I’ve been wanting to visit Seville for years, and finally ticked it off my list this January. The city is as beautiful as I had imagined, and I was quite impressed by their unique architecture style.
And I had laid my eyes on the Gran Melia Colon for a while too. It is a highly rated hotel, and with Melia’s heavy discounts I booked two nights at the Red Level for £320, which is a bargain. Quite annoyingly prepaid rates are charged by the group rather than the hotel, so it took me a battle to get the Amex cashback credited.
I arrived on Thursday midnight, and stayed at the NH Hotel for the first night as it’s much cheaper. The Gran Melia is not far and I came over walking the next day. The Bus Terminal is nearby which is convenient for airport transfer.
A concierge is present in front of the entrance 24 hours which deserves some credits. As I was flying Vueling all I’ve got is a small backpack, and they still kindly asked if I need any help.
They’ll serve a glass of Prosecco or water when you check in. The lady at reception is very warm and professional, and another lady showed me around the hotel later.
The hotel was built in 1929 and is affiliated with both Melia and Leading Hotels of the World. The library contains some readings about the hotel and the history around when it was built should you be interested.
The lobby bar:
And the restaurant behind:
A defining character of the hotel: each floor is named after a famous Spanish Artist. The top floor is reserved for Goya, and I don’t recognise any other artist shamefully.
And it’s not just a name, all doors are covered by a painting from that artist!
People always talk about a hotel being a piece of artwork, but the Gran Melia Colon literally is! If you are an art lover, you’ll have a great time wondering about in this hotel.
Let’s talk about the guest room. I booked a Red Level Premium room, and as I had an (birthday) upgrade voucher there’s an option to upgrade to a room with a small terrace during online check-in. The upgraded room however, is smaller and on the ground floor, so I passed.
They also offered me suite upgrade for €130/n at check-in, which is reasonable but again not for me. The Premium room is already nice enough in my view, and I’m welcomed by a very pleasant fragrance upon entering the room.
There’s no marble floor or anything that fancy, but the furnishing is quite “safe” and tasteful. The bathroom tiles have got a local Seville style.
Minibar and the Melia Gold welcome amenity:
My room doesn’t have a view:
My travel adapter is broken. I asked the staff and before I realised they already sent two carefully presented on a tray to my room.
The main advantage for being in a Red-Level room is that I could access the Red Level Lounge, located on the ground floor next to the restaurant. It is open from 12pm to 10pm.
There are two chambers in the lounge. Hundreds of Flamingos accompany you in both chambers so you won’t feel lonely 🙂
Red Level Lounge is a distinctive experience that Melia is proud of, and they one of the very few that consistently offer an executive lounge besides the mainstream chains. I was quite impressed by the lounge at the Melia Madrid Princesa hotel when staying a few years back.
The lounge experience at the Gran Melia Colon is not as wholesome, since there’s no reception or staff on duty all the time.
Cheese, ham and preserved vegetables are available and replenished regularly. The second chamber has fruits, tea and a coffee machine.
They don’t have an evening happy hour where you usually get canapes and hot food. They do however, serve you alcohol throughout the day and you can drink as much as you want! Quite a variety of wines on offer:
The lounge doesn’t serve breakfast and all guests go to the main restaurant, but the lounge is open to provide more seats. There’s an a-la-carte menu containing the usual suspects such as omelettes, porridge and pancakes.
Call me stupid, but I didn’t realise there’s a buffet section until my last day!
And I was so confused why there’s no fruit or ham on the menu… I can only blame them for hiding the tables too well.
On the rooftop there’s a terrace and swimming pool. Well, not really a “swimming” pool given its size, but it is heated so good for a dunking in the winter.
Sauna and steam room:
Gym:
An interlude: I lost the my bathrobe’s belt at the spa and couldn’t find it. A cleaning lady saw me at my door, noticed it and went to retrieve it for me immediately.
Red-Level guests have free late check-out until 2pm, and I requested 3.30pm to align with my flight and it’s agreed straightaway. I wouldn’t classify Gran Melia Colon as a top-class hotel, but it’s got many little surprises, for example the heated pool and the wines at the lounge. With Melia’s generous offers, if you get a decent price this hotel is well worth a shot.
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