Spain

Marbella and Seville: A House on the Costa del Sol, Then a Five-Star Hotel in the City

Five nights in a three-bedroom villa in Marbella, with a kitchen and no fixed hours, then three at a five-star Gran Lujo hotel in central Seville, with breakfast included and a pool.

Nights8
SeasonLate fall
StyleBoutique and luxury
PaceRelaxed
Based onA trip I booked for clients

Where to stay, and why

A private three-bedroom villa, managed by JustRent Marbella

Marbella · 5 nights

A whole house for the first half: three bedrooms, a kitchen, and no fixed hours. Parking, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, heating, towels and the final clean are included. I booked it about four months ahead through HomeToGo's platform for travel advisors, with a local management company looking after the house on the ground.

Vincci Selección Unuk

Central Seville · 3 nights

The breakfast buffet every morning and a pool open until 8 PM, in a hotel rated five-star Gran Lujo on Calle Ortiz de Zúñiga in central Seville. The room is a Deluxe. Massage is by reservation, and parking is valet only, with the garage five minutes' walk away.

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Málaga to Marbella

    Land in Málaga and continue to Marbella. I requested an early-evening arrival with the management company and gave them a mobile number for the handover.

  2. Days 2 to 5

    Marbella

    Left open, with the house as base. Four days with no fixed hours: cook in, spread out, come and go as you like.

  3. Day 6

    Marbella to Seville

    Villa checkout is by 10 AM, then on to Seville. If you arrive by car, give the hotel your arrival time a day ahead and pull into the 15-minute loading bay at the door, where staff take the bags and the car. Hotel check-in is from 3 PM.

  4. Days 7 and 8

    Seville

    Left open in the city. The breakfast buffet comes with the room, and the pool is open until 8 PM for when you come back in. Massage is by reservation, so book it before you arrive.

  5. Day 9

    Seville to Málaga

    Back to Málaga for the flight home, which makes it an early start from Seville.

What made it work

  • A house, then a hotel. Five nights with a kitchen and room to spread out, then three where breakfast, a pool and the car are taken care of.
  • Villa terms are where people get caught, so I tracked them from the day it was booked: a deposit to hold the house, the balance six weeks before arrival with a reminder from me the day before it was charged, and a refundable security deposit.
  • Both arrivals set up ahead. At the villa, an early-evening handover requested, with a mobile number on file. In Seville, the hotel's loading-bay routine and the day's notice it wants, worked out before anyone got there.

Before you go

Passports for the villa. The management company needs passport details for every guest over 15, two weeks before arrival.

Arrive before eight. Villa check-in is from 3 PM, and an arrival after 8 PM carries a fee paid in cash on the night, so have some euros on hand if your flight runs late.

Stock the kitchen early. It comes with basics only, so plan a grocery run on the first day.

The trash rule. Trash goes out to the roadside containers every day, and the management company is strict about it.

Times for the hotel. The Seville hotel wants your arrival and departure times 24 hours ahead.