What a mistake it was to book this place. While walking to find it (you cannot drive to the hotel) my wife and I were hassled by teenagers using drugs less than a block from the hotel. When we found the hotel entrance there was a torn up old couch across the small courtyard from the door and a couple rough looking characters nearby. We didn't feel very safe walking to this place during the afternoon, much less at night. Finally, we were shown our room. It was dark, smelled old and musty, and was completely different than the photos on the website we used to book our stay. In spite of explaining that the room wasn't as advertised and that we didn't feel safe right outside the hotel, the hotel demanded a one night (90 euro) charge to cancel our reservation. We felt ripped off. We decided to pay the charge and found another hotel that was superior and less expensive. Don't waste your money at Hotel Carmen de Santa Ines.

Stayed here for 2 nights in April in room 9. The hotel was beautiful and in a great location. Room 9 was lovely, the only thing was that it was a little dark but it didn't really matter. Had a lovely bathroom with both a bath & a shower and the beds where very very comfy, was also nice & quiet. In a good location being near lots of restaurants & a fabulous viewing area for the Alhambra. There is also a bus stop right outside the hotel that does a regular circuit of the town & takes you up to the Alhambra if you don't want to walk, and it only cost 1 euro no matter how far you go.

This hotel was a disappointment. It had the potential to be good. Our room was large,characterful and well-furnished. The location was central, in a quiet, narrow lane about 100 metres from the main drag and the Alhambra bus stop.

>The shortcomings arose from sloppy housekeeping and maintenance, and low levels of staff training. During the earlier part of our holiday we had stayed at four separate paradors and one other boutique hotel -the Casa del Maestro in Seville. Each of these was sparkling clean, and absolutely beyond reproach in relation to fixtures and fittings. The Carmen de Santa Ines, in exactly the same upmarket price bracket, came nowhere close. Dusting and bathroom cleaning during our three day stay was minimal. The sink and bath were both cracked. The bath had no plug. Paint was peeling off the bathroom walls. Five lamp bulbs in our bedroom/bathroom were broken at the start of our stay and only two of these had been replaced by the end of it. We had the same two flights of stairs instead of the lift experience as one of your other correspondents. The staff were not unpleasant but they were amateurish and useless for the most part. 130 Euros per night demands a higher level of service than this.

> On a more general level, it would have been helpful to know that getting one's car within half a mile of the hotel was an impossibility. Having cruised around Granada on our arrival for an hour we phoned the hotel for guidance. They advised us to park in the Alhambra car park and take a cab. This would have been fine, except the daily fee at that particular car park is 40 Euros. What they should have said, and what should appear on their web site, is to park at ANY city centre car park EXCEPT the Alhambra (the usual rate elsewhere is 13 Euros per day and the cab fare to the hotel around 5 Euros from anywhere in the centre).

> There are serious management shortcomings at this hotel. It is not currently up to snuff. Pity.
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The Carmen de Santa Ines is tucked away in a quiet corner of the Albycin but is close to the Plaza Nueva, the Alhambra and the bars and restaurants of the Moorish quarter of Granada. It is peaceful and charming, and an effective recreation of an old merchant house with lots of period pieces, and surrounded by greenery and old stone buildings. Some might feel it is a little quirky, and the feeling of tranquillity comes with relatively little space and light within the hotel itself. It is for you if you like character and charm, not for you if you value size, modernity and unimaginative but efficient service. It is , after all, in an old quarter of Moorish Spain rather than a North American or Northern European city. We loved it.