Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

Hotel Alfonso XIII is a grand luxury hotel on Calle San Fernando in Seville, built in the late 1920s in the neo-Mudéjar style. King Alfonso XIII commissioned it to host the distinguished guests arriving for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, and it still stands beside the Real Alcázar and the old city centre.

The story behind it

In 1929 Seville hosted the Ibero-American Exposition, known locally as the Expo. Its aim was to strengthen ties between Spain and its former colonies in Latin America. Countries took part with cultural exhibitions, and pavilions went up around the city to house them. Many of those buildings later became consulates, and the Plaza de España is the best known of the Expo's constructions. The fair ran for just over a year.

A city expecting royalty, presidents and other high-ranking visitors needed somewhere fitting for them to stay. The king backed a new hotel, and it opened in 1928, ahead of the fair. Its brick, tile and carved detail draw on the Moorish-inspired Mudéjar tradition that gives Seville so much of its character. Nearly a century on, it is still one of the city's most prestigious addresses.

What to look for

• The warm brick and ceramic detailing of the facade, a good example of the neo-Mudéjar taste of the 1920s.
• The sheer scale of the building, which shows how seriously Seville took the Expo and its guests.
• The setting beside the Puerta de Jerez, where the hotel sits among the grand buildings along the edge of the old town.
• The nearby walls and gardens of the Real Alcázar, which make a striking contrast of old and newer Moorish-inspired architecture.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 10 to 15 minutes to admire the exterior and its surroundings, longer if you stop for a drink or a meal nearby.
• It is a working luxury hotel, so access to the interior is mainly for guests and diners. Check current access policy before you plan on going in.
• Soft morning light or early evening is the most pleasant time to look at the facade, and the streets are calmer than at midday.
• The Real Alcázar, the cathedral and the old tobacco factory building, now part of the university, are all a short walk away, so it fits easily into a wider stroll.

See it on a quest

The hotel is one stop on Seville Old Town: The Inheritance, a self-guided walk through the old town. You reach the building on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join. One ticket covers the whole group.