We stayed at the Hotel Marisa on 29 and 30 September 2005.
After staying in the wonderful 2 star Hotel Amadeus in Seville, we were disappointed to find much lower standard in this hotel of the same grade. Admittedly the location is wonderful if you want to be in the middle of the historic district, as it is right opposite the Mesquita, but the downside is the noise. It is not so much pedestrian noise, as that quietens down after midnight, but the Spanish seem to think nothing of honking their horns or revving up at all hours of the night, and the rubbish collection obviously takes place every night at about 4am, with the attendant racket. We asked to be moved to a room at the back but were told there were none available thought the hotel didn't appear to be busy.

Almost as bad is the heat. We've been told that Cordoba is known as the frying pan of Spain, so we made sure there was a/c when we booked, but this just consisted of a vent high on the wall which seemed to be issuing slightly cooler air when you stood on a chair and held your hand against it, but you certainly couldn't feel it from the bed! We complained after the first night and they said they would turn the temperature down, and they did - about half a degree. What it must be like in August I dread to think.

The room was very basic with no hairdryer, safe, fridge or even any toiletries.

Cordoba is a wonderful city though, and the Mezquita is just amazing. One place we absolutely loved was the little Teteria Al Khayma(tea room) just round the corner in Calle Cespedes. You can laze on cushions and choose from an amazing range of teas and even have a go on a bubble pipe!

We stayed 3 nights here. Booked on internet. What a fantastic location right across the road from the Mosque. Friendly and helpful staff. They let us keep our car in the parking well after the time with no extra charge - it gave us an extra half day in this wonderful city The owner was a bit sharp but not in any way a problem). Has its own convenient (25 metres away)parking which is essential- 12 euros a day. Very basic breakfast. We had a front room which was a bit noisy in the evenings but no problem at all through the night. Beds not brilliant. Bathroom window looked over mosque, so I could see this famous building whilst washing my hair!! Unlike other reviewer we found the bells charming and they added to the experience. If you like to sleep late - take ear plugs! Also, go to the Flamenco show which is 3 minutes walk away. Superb.

Hi,

I've travel a lot over the whole world and my stay at Hotel Marisa was the most disappointing experience in my life.

I could say this hotel has a great location, just in front of the cathedral, but don't think this is great if you're planning to wake up after 08:00AM. You've got the cathedral bell tower in front of the hotel, and they ring the bells for a couple of minutes every 15 minutes from 8AM to 8PM. When I arrived to the hotel I ask a couple who was checking out how is the hotel, they told me about the bells noise so I asked for an Interior room.....even dough I had that kind of room and my window closed (not very nice when the temperature was 30ºC at Cordoba and there wasn't air conditioning in the room) it sound I had all the bells inside my room. Seriously, It's impossible to sleep.

But..... this was OK compared with what we found when we arrived to the hotel and when we leaved.

The day we made the reservation, we reserved 7 double rooms with twin beds... but they only had 5 twins but we agreed. When we arrived at the hotel we had 2 twins and 2 doubles (single bed)... we argued with the manager about it and after that we made a deal changing some doubles to singles and putting some extra beds on some doubles. The manager also told us it would be cheaper for us and that she would give us a refund of 90€ (we paid the rooms a month in advance because it was Cordoba's fair).

I could say the room was very small... the little bathroom had a shower plate instead of bath... and all the amenities I could find was a tiny piece of soap I had to use as shampoo, gel and hand soap. I've seen many hostels better than this hotel.

The worst happened the next day when we checked out. When we asked for the 90€ the recepcionist told us that we had to pay 48€. When we said it was wrong and why, he told us because the price of the triple rooms was higher. We told him we didn't have triple rooms, we had double rooms with an extra bed (That means a very small room where you had to jump over a bed to get to the bathroom). The recepcionist called the manager and when she came she denied the deal we made the day before. We had to called the police because we didn't want our 90€ back and after a very disagreeable situation we had to pay her the 48€, we made an official reclamation and we denounced the hotel to the spanish tourism bureau.

So after reading my review you still want to go here I would recommend you a good pair of ear stoppers and a lot of patience.

Luis Hurtado de Mendoza

We agree completely with the article from Frommers. This friendly simple hotel is a great value, just across the street from the Mezquite/Orange court entrance and with it's own underground parking next door. Just don't let keep you out by a sign telling you there is no traffic allowed during day time, the hotel is in a "trafficfree" street and you have the right to pass (follow the sign Mezquite in town). During the day, the visitors to the monument are quite rumorous (forget a nice sleep at siesta time), but during the night, the quarter is quiet. We had a room with a small balcony going to the street and enjoyed to watch people pass below while we enjoyed our after dinner drink, sitting on the bed. Breakfast is not quite a deal, but they have limited possibilities only. This would probably be better in one of the bars around. If you stay there, we recommend the bodega just around the corner. They probably have the best tapas in Spain, a choice of 40 tapas and 60 wines by the glass, but be prepared to wait for a table, as this may not be a secret. After we had a small tapas lunch there, we returned for dinner and could try examples of all the local specialities for the prize we would have paid for a menu in a restaurant. The bodega also has a very appealing shop for olive oil (after driving trough olive orchards the whole morning), wine and local products next door.