly and indeed eager to help us have a great time.

After hours of being lost in the middle of the countryside, we arrive at this beautifully landscaped hotel Cortijo Soto Real!
We stayed in a gorgeous suite they call their honeymoon suite. It was not our honey moon ,but would still recommend this room to any couple. You felt like you were in your own private villa with a terrace that looked out over the mountains, orange groves, and the pool. A large, all white bathroom with white marble tub and plenty of light. At night, sit on the terrace with a bottle of red wine, and a platter of ham and cheese and gaze up at the stars. You won't want to leave this room! Very peaceful and relaxing. Over all the food was good. I highly recommend trying their tapas; They are excellent and a good bottle of red wine is a bargain. Definately try any of their salads to start; very tasty. As with any hotel, the food can get expensive. There are a few restaurants ,close by car, that are good. Seville and Jerez de la frontera are both a short distance away. You do need a car and GPS is a must! The service was excellent and the staff was pleasant. The management was always around to make sure everything was fine and that your needs were being met without invading your privacy. This hotel has a laid back demeanor, yet the staff still very professional. Best for those who enjoy the countryside and just want to relax.
We got our hotel package through luxury links. It included a car rental and some excursions which was a good deal if your paying with dollars.It did not include GPS! Warning: Do not try to drive to this property with out GPS and do not drive at night or you may not arrive! We had a very bad experience trying to get to the hotel from Malaga airport. After a 7 hour flight and 1 hour line for a car rental, we end up getting lost for 4 hours! Dark outside in the middle of no where, I frantically called the hotel. The manager told us to stay where we were and he came and got us. It was around 11:00 at night. I never would have expected at that hour for the hotel manager to go out looking for us. This was clearly an act of kindness and understanding of what we were going through. Upon arrival at the hotel, they check us in quickly and took us to our suite.There was a bottle of red wine and platter of cheeses and ham and breads waiting for us. As tired as we were, we did not want to sleep ,as we were enraptured by the beauty of our surroundings! This hotel was worth the trouble to get to!
-Thanks, LS.

We booked a 4-night stay at Hotel Cortijo Soto Real in March 2008. We picked up a rental car at Seville airport and driving out to the hotel was straightforward. The hotel itself is not ‘attached’ to any town or city – it sits on a private estate in the ‘middle of nowhere’ – which might be an added benefit but without a car it was hard to imagine what we would have done. The weather was superb and we spent our time driving around the Andalusian countryside and towns. For us this was a pleasant short break that was made by good weather. The hotel itself was not the highlight of the trip.

There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the resort. It is fairly new and the architecture tries a bit too hard to be ‘rustic’. Our ‘double luxury room’ was on the ground floor with an external terrace and pleasant views across open countryside. It was also very quiet and this gave the whole place a slightly eerie atmosphere as thought we were ‘trespassing’. The staff were helpful up to a point and most spoke English. We had a few minor gripes – the hotel refused to supply us with an iron and ironing board instead insisting we use the in-house laundry service that was of course expensive. Likewise, the restaurant and the pool bar (when open) were not good value for money.

The food was fine, nothing memorable, but the prices high. The breakfast buffet was very limited with nothing to commend it. We also went out for a ‘carriage ride’ and picnic but the carriage was modern without much character and the picnic dreadful: no local specialties/dishes – just BLT sandwiches.

This is an OK, comfortable hotel but for us we felt it could have been a whole lot better. More authenticity in the food could be a good starting point.

Cortijo is set in a very peacful location. The hotel is wonderful and being at Cortijo you'd expect full relaxation. The staff are friendly and the chef is excellent. The location is excellent if you fancy visiting Seville or Cadiz but prefer staying in a more peaceful location away from the noises of the bigger cities. In the hotel you can also enjoy riding a horse in the beautiful planes of Andaluzia or perhaps you'd prefer spending the time in their small but perfectly formed spa.
Overall, this is probably one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in on holiday. But perhaps the only inconvenience is that you'd have to be prepared to hire a car during your stay.