The Best of Spain in 10 Days – Staying on Points

The Best of Spain in 10 Days itinerary guides you through the varied culture of Spain. This trip starts with historical Spain in Seville and Granada and ends with more modern Spain in Madrid and Barcelona. A significant part of your experience with this itinerary is based on where you stay in each city. Staying in the heart of the city is key to being able to limit your time spent in transit. With less time and money spent traveling, you are able to see more and enjoy richer cultural experiences and dining in the city centers.

The heart of the city is often the oldest and most historical parts as well. Unfortunately, this often means that accommodations in the heart of the city are more expensive. This is where staying on points comes in. This is the practice of booking a hotel using loyalty program points to eliminate the high cost. The following post identifies the best neighborhoods and areas for accommodations for each city of the itinerary. This post also outlines where opportunities to stay on points are available along the journey.

Why a Chain Hotel?

In addition to outlining the optimal neighborhoods, this guide includes the best hotels that are bookable with the most popular points (Hyatt, Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Marriott). Staying on points is a great way to reduce the total cost of our trip. Points can allow anyone to afford good 3 and 4-star accommodations in the city center for free.

I will be the first to admit that many of the major hotel chains don’t provide the same experience in these historic cities as you would get if you were staying in a local B&B or guest house. However, with the proliferation of boutique hotels in these chains and cross-brand partnerships (like Hyatt’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World), you can get much closer to the boutique feel while staying on points than you could in years past.

Part of the goal of this website is to show methods of aspirational travel that may not otherwise be possible to you. I encourage the use of points if it allows you to take some of these once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Shown below are some of the best hotels for staying on points located along the itinerary route.

Seville Hotels

The best locations to stay in Seville are the neighborhoods along the riverfront. Attractions in the vicinity are the Alcazar, Plaza de Espana, and the Cathedral de Sevilla. These areas are known as El Arenal, Centro, and Santa Cruz. The Seville map below shows these neighborhoods in blue shading.

While there are many independent and boutique hotels in this area, chain hotels are lacking. If you are looking for hotels that you can book with points, there are only two options in this area:

Granada Hotels

As with Seville, it is best to be located in the city center to get the full Granada experience. While Granada has more attractions outside the city center than any other stop on this itinerary, it still pays to be in the middle of the city. The city center provides the opportunity to experience many local dining options. The central location also allows guests to experience the walkable historic streets of the city. The three most desirable areas are Catedral de Granada (the area immediately around the Cathedral), Realejo – San Matias, and San Pedro.

Unfortunately for anyone that doesn’t collect Marriott points, the only options for points hotels in Granada are Marriott hotels. Both of the Marriott hotels cost roughly the same in points. The only real differentiators are the location and design of each. If you don’t have Marriott points, this may be an opportunity to redeem other points that reimburse travel purchases. Alternately, use this opportunity to stay in a local boutique or B&B to get a more local experience.

Madrid Hotels

As is common with large cities, the chain hotel options available are larger in number. Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriot all have multiple properties in Madrid. The best neighborhoods for staying in Madrid are:

• Northern Atocha – This is where you will arrive and depart Madrid by Train
• Northern Centro – Plaza Mayor and Mercado de San Miguel
• Cortes and Gran Via – Many of the art museums and famous shopping are in this area
• El Retiro – Area around the large famous park

Each of these areas has multiple hotel options. Because there are so many options, many hotels are available at lower point prices. These low prices make Madrid a great place to use your points to save money on your trip. This is especially true if you don’t have the points to cover hotels for an entire trip. Also because there are hotel options across every major American hotel chain, you should be able to get a free night no matter what program you collect points in. Centrally located hotel options bookable with points include:

Barcelona Hotels

As with Madrid, Barcelona is a larger city and provides many options when it comes to using points for a hotel stay. The major US chains all have many properties in Barcelona. Barcelona is a large city that has spread widely as it has grown. However, most of the sights are very centrally located. For this reason, the best neighborhoods for accommodations in Barcelona are:

• Barri Gothic – The old Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. This area is characterized by small winding streets and old buildings and landmarks such as Roman walls.
• El Born – El Born is known for its narrow medieval streets that have been transformed into modern trendy boutiques and cafes. This area has more nightlife if that is important to you.
• Eixample – The expansion district of Barcelona between what was the old city and the other surrounding towns. This area has newer construction due to it being built in the 1800s – 1900s.

Similar to Madrid, because there are options in every major American hotel chain, you should be able to get a free night no matter what program you collect points in.