Irene Carravilla

We had the trip of a lifetime traveling Spain and Portugal. We essentially told Irene our vibes as a couple, our interests, and told her to recommend what she thought we would enjoy. She made us a the perfect itinerary for Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, and Sevilla, and Lisbon. Majority of our time was spent in Spain (as requested) and Irene did an amazing job at creating a trip to make me fall in love with the country (castles!!!) and I will recommend every person I know to visit Spain and use her as their guide! She remained accessible through the trip via her partner so they were only ever a whatsapp message away and I was always confident if anything were to go wrong they would be able to help. I can’t recommend enough!

Hotel Reviews

Room Mate Alicia

Madrid

Perfect gem of a hotel! Amazing location. Sweet staff (shout out Miguel & Eva!!)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Editory Riverside Santa Apolonia Hotel

Lisboa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NH Sintra Centro Hotel

Sintra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vincci La Rábida

Sevilla

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided tour in Madrid - Los Austrias

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycling tour in Seville

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Last dinner, Goodbye Spain!

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I loved our trip to Portugal and Spain for our honeymoon. Using KimKim made planning our honeymoon very easy. During the planning period we were able to provide Irene, our local specialist, with feedback to help create our ideal itinerary. She was open to changes that helped us to manage costs and the best use of our time in Europe. We had the opportunity to participate in privately led tours around Madrid, Toledo, and Barcelona, which helped us to learn about these cities' histories, and gave us the chance to learn about the culture from local residents. We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a wine tasting led at a local wine store. This private tasting gave us incredible insight into wine, Spanish culture, gave us the chance to get to know a person we would have otherwise not have had the chance to meet.

Our only critique of our trip was our experience with reservations for meals. Be aware that when you're given a reservation this means you are being booked at a restaurant with a pre-determined menu because the cost of the meal comes out of the cost of your trip. We were booked for three meals that did not quite fit into our trip. In one instance we were booked for a wintertime stew during the heat of the Madrid summer. In another instance we found ourselves in a local restaurant in which we had a very hard time communicating with the staff due to a language barrier. Our only wish was that these meals were better explained to us as we were planning our trip. Ultimately, the only part of our trip that we would have changed are these reservations.

We would still highly recommend using KimKim to book your next trip!

Hotel Reviews

Rossio Plaza Hotel

Lisbon

The Rossio Plaza Hotel was a clean and welcoming place to spend our two nights in Lisbon! The hotel was accommodating when we arrived in the city earlier than our check-in time by holding onto our luggage for us while we explored the city on the first day of our trip. This hotel is located in the heart of Lisbon which makes it extremely easy to walk around the city. Our only critique is that our top-floor room had a slanted ceiling which made the room feel very small and difficult to navigate.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is located in the city center which makes exploring Lisbon very easy.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Moon and Sun Porto

Porto

My husband and I loved staying at Hotel Moon and Sun Porto during our honeymoon. The hotel is clean, well run, and extremely welcoming. The hotel offered to hold our bags for us when we arrived in Porto earlier than check in time. They were able to give us a clear understanding of the services that are offered at the hotel, and they were very flexible when it came to our 4 am check-out time so that we could catch our flight to the next stop on our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel One Shot Luchana 22

Madrid

The atmosphere at the Hotel One Shot Luchana 22 truly helped to give this boutique hotel an authentic feel. The main floor of the hotel is well kept, nicely decorated, and the staff are all eager to provide you with the best possible service. Unfortunately, our room did not match the atmosphere of the primary floor. During the entirety of our stay our room had a strong sulfur smell that was very intense when you entered the room. The walls of the room were scuffed and the bathroom had clear signs of water damage. These details took away from our experience staying here because they did not meet our expectations, given the impression that is made when one enters the premises.

Authenticity & Character

Location

This hotel is very far from the major tourist attractions in Madrid. It is close to metro stops, which did mean we were able to make the most of our stay. However, ideally we would have liked to have been closer the major attractions of the city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Mathilda | Barcelona

Barcelona

The Casa Mathilda is truly an authentic bed and breakfast in the heart of Barcelona. While we were initially surprised about the feel of this bed and breakfast in comparison to the other hotels on our trip, we quickly were able to feel at home! The staff at Casa Mathilda is welcoming and friendly. They were able to help us get our bearings in Barcelona. The eco-friendly vibe of the bed and breakfast is also very welcomed, given the damage that the tourist industry can do to a city. When staying at Casa Mathilda, guests are able to make use of the common spaces that include a terrace, sitting area, and kitchenette- at all hours of the day!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat trip on the Douro River

Porto

The boat trip on the Douro River was a fun way to see the city of Porto! This ride gave us the chance to Porto from the water. The overhead narrations of the sites we were seeing were informative. Overall, this was an activity that we could have done without- while the narrations were informative it was easy to lose focus because the narrations were given in four different languages. There were instances where the narration in English took place after we passed the intended view.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Winery in Porto

Porto

We had a great time touring the Ferreira Winery! Our guide was very clear in his explanations of the history and practices of Ferreira!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City tour

Madrid

Our tour guide gave us an in-depth tour of Madrid's most important sites! We loved the two and a half hours we got to spend with her. Without this tour we would not have learned as much as we did about the amazing history of Madrid!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wine Tasting

Madrid

This wine tasting was the highlight of our trip! We were welcomed into the wine store and were truly given a once in a lifetime experience to learn about Spanish culture and wine!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit to the Gothic Quarter

Barcelona

We had an amazing time touring Barcelona's Gothic Quarter on our private tour. We were able to learn way more about Barcelona than we ever would have on our own!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eco- tour in Toledo by bike

Toledo

This was a such a unique way to learn about the ancient city of Toledo! Daniel, our tour guide, was informative and fun to be around while we traveled in and around Toledo by E-Bike!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lunch in La Bola

Madrid

I wish I had better things to say about our lunch at La Bola. The staff at the restaurant were visibly annoyed that we arrived at our reservation time of 1 PM because this is also the time that they open. While I understand that this is difficult for them, that was out of our control as we did not choose the time. The staff was difficult to communicate with as they were very short of patience and clearly not happy to have us there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our trip in Spain was better than anticipated, from North to south what a beautiful country. Our guides really did make it Toledo was an incredible stop totally unexpected
Irene was helping all the way thru we had a couple of hiccups but Irene looked after us all the way
Thanks to everyone at KimKim

We had a wonderful time in Madrid. Irene was very efficient in organizing every detail and responded quickly to every question I had. Madrid is a beautiful city and easy to navigate. We also made a day trip to Toledo, which was an interesting historic city with a stunning cathedral but is also very touristy with lots of souvenir shops.

Hotel Review

Hotel One Shot Luchana 22

Madrid

The hotel was in an excellent location right next to a metro stop. It is a beautiful historic building but the room was small and very plain. I expected a little more character. The restaurant downstairs served an excellent breakfast and we also stopped several times for a glass of wine.

Authenticity & Character

The building was beautiful and historic but the room was small and plain. We had just a small open space around our bed for our luggage. The bathroom by comparison was quite roomy and the shower was excellent. I would have been willing to pay a bit more for a larger room.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean but too small. By the time we reached Madrid we had been traveling nearly 3 weeks and would have liked to spread out a bit.

Activity Reviews

Eco TukTuk

Madrid

Very informative and a good way to start our visit.

Tapas tour

Madrid

My favorite experience. Our guide was friendly, spoke very good English without a heavy accent, and was very knowledgeable. We had a great time trying Spanish wines and tapas

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Especial Dinner and Flamenco show

Madrid

The food was very mediocre. I noticed that only two other Americans came for dinner; everyone else came just for the performance. The dancing was interesting and energetic but a very modern, extemporaneous style and we missed some of the more traditional, flamboyant aspects of the dance.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We wasted time taking a cab. It would have been much easier to get there by Metro but the address was unfamiliar. It would have been helpful if our itinerary had indicated the Metro stop closest to the venue

Walking tour in the World Heritage city of Toledo

Spain

Beautiful city and worth a visit but be prepared for lots of other tourists and souvenir shops everywhere you turn. Our guide was a wonderful Spanish lady who had lots of information to share but her English was heavily accented and we had to listen very closely to understand her, which got very wearing after 3 hrs.

Quality of Experience

Y

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The train was excellent. We took a cab from the station to the location where we met our driver

Spanish Cooking Master Class in Madrid

Madrid

One of our most fun activities in Spain!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kimkim paired us with Spanish travel specialist Irene who coordinated our 7-day drive through the Extremadura region southwest of Madrid, after we spent 10 days with friends in Sevilla and Madrid. With minimal Spanish fluency, my husband and I were nervous about driving on our own through the countryside for a week, but Irene managed every detail, allowing us to experience this extraordinary agricultural and historical region. She designed an itinerary that incorporated each destination we requested and hit the mark in every respect, assuring that we felt safe and looked after throughout this part of our journey. She arranged the car rental, reserved exquisite hotels for no less than two-night stays as we requested, and arranged local English-speaking tour guides for each major destination we requested along the way. Although our tours ranged from laidback to frenetic, each guide was prompt, passionate, and informative, aimed to address our interests as well as share their favorite sites and stories, and helped us feel safe and welcome. The best guide for us was Álvaro with whom we spent two full days. An expert in the region’s “dehesa” and agrarian culture, Álvaro shared a thrilling visit to witness as hundreds of newly born lambs were vaccinated and marked to pair them with their mothers, a stroll among a herd of Iberian black pigs, and a tour and tasting at a family-run processing plant for curing ham. Álvaro also guided us through architectural antiquities in Plasencia and through the Monfragüe National Park, including a mountain top hike and birdwatching expedition, and provided two of the most outstanding culinary experiences of our trip: the tasting with the owner of the processing plant and a picnic with his colleague Esther at a panoramic mountainside location. We are grateful to Kimkim and to Irene for her understanding and for meeting our specific requests to create as seamless and stress-free a travel experience as possible.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hospes Palacio San Esteban

Salamanca

Wonderful hotel and experience. Comfortable modern room in this historic renovated convent. Excellent breakfast buffet and table service and one of the best dining restaurants of our three-week travel through Spain. Convenient location.

Authenticity & Character

Peaceful interior courtyard, lovely dining room and bar. Low-key restful throughout. Simple and elegant decorations for the winter holiday season.

Location

We parked once at the hotel and were able to walk everywhere to visit antiquities and local sites of interest. Safe and central location on a side street a few blocks from the Plaza Mayor.

Staff

Helpful front-desk staff. Highly attentive and professional dining room staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, orderly. Felt pampered simply by the ambiance of the facilities.

Hotel Soho Boutique Casa Don Fernando

Caceres

Spacious corner room with a great view of the Plaza Mayor. Airy and bright but easy to black out the windows for sleep and quiet. Good breakfast in convenient dining room. Front desk staff were attentive and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

Modern facility in charming renovated building with vestiges of antiquities.

Location

Could not have been better. Directly on the Plaza Mayor, just a few steps from the walled city and numerous bodegas, restaurants, and shops. Parking was a few blocks away, easily manageable one we understood the arrangements.

Staff

Front desk staff were helpful and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable room and bed, well appointed.

Parador de Trujillo

Trujillo

Authenticity & Character

Quiet setting, lovely interior courtyard.

Location

great location with rooftop views of centuries old structures. Blocks from the central sites and walled city. Gorgeous sites well within walking distance.

Staff

Front desk staff were attentive and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, simple, well appointed.

Activity Reviews

Guided tour in Caceres

Cáceres

The tour began on the steps of the walled city, where we stood too long next to a loud generator that made it difficult to hear and understand our guide; we wish our guide had taken the initiative to step to a quieter spot much sooner. Our guide Javier was relatively low energy and, unfortunately, the night was cold and rainy, which detracted from the experience. Javier was well-informed and shared many intriguing stories and points of history. The sites themselves were stunning and beautifully lit at night. We did not know how long a tour to expect, so when Javier said at several points that we could go into a building or museum then or come back later on our own, we opted not to enter each time in order to walk and see more. In retrospect, I wish Javier had encouraged us to step inside from time to time to get out of the rain and cold. We were able to tour the walled city fairly thoroughly, and did return the next day, but might have enjoyed touring some of the interiors with Javier who had extensive knowledge about the architectural, political, religious, and art history of the city.

Quality of Experience

The walled city of Cáceres was fascinating, ethereal, and allowed a profound opportunity to imagine the lives of generations of inhabitants over the centuries.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided tour in Merida

Mérida

The Roman ruins in Merida were our primary focus and we were thrilled to walk among the ruins of the theater, amphitheater, and Temple of Diana. These spots have enough authentic relics to ground the viewer in their historical relevance and enough restoration to give a feel of their awesome grandeur. Our guide Juan Luis, native to the city, was informed, funny, and responsible to attend to our interests and comfort. Right away, he stepped up to help us find parking, paced our walk among sites to match our interests and stamina, then recommended restaurants for us to access following the tour. He relayed stories of historical importance and reveled in trivia about the daily lives of ancient Romans which made his tour especially fun and engaging.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We strongly recommend Juan Luis. His knowledge about local businesses and personalities added richly to our experience beyond the historical sites of interest.

Discover the Dehesa

Trujillo

Perhaps the highlight of our three weeks in Spain, the experiences our guide Álvaro shared in the dehesa met and exceeded our hopes for pastoral experiences of the Spanish countryside. He shared deep knowledge and passion for sustainable agriculture and demonstrated an impressive grasp of the intersection of politics, economics, geography, and biology in determining the past and likely future of this region. We got rare glimpses of the workings of animal husbandry due to his investment in and commitment to individuals who work the land and whose efforts maintain the local culture and economy. We strongly recommend this experience for anyone interested to get out of the urban centers and seek to learn about the people and culture of this region of Spain.

Quality of Experience

The sites and experiences on this day were varied, educational, and eye-opening, a welcome difference from our visits to urban areas in Spain. As we moved from one fascinating location to another, Álvaro provided informed commentary to make sense of the land we were traversing and its importance to the economy and culture of the region.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Álvaro's passion for the dehesa was evident from the first moment of the tour. He was flexible to our interests and needs while being driven to share as much as possible about his extensive knowledge and intimate experience with this region and its people. For the full two days of our tour, he got us safely from place to place, making the experience both intriguing and restful. A bonus was meeting his colleague Esther who joined us for an exquisite picnic at the end of our tour.

Transport

Our guide drove us from place to place from early morning into the evening, allowing us to view the terrain and activities he was describing. This made the days feel safe and easy, and kept us from getting weary along the way.

Excursion in Monfragüe

Trujillo

A tour of this beautiful park was a great change from the urban areas we also visited on this trip to Spain. We enjoyed a mountaintop walk to an ancient Castillo offering amazing 360-degree panoramic view of the area, birdwatching with binoculars and a telescope the guide provided, and a delicious picnic provided by our guide.

Quality of Experience

We were lucky to have a beautiful fall day: sunny and cool. We enjoyed the hike, the vistas, and a great picnic at the end of the day.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Álvaro drove us around safely, prioritized our interests and curiosity, and was keenly prepared for each of several varied activities. We felt very well catered to on this day.

Guided tour in Salamanca

Salamanca

This was a busy tour both because there was much to see and because our guide kept a fast pace to cover a number of sites in limited time. His knowledge and passion of this hometown were evident as was his professional commitment to being a guide. He encouraged us to return later to visit several sites we passed; we were able to return to a couple of them but the initial tour was so rushed that we could not get our bearings and had difficulty finding some locations when we tried to return. Nevertheless, Salamanca was one of our favorite cities to visit in Spain due to its remarkable architecture, profoundly significant 15th-century history regarding discoveries of the "new world," and the presence and influence of the third-oldest surviving university in Europe.

Quality of Experience

We greatly enjoyed touring the university buildings and learning the historical functions of particular classrooms and significant spaces. We were fascinated learn highlights of the history of the university and its alums and leaders and to see the mix of architectural influences on major buildings across centuries of varied cultural, religious, and political influences. We enjoyed the vibe of the city and the mere experience of walking within the central areas.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide had extensive information about the university and the political and religious history of the city.

3 cheers for Kimkim and especially for Irene! If we could give her 10 stars out of 5, we would. As 2 retired teachers who enjoy travel, had never been to Spain, and have enjoyed a number of organized small group tours, we wanted to plan an individualized trip to Andalusia. Enter KimKim, and specifically Irene, who is a local tour operator in the north of Spain. After sharing with her our preferences, she created an initial draft itinerary for us. We worked together on honing the plan for a number of weeks until we knew it was exactly what we wanted. Not only was Irene tireless in planning every detail of our guided tours, transfers, accommodations and special meals, while we were in Spain, she was available to us via WhatsApp and checked in every day to ensure that everything was going smoothly. We told her that she was like our mother hen and we were her little chicks. Thank you so much, Irene, for a perfect introduction to Spain! Next time will include Barcelona and Madrid!

Highlights of the tour included Malaga, Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Grenada.

The Petit Palace Plaza Hotel in Malaga was right in the middle of the pedestrian centre of the old city. We wandered the meandering streets that were buzzing with people enjoying a coffee or beer and tapas in one of the many outdoor cafes and restaurants. We’ve never seen such a vibrant scene. After a short rest, we met our city guide, Pilar Domingo, who took us on a walking tour of the historical sites. Pilar was a superb guide, and she set the bar very high for all of the guides yet to come. We enjoyed seeing the Cathedral, Roman Amphitheatre and Alcazaba where we had our first taste of Andalusia’s colourful history. Not only was Pliar a wealth of historical and architectural knowledge, she pointed us to the restaurant with the best fried artichokes in town!

We took the train to Ronda where we were met by driver, Diego, who took us to the famous Parador Hotel. Our stay in Ronda gave us a couple of days to relax and explore on our own. The Parador sits majestically atop a huge gorge and beside the Puente Nuevo built in the 18th century across the 400 ft chasm. Points of interest in Ronda are the Bullring where we enjoyed our audio tour and the museum in the Palacio de Mondragon. We were so lucky to get a reservation at the highly rated tiny mother/daugther operated restaurant called Casa Maria. There is no set menu, just an array of fresh local produce from which they produce the most delicious 6-course meal, including wine pairings. Unbelievably delicious and great value.

Diego collected us again for our drive to Sevilla. En route, we met our guide, Cecille, who took us on a wonderful walking tour of Arcos de la Frontera, one of the many “white villages” in Andalusia. We wandered the narrow cobbled streets imagining all of the peoples who had conquered and controlled this area through history, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Christians. What was harder to fathom was learning that they still practise the running of the bulls through those narrow steep streets! After a light lunch, Diego chauffeured us on to Sevilla.

Hotel Casa de Indias was another perfectly located hotel sitting adjacent to Las Setas, a huge sculptural structure resembling mushrooms. It was difficult to get lost with this landmark so prominent within the pedestrian streets of Seville. We had two very different tour experiences here. The first was a walking historical tour of the Cathedral and the Alcazar, led by the delightful Damiana. Her deep knowledge of art history was impressive and added to our appreciation of the Mudejar architecture that we were seeing in the palace. Later in the day, we met Manuel who took us to our first flamenco experience. The energy of show was riveting for us and Manuel was able to explain the importance of flamenco in the Spanish culture. He then took us to a local restaurant where we had our own tapas and wine tasting. Manuel was full of enthusiasm for his city and its culture.

We headed off to Cordoba on the super fast train. With only one day there, we had two more fantastic tours. First, we visited the Medina Azahara, the archeological restoration and remains of a palace/fortress and city built in the 10th century by Caliph ABD ar-Rahman III of the Umayyad dynasty. Unfortunately, this remarkable city was laid to waste during civil war that ended the caliphate in the early 11th century. The remains were discovered nearly 1000 years later. Our guide Enrique brought the remains of the city’s splendour back to life for us. His knowledge and enthusiasm were infectious and set the stage for our afternoon tour of the Mesquita. Known as the Mosque-Cathedral, beginning as an 8th century mosque on top of a visigothic church, later added to to become one of the largest mosques on the world, then having a cathedral built in the middle in the 16th century.! Luckily for us, our guide Jose, a practising archeologist, shared his vast knowledge and unsurpassed enthusiasm with us for over 2 hours. This was a fantastic experience. Our hotel, Las Casa de la Juderia, was delightful and perfectly situated in the old Jewish quarter.

Granada was another train trip away and was the icing on the cake! We looked up at the Alhambra from our room at Hotel Palacio Mariana Pineda. In our two final touring days we loved exploring the narrow streets leading up to the top of the Albacin where we watched the sun set over the Alhambra, the city, and the mountains. The Albacin is a neighbourhood of Grenada made up of meandering narrow streets built as early as the 13th century. While there, we were treated to some local musicians and dancer who performed flamenco for the gathered crowd. The following day, we had a wonderful tour of the Generalife (beautiful gardens, summer palace and country home from the 13th century built by the Nasrid rulers) and the Alhambra (11th century walled fortress/city and palaces built over time by the Muslims and reimagined by the Catholic Christians before being overtaken and damaged by Napoleon’s troops.) Even though we had rain while we walked through the gardens, we were spellbound. The whole complex of the Alhambra is stunning and a history lesson that would take more than one visit to fully appreciate. Once we finished the tour of the Alhambra, the sun came out for us when we climbed the watchtower where we had a spectacular view of the city and the Albacin. We could also see our hotel room! Our guide Maite was fantastic and delightful in her enthusiasm. On our last night in Grenada, we went to another flamenco show and dinner atop the Albacin.

While the organized portion of our trip was virtually over in Granada, Irene was still our faithful fairly godmother. We were driven from Granada to a private apartment on the coast owned by family friends where we stayed for another week. While we were there, we had another tour booked with Kimkim to visit wine and raisin country. Our guide Anna and driver Manu were very accommodating and we had a wonderful day driving through the mountains north of Malaga where we had a delicious wine tasting and got a flavour of the people who live and work so hard on the steep slopes of this beautiful part of the country.

We were fortunate enough to get tickets to watch Canada play Germany in the Davis Cup tennis held in Malaga. This entailed a bus trip there, but getting back to the apartment at night. Irene came to our rescue and arranged a driver to meet us outside the stadium in Malaga at 11 pm and drove us the hour’s drive back to the beach. She also arranged our return to Malaga the day before our 6 am flight, and she planned the most beautiful 6-course final dinner for us at the famous El Pimpi Restaurant.

We could not have been happier with our trip, from the initial planning through to our departure from Spain. We realize that we have barely scratched the surface of Andalusia let alone the whole country. More to come, and Irene is our gal!

Hotel Reviews

Las Casas de la Juderia Hotel

Córdoba

A beautiful, quirky old building. We kept getting lost, trying to find our room, but it was worth it and the staff were so helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Tons of character.

Location

Perfect.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Intelier Casa de Indias Sevilla

Seville

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palacio Mariana Pineda Hotel

Granada

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to everything and the view of the Alhambra

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petit Palace Plaza Malaga Hotel

Malaga

Authenticity & Character

We spent our first and last nights of the trip here. The building is beautiful and the rooms were modern and clean.

Location

So central and close to the action.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador de Ronda

Ronda

Location, location, location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Literally, the best view in town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private tour of Malaga

Málaga

Pilar was outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Arcos de la Frontera

Ronda

A great place to stop en route to Seville. There are so many white villages in Andalusia, we enjoyed seeing such a pretty one.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Diego didn't speak English but he understood us and was so accommodating. Cecille gave us an excellent tour, both from the car where we had a view of the town atop some very high cliffs and by foot which we enjoyed.

Transport

Guided tour in Seville

Seville

Damiana was excellent, an art history student initially from Italy. She knew her history and was so enthusiastic. We loved the walking tour with her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Damiana was delightful.

Transport

Evening Flamenco & Tapas Private Tour

Seville

We weren't sure that we would enjoy the art of flamenco, but we were spellbound. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We enjoyed our time with Manuel at the flamenco show and then again over wine and tapas.

Transport

Exploring the archaeological site of Medina Azahara

Córdoba

The video about the archeological site before touring the real thing was very well done and worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enrique was extremely knowledgeable and very interesting.

Transport

We never heard our driver's name but she was excellent.

City tour in Córdoba

Córdoba

It is so important to see the Mesquita. Don't miss Cordoba.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jose was so passionate and informative. We were hanging on his every word.

Transport

Visit la Alhambra

Granada

We felt so fortunate having Maite guiding us. There were a number of large group tours and we knew that we were having a much richer experience having our private guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maite was outstanding.

Transport

Flamenco Show

Granada

Once again, we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the flamenco, and the dinner was very good as well.

Quality of Experience

Raisin and Wine Route of the Axarquia

Almuñecar, La Herradura

We felt we were at the winery off season and would likely have enjoyed the day even more had we seen more of the wine process. We did enjoy tasting the final product though!

Quality of Experience

Beautiful country and charming villages.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Anna and Manu were both great.

Transport

Dinner al Pimpi

Málaga

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It took a few minutes for the staff to understand who we were and that Irene had made a reservation for our pre-paid meal. We enjoyed the people watching while they sorted that out. Once we were seated, the staff and service were excellent!

I asked Irene to plan a trip for my family. I wasn´t going to be able to attend & wanted to feel like they would be in good hands and have an easy experience on the ground. Irene planned an amazing trip!! It was perfectly catered to them and their health needs. She was super attentive, even late into the night. And when one of our family members had health issues, she did everything possible to make sure they could still enjoy their experience - helping to adjust our itinerary as needed. They loved their stays, all very lovely with great breakfasts! And I heard rave reviews about their tour guides in the different cities.

Irene estuvo muy atenta a nuestras necesidades lo cual nos dio un sentimiento de seguridad. Los hoteles escogidos x ella estuvieron perfectos para nosotros, muy céntricos principalmente, bonitos y cómodos. Los 4 tours todos muy informativos y amenos. En verdad nos hizo el viaje cómodo y fácil. Todo fluyó fácilmente y sin trabas. Mi rating para Irene es = excelente.

Mónica Muller

... and it's all thanks to Irene! She was very patient as we learned KimKim and helped us to plan, and then setup a wonderful vacation that worked well for both me and my wife. What's more, whenever we found ourselves missing our driver, on a late train, or just confused in general, she was a quick message away to help us navigate our trip. She even checked in on us a few times to make sure we were having fun and enjoying ourselves as much as possible.

We started our trip with a group tapas tour in Madrid, led by Neomi, who was very knowledgeable and made excellent suggestions at every step. It was truly a blast! We got to sample numerous delicious beverages, food, and make great conversation with our fellow travelers. Next, we enjoyed a guided tour in Madrid, where we learned all about its history, even joking and having fun with our guide (whose name I unfortunately cannot remember - but she was amazing!). Our time in Seville was also well planned, with Barbara showing us the Great Cathedral and the Alcazar our first day, making some fantastic recommendations for dinner. The day trip to the White Villages and Ronda was filled with beautiful scenery, fun shopping, and good food that truly left us wanting more. Granada is a gorgeous city, with so much to see, including the much (and rightfully) touted Alhambra. Our guide, Gabriela, was very knowledgeable and fun, leaving us once again feeling more like we'd been shown around by an acquaintance, rather than a stranger we hardly knew. We discovered a nice coffee house - Cafe 4 Gatos, that I would strongly recommend for good coffee and excellent food (bring cash!). Finally, our dinner at Aben Humeya was the perfect end to our last day in Granada, coupling delicious food with a view neither of us will ever forget.

I know I've gone on for quite a bit already, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that every hotel Irene found for us was fantastic, with comfortable beds, polite helpful staff, and delicious breakfasts. The drivers were all polite, professional, and very helpful. And our information packet was very thorough and helped us avoid making numerous mistakes we likely would have made on our own.

Thank you Irene and everyone who helped make our trip such a success!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel One Shot Luchana 22

Madrid

Nice location with very comfortable beds. Polite, helpful staff and a delicious breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Intelier Casa de Indias Sevilla

Seville

Nice location with comfortable beds. Polite, helpful staff and a delicious breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Palacio de Santa Inés

Granada

Very location with a lot of history in the building, converted in a very charming and aesthetically pleasing way. Extremely helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Aben Humeya

Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Restaurante Casa Suecia

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit la Alhambra

Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tapas tour

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City tour

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch in La Bola

Madrid

Guided tour in Seville

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day trip : Ronda and White Villages

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Irene and Susana was exceptional. Every little detail was thought out and nothing was left unseen. Everyday there was communication and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Thank you so much for such a great experience. Top notch customer service and so personable.