If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR299.67), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Home to flamboyant flamenco and the ‘more is Moorish’ Alhambra, Granada wears its heart on an elaborately embellished sleeve. And Seda Club hotel has translated these glamorous traits and its lingering decadence as a 15th-century Silk Road stop (hence the hotel name, since ‘seda’ means ‘silk’) into a modern hideaway with intricate tiling, bronzed panels and bevelled lights, richly hued silks and velvets, and plentiful pattern. The ‘club’ part comes into play with its top-form service and speakeasy-style bar, but its trappings of a cathedral-view roof terrace, dinky private-hire spa and genteel afternoon teas offer luxury without ostentation.
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £282.44 (€330), including tax at 10 per cent.
More details
Rates include breakfast (a generous buffet and hot à la carte choices). In winter, the ski themed package includes your Sierra Nevada lift pass, a welcome gift, cocktail at the bar, 15% discount on spa treatments and private hot tub access.
Also
The hotel has one room adapted for wheelchair users, plus a lift to all floors and fairly roomy public spaces.
At the hotel
Spa area, roof terrace, concierge, charged laundry service and free WiFi. In rooms: smart 50-inch TV, Marshall Bluetooth speaker, iPad with hotel services, hand-embroidered silk kimonos, fresh flowers, gourmet minibar, coffee- and tea-making kit, and L'Occitane en Provence bath products. Suites have a Technogym kit bag for in-room workouts, too.
Our favourite rooms
Seda Club has changed dramatically from the department store it once was, but you’ll still feel covetousness creeping in for the items in your room, because you’d quite like, say, that velvet cocktail chair, those Alhambra-style floor tiles, the strokeable Egyptian-cotton sheets, the hand-embroidered silk kimonos guests can waft about in… Grand Deluxes and Suites let you sit out in the sunshine and people-watch over the Plaza de la Trinidad and spy the cathedral, from your own private balcony; but, the Deluxe Patios have their own peaceful spot in the hotel’s interior orange-blossom- and jasmine-scented garden courtyard. And, if you’re staying for a while, La Alcoba Real feels like a penthouse apartment, with enough room for some passionate flamenco moves, and opulent green and gold decor.
Poolside
There’s a small Roman bath-inspired plunge pool in the spa, best for restorative bobbing about – especially because guests can have this to themselves (for free) for an hour during their stay (we advise booking in advance).
Spa
Tucked away behind the bar – perhaps fittingly so – is the spa area, which has one treatment room for massages, facials, scrubs, wraps, and algae-enriched 'Thalgo' and anti-ageing therapies, plus a plunge pool and a shower with gentle hydrotherapy jets.
Packing tips
Become a chic chameleon by packing pieces in decadent materials, plus lots of shiny things to match the hotel’s sparkle. But, amid all this flouncery, add a pair of sensible shoes for hitting Granada’s ancient streets and elevated miradors.
Also
The hotel serves a genteel afternoon tea, with dainty sandwiches and savoury puffs, bite-size cakes and sweet pies (and champagne for a touch more frou-frou-ness).
Pet‐friendly
Pups are valued guests here (for €75 a night); each room is pet-friendly, and they’ll get a bowl, silicon mat, bottle of water and treats. See more pet-friendly hotels in Granada.
Children
This draped-in-velvets-and-silks stay feels more grown-up, but suites do have a sofa-bed kids can sleep on and babysitting can be booked on request. An extra bed can be added to the Grand Deluxe room and Suite (for €26).
Cast your gaze out over Plaza de la Trinidad to the cathedral and beyond with cocktails on the plant-dotted intricately tiled roof terrace and Sky Lounge.
Dress Code
Follow the hotel’s flamboyant design cues: Alhambra-esque arabesques, flowing silks, tactile velvets, antique metallics and a profusion of pattern.
Hotel restaurant
Seda Club is sandwiched between two elegant drinking and dining venues. At ground level, ideally placed for watching the comings and goings in the plaza, the restaurant is a bronzed glamourpuss, with shining panels of the stuff, plus coved ceilings, flattering lighting and plump velvet cocktail chairs and banquettes. It’s overseen by the Castro brothers (Rubén and Daniel), who glean their produce from local markets; you might have kombu-cured, smoked-scallop tartare with caviar from Riofrío village; Motril shrimp tiradito with yuzu vinaigrette and miso salt; confit cod on a bed of cuttlefish stew; or juicy pork rib meat. And stay for the sweets: mango French toast drizzled with white-chocolate ‘soup’, or apple mille-feuille layered with salted-butter caramel. For casual tapas (sheep’s cheese with tomato jam, duck with quince, partridge pâté, croquettes and more caviar) before a big night out, head up to the view-blessed roof terrace.
Hotel bar
Pull up a plush velvety stool at the dazzling speakeasy-style vintage-style bar attached to the hotel’s restaurant. There are glittering wall panels, polished parquet and rows of bevelled lights that make the ceiling look like strings of oversized diamond necklaces. Or opt for somewhere a little more intimate and low-key in the library. The cocktail list is classic and a little cheeky, with the likes of Sex on the Beach, Dirty Martinis and the signature Club Silk Stockings, with rum, condensed milk, cinnamon and grenadine, with a cherry on top. Plus, there’s a cellar-ful of sherries, cavas and largely Spanish wines, including some rich Andalusian reds.
Last orders
Breakfast is served from 8.30am to 10.30am, lunch from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, and dinner from 8.30pm to 10.30pm. Drinks are served from noon till midnight.
Seda Club sits at the edge of Plaza de la Trinidad, a flowering, leafy spot, pretty much dead-centre of Granada, close to the cathedral and a half-hour stroll from the Alhambra.
Planes
Named for the famous Andalusian writer, Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport is the closest hub to the hotel, a 30-minute drive away. On request, the staff at Seda Club can book transfers.
Trains
Granada’s main train station is just a 15-minute drive from the hotel. Part of the Renfe national-rail network, it’s very well connected, with direct links to Valencia, Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and more major cities throughout Spain. On request, a pick-up can be arranged from here. And for sipping around the city, there are several Metro stops within a 10-minute walk.
Automobiles
Typical of historic cities, Granada isn’t the easiest to navigate by car, with some narrow streets and restricted zones, so try two feet over four wheels where possible. But, if you have come with a car, there’s valet parking at the hotel for €30 a night and chargers for electric vehicles.
Worth getting out of bed for
One of the most placid parts of a dizzying city, Granada’s Plaza de la Trinidad is a perfect central base for Seda Club. A pretty, leafy square, where you can sit by a Baroque fountain and idle the afternoon away, it’s also an active hub, where religious processions (such as the eerily intriguing Santa Semana Easter celebrations) pass by. And you’re within walking distance of many major sights – a few steps away, the Renaissance cathedral feels like being cocooned in a Fabergé egg with its ornamental gilding, but it’s a mere appetiser for the visual gorging that awaits at the Alhambra, a 30-minute walk away. If its interiors inspire you to bring some Moorish colour and pattern into your life, close to Seda Club is the Alcaicería, a historic Arabic neighbourhood with winding narrow streets and a vibrant bazaar. After, take a head-clearing walk through the university’s Botanical Gardens. The green spaces only get grander with the Generalife palace and gardens to the east and beyond that the mountainous wilds of the Sierra Nevada national park, where you can ski in season. Realejo may be an antique Jewish Quarter, but local graffiti artists have brought it up to date with large-scale murals, so take yourself on a casual tour before swinging by the Museum of Fine Arts, not only home to important paintings, sculptures and objets, but housed in the Palace of Charles V, which has a spectacular colonnaded patio within. Music fans should take a mini pilgrimage to Placeta Joe Strummer, which was named after the Clash frontman (who loved the city) after a petition from residents – a mural commemorates him here – then hit El Bar de Eric (8 Calle Escuelas), close to the hotel to see up-and-coming rockers play.
Local restaurants
For gastronomy with gusto, book a table at Faralá, where you get a theatrical dinner with a (flamenco) show. The tasting menus show as much flair as the dancers; titled ‘emotion/culture’ and ‘tradition’, they star the likes of roe deer with beetroot and mango, lemony amberjack Moroccan-style curry, and pumpkin with yuzu and payoyo goat’s cheese. Also close by is La Telefónica, a stylish, vivacious spot with stone walls and flowery tiles; its tapas game is strong, with fried rolls of Iberian acorn-fed ham, garlicky eel in a nest of scrambled eggs and straw potatoes, and black-pudding with pear. But, the heftier dishes are a delight too: bourbon-glazed ribs, beef tenderloin with foie gras, red-tuna tataki. Atelier Casa de Comidas bears a Michelin star and likes to play with its food, in serious fashion, of course. Try croissants stuffed with oxtail in Béarnaise sauce; shrimp and pickled-partridge ravioli with achiote-marinated lentils; and heavily marbled Iberian 'pluma' steak with onion 'toffee' and spiced pumpkin. For a more traditional dining experience, venture out to the Sacromonte neighbourhood, where some residents live in caves. Mirador de Morayma is set in a grand country house in the Albayzin district, and – as its name suggests – it has a fabulous uninterrupted view of the Alhambra. Its menu errs towards the old-school, with salmorejo (a cold tomato and garlic soup thickened with bread), cod with almonds and bruschetta with smoked sardine loin and avocado. For full-on romance, secure a table on the garden terrace.
Local cafés
The chefs at tapas joint Los Diamantes are a dab hand with the deep-fryer, delicately crisping up anything vaguely bite-size from the sea – it may not be heart-healthy, but the locals keep coming back for more. Rollo offers a more modern take on Spain’s version of the ‘picky tea’ in a bright, brick-lined space with colourful café stools and tiles. A sociable spot for ham- and tomato-topped toasts, spicy patatas bravas with caramelised onion and regional cheese.
Local bars
To see flamenco dancers strut their dramatic stuff, seek out the tablaos, where you can get a drink and a show. Tablao de las Carboneras is one of the city’s more intimate, where you sit within a castanet clip of the performance, and you can pair your Andalusian wine with jamón and croquetas. Or for more of Seda Club bar’s speakeasy feel, Alexander has throwback style, and with its range of knick-knacks, massive floral displays and higgledy-piggledy paintings, feels like you’re drinking in a curiosity shop. It may be dive-y, but vinyl-lined Loop (on Plaza San Matias) has a killer soundtrack and drinks that won’t deplete your Euros, which is why the locals will happily line up for a spot inside. And in the Albayzin neighbourhood, Bar Kiki is also coolly casual, with an excellent wine selection.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this stay inspired by the colour and opulence of Granada’s 15th-century Silk Road, set by a garden square in the city centre, and unpacked their ‘I’ll wear it some day’ mantilla and coquettish lacy fan, a full account of their break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Seda Club in Andalusia…
So maybe you can’t make a purse out of a sow’s ear, but with Seda Club in central Granada (which translates to ‘silk club’), the Hidden Away Hotels group show that you can make a seductive Silk Road-inspired hotel out of a tired department store. From the moment you enter to settling into your scarlet and cornflower-blue room (or the top gold and green La Alcoba Real suite), to grabbing a classic cocktail on the roof terrace, to sampling the best of local markets in arrays of tapas plates, and hiding out in the spa’s private-hire pool, its service and flow are effortlessly smooth. Opulence is felt in rich textiles, polished woods and marbles, bronze accents and shine-like-a-diamond bevelled lights; and Moorish elements (Alhambra-esque tiled floors, intricately patterned rugs and exotic chintzes) incorporate the city’s past. And, at the edge of leafy Plaza de la Trinidad, you’re just a flamenco flourish from the city’s outgoing drinking and dining scenes, and major sights such as the cathedral – making this a sleek silky number you’ll want to shimmy into.
