For fashionistas

LAS CASAS DEL REY DE BAEZA
This is the coolest pad in Europe’s sultriest city, and brilliantly located for making your evening assault on the bohemian Barrio Santa Cruz. Set in a preserved example of a traditional Sevillano corral de vecinos, the hotel is exquisitely decorated and oozes rustic chic.

The rooms gather around a pair of courtyards, with cobbled floors and wooden balconies — even the terracotta pots look artfully aged. The ambience is relaxed: lots of colonial furniture, abstract art and worn leather sofas. Cool off in the bijou rooftop pool, then eat under the vine-draped pergola next door.

Private quarters are contemporary but not cold, with slate floors, dark wood and huge beds. There are plasma-screen TVs and DVD players in the larger rooms and suites. The ones looking into the courtyard are quietest; the others, though noisier, are lighter. A hefty breakfast includes smoothies, cheese, cured ham and tortilla; the restaurant serves impeccable new-Andalusian cuisine.

Doubles from £102, room-only; 00 34 954 561496, www.hospes.es

For big spenders

HOTEL ALFONSO XIII
Want to live like a king? This palace was built for Alfonso XIII for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition, in neo-Mudejar style, with square towers and Renaissance windows. Its snazzy interior is all colourful tiles,coffered ceilings and bevelled mirrors. Rooms come in three styles: Moorish, with intricate plasterwork framing your bed; the more conventional Isabelline baroque; or Castilian, with rococo furniture and ornate silver mirrors. All have damask walls, marble floors and Bohemian crystal chandeliers.

Some rooms look onto the internal patio — quiet, but dull — others onto the palm-filled garden and swimming pool or the old tobacco factory (of Carmen fame) next door. There’s a Japanese restaurant in a wooden pavilion in the garden, as well as the swanky San Fernando and two bars. The rooms aren’t big for the price, but there’s nowhere quite like it. It treads a delicate line between tasteful extravagance and over-the-top kitsch — you decide.

Doubles from £185, B&B; 00 800 325 45454, www.westin-alfonsoxiii.com

For penny-pinchers

HOTEL AMADEUS
Barrio Santa Cruz, the pretty old Jewish quarter, is swarming with budget options, but this charming music-themed hotel is a cut above. With classical recitals on the central patio, well-stocked CD cabinets (all 14 rooms have hi-fis) and lots of surrealist art, it has bags more character than most cheapies.

Fancy tinkling the ivories? Those at Chopsticks level get to use the upright piano in the practice room (it is soundproofed, to avoid embarrassment), while virtuosos can show off on the grand in the patio. The Verdi room (all the bedrooms are named after famous composers) even has its own piano.

The best room, though, is the Amadeus, which has exposed brickwork, a beamed ceiling and a hydro-massage bath. The bed’s a bit chintzy, but who cares when bathtime promises such fun? There’s also a penthouse room, the De Falla, with an unfussy white colour scheme and great views. Enough said: at this price, it’s a steal.

Doubles from £57, room-only; 00 34 954 501443, www.hotelamadeussevilla.com

For quirky bohemians

LA CASA DEL MAESTRO
Little known, but tucked away in a great spot near Alfalfa and Santa Catalina, this place comes with authentic Andalusian soul: it’s the former home of the celebrated flamenco guitarist Niño Ricardo, a bon vivant who loved “bullfighting, women, wine and flamenco”. His eventful career is traced in monochrome photos around the hotel — look out for the bullfighting gear, donated by friends of the maestro.

The ground-floor rooms are spacious, with private terraces but no view; the smaller Gaditanas room has its own streetside balcony. Inside, you’ll find plain fabrics and bold North African furniture; and the appearance of fresh flowers and a jug of iced water each afternoon makes you feel you’re in a much pricier place. So does the well-kept terrace, with an outside shower for cooling off.

There is no restaurant, but breakfast is served on the roof terrace, and the friendly staff are flexible about when you have it.

Doubles from £71, B&B; 00 34 954 500007, www.lacasadelmaestro.com

For hopeless romantics

HOTEL DONA MARIA
Could this hotel be better set? It’s right opposite the cathedral, up the road from Seville’s best tapas street (Mateos Gago) and within kissing range of the royal palace. Another place with regal connections, it once belonged to Samuel Levi, adviser to King Pedro I. The 14th-century monarch — known as the Cruel or the Just, depending on your point of view — was unusually enlightened for the times and built the Alcazar, the magnificent Mudejar palace-fortress across the plaza.

The hotel’s 64 rooms are in comfortable period style, with heavy doors and lots of antiques and arches. Some have four-poster beds. But the Doña Maria’s real romantic selling point is its view. Sit at a table (or in the pool) on the terrace at sunset, sip a glass of fino and watch as the magnificent Giralda tower, just yards away, turns from warm yellow to soft pink to fiery gold. It’s heart- stoppingly, breathtakingly beautiful: enough to persuade anyone into a proposal.

Doubles from £90, B&B; 00 34 954 224990, www.hdmaria.com

Fine, but how do I get there?

These flight prices are the best current deals for return trips for a long weekend in July.

Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies to Seville from Stansted; from £87. British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick; from £99.

In Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com) flies to Seville from Dublin; from €263.

Travelocity (0870 111 7060, www.travelocity.co.uk) has return fares from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham with Iberia via Madrid; from £231. Or try Opodo (0871 277 0091, www.opodo.co.uk) or Flight Centre (0870 499 0040, www.flightcentre.co.uk)

All hotel prices are per night, based on stays over a July weekend, and were the cheapest available at the time of going to press

Reviews by Fiona Watson

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