HOTEL ITACA JEREZ

We stayed here for 3 nights as part of a coach tour. The hotel was in a perfect location as it in the town centre, handy for all the sights of Jerez The hotel is a converted convent and was very welcoming. The reception area was dingy with odd features such as a covered over well and a circular staircase leading nowhere. The corridors were also very dark and the layout is quite confusing presumably because of the compromises made in the change of use. The room we were given had bars on the windows and air con which would only work if the temperature was set at 30 degrees, so not very effective. We had a small bathroom with an over bath shower with strange plumbing arrangements but it was quite good once we mastered it. The beds were small and somewhat slippery on their bases with barely adequate bedding and only one pillow per person The meals were taken in the old chapel of the convent which was also stiflingly hot in the evenings. The breakfast selection was good and plentiful. I was surprised that we were booked in for evening meals as I had previously read that they did not provide this service. The dinners were somewhat patchy with some great roast pork the first night but terrible bacon and egg " consomme" on another. The biggest disappointment was the lack of facilities for our group. There was no usable outside space to relax in, no pool, no spa or gym, no bar service in the day time and even the charmless rooftop terrace had no seating. I would not stay at this hotel again and would not recommend except for the briefest business trip. I was also somewhat surprised that our passports were taken from us for registration and left later in a box on reception for us ( or anyone else walking in off the street !) to collect at our leisure. This is not a good idea in these days of identity theft.

A hotel without a sign is just dumb. Myself (and may others I overheard) went around the block several times looking for this place, and when I finally arrived the girl at the desk, said, "yes, we are hard to find!". So... moving past the lack of signage, this hotel has ultra modern rooms that are large and bright, but hopefully you aren't sitting around in your room... lots to see in Jerez.The hallway lighting is dim, so it's a bit hard to find the door lock etc. As for location, it was close to the hub of touristy Jerez, so it was fine although I doubt I'd rush back. A few seedy cafe bars and drunks lying in the nearby park made me leary of wandering around too late ( not something I do so that was avoided) Breakfast was in the old cathedral part of the property... (didn't know there was one until then) and it was ok, crappy machine coffee. So this hotel was okay and I had a great sleep... be careful bathroom is slippery when wet! I wouldn't rush back.

Itaca is close enough to the train station to be able to walk, though we opted for a taxi with our luggage. Also close enough to walk to most places of interest, so location was great. The hotel itself is in need of some care and attention. The building itself is interesting and quite impressive on first glance. However, on closer inspection, it is in need of a deep clean and some small repairs. Our room was okay - clean, warm, hot water - but again, it needed a little bit of love and attention to the kind of finish and cleanliness I would have expected. Breakfast was a self-service buffet with mostly cold options, but there was plenty to choose from and we never went hungry. The staff were friendly, helpful and efficient and we would stay again, but not at full price.

Arrived by car and fortunately found a car parking spot , there is no hotel parking. The nearby underground car park is about 5 mins walk away but this was capacious and secure. The welcome at the Hotel was good and friendly and very helpful for places to eat . Our room had no view only a well inside, curiously none of the doors fitted properly and the shower was like wrestling with an octopus, not really very clever, but just OK. The breakfast was OK and in what was once a church , very high ceilings but no windows and airless. The advantage of this hotel is the location , just a few minutes walk from central Jerez with its bars , restaurants and Bodegas . Average.

We stayed at the Itaca recently during a drive around the south of Spain. We arrived on the Sunday during which there was a motorbike weekend at a nearby track, hence the prices for the initial part of the stay were well above any reasonable price for a hotel of this calibre. The hotel is very centrally located near the main square and shopping streets and is within easy walking distance of the central town Bodegas for Sherry tours and tasting. There is safe underground parking nearby as the entire town is zoned for parking meters. So onto the negatives, the room we were given was appalling – it was at the back of the hotel. The windows had bars on it and wire mesh, which made it feel like a jail. The extractor fans for the kitchen were outside the window and ran all night. The noise from the kitchen plus the people taking at an early hour was the icing on the cake. We asked to be moved and were to a nicer room. So try to get a room at the front of the hotel or at least one with a window that is not covered with bars. Generally through this hotel lacks character. It is tired and has been knocked around. The rooms have many chips, the bathrooms are tired with discoloured baths and broken shower bits. The beds bases are light and move easily which means you can’t sit up in bed and the pillows are too flat and only one is provided per person. The breakfast was included in our price. The coffee was under- whelming and the buffet was basic. The breakfast room itself is a converted church, which is interesting to sit in but does not compensate for the problems that I have highlighted. On the first day the internet seemed to work well on the second it was intermittent and more or less unusable. When I raised the issue with the hotel manager, they handled the matter well and moved us to another room. So in summary a very disappointing stay. While this hotel is listed as four stars I really think it is of a lower grade. If you have an alternative choice for your stay in Jerez, I would go for that.