8-Day Spain Tour from Madrid: Cordoba, Seville, Ronda, Costa del Sol, Granada and Toledo

On this trip, we paid for the upgraded hotel. The tour operator had us staying at Courtyard Marriott Madrid Princesa for three nights of the trip. This hotel was disgusting. Carpets and linen were stained in every room. We checked in, and looked at two different rooms before we were very disappointed and accepted the first room. We had to have maintenance come to replace lights not working in the bathroom, as well as the remote control that was not functioning When we arrived at the hotel, we had no idea what we're supposed to do next. It wasn't until later on that evening that somebody slid an agenda under our front door telling us where we would be going the next day. The tour operator bus Wi-Fi was not working the entire trip. During some of the stops that we made for meals, the tour operator appeared to have some type of incentive to get us to eat at prearranged prices/establishments. All of us were wondering if the tour guide was getting a kickback for these arrangements. Our tour provided us with optional excursions. There was nothing official with prices. The tour guide was just collecting cash from us. This did not seem professional, and I wondered if it was an acceptable practice? On one of our city stops-Toledo. Our bus was brought to what was apparently a factory to see craftsmen working and give us the opportunity to buy goods at a discount. This was a 30 minute stop that appeared nothing more than a set up to get us to spend money. Once again, I felt like I was being used for the tour guide to receive compensation for this stop. At the end of our tour, we were once again housed at the same Marriott Hotel. This time we went through three different rooms before we felt stuck with a dirty hotel. The clerks at the hotel informed us that we were put in a standard room. We were expecting a four-star hotel. This is what we paid for. This tour was purchased with Viator. Viator has gave me a complaint number IDB-36329076 weeks ago, but never contacted me. Marriott has offered us 2000 points (equal to 1/3 of a night for our complaints. I would not recommend these companies. Mr. Gelber USA

This tour was amazing - esp. because of our guide Ismael who was extremely knowledgeable about all the sights and went out of his way to make us comfortable.This was the perfect tour to get to see the special sights of Madrid and Andalucia. We definitely recommend this tour to new visitors to Spain.

Overall the tour is good value. But the day tour of Madrid started chaotic, rushed but informative. The local guides for Cordoba, Seville and Granada are good. The tour in Toledo was again quite rushed. The only problem is the dual language in Spanish and English. We enjoyed the sights and the people.