Travel Review: Spain Vacation, Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, History & Art, Food & Wine

Here are some of our issues with the trip. Some of these things were probably out of the control of our travel company due to the events occurring in Spain during our trip and some of these things have nothing to do with our travel company.

1) First hotel in Barcelona charged us a city tax fee when we checked out. According to this company, all VAT taxes should have been paid for. No other hotel charged us a tax when we checked out. The charge was only about $5 so we didn't mind paying it, especially since we had a ride waiting to take us to the train station that morning.

2) We booked an excursion to a Hamman bath in Cordoba. The bath included a massage. However, we were told that there was no time for the massage since they were closing. When we checked their closing time, it was stated on their website that closing was midnight and we were only there until 9 pm.

3) Hotel in Seville was 2 stars (stated right in front of their hotel). Our trip itinerary clearly states that we paid for 3 star hotels in each city. The hotel manager also tried to tell us that our original room wasn't available and asked us to pay $40 to upgrade to a suite. We refused and then were told that we would be given the suite for free---it turned out that they overbooked and had no choice but to give us the suite. The room was also very cheap. Since Seville was our last city in Spain, this had a negative effect on our reflection of the trip. Simply put, you should ensure that your guests stay in a memorable hotel during the last portion of their vacation---this is how you create positive memories for people.

4) Most hotel breakfasts start at 8 am. The pickup time in the morning was also 8 am for most days. This does not make sense logistically. Often times, we've had to ask our drivers to wait 10 - 15 minutes and rushed to eat breakfast.