Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 3:13 AM
Subject: Our recommendation of the C. Rioja apartments
Good evening.
I have attached our recommendation of your apartments. Please feel free to use it as you wish.
We truly enjoyed our stay and do hope to return to your lovely city and your fine apartments.
"My wife and I just completed (May, 2010) a trip to Sevilla. We enjoyed the city very much and hope to return.
When we do, we will definitely choose to stay in the Rioja apartments.
We have rented apartments/villas in about a dozen cities and villages throughout Europe over the years and have, we think, a pretty good idea of what to expect. In selecting places to rent, we focus on location first and amenities second.
The location of the Rioja apartment in Sevilla was perfect for our purposes.
It is a 5-10 minute, pleasant, level walk to the Santa Cruz area; it is 2-minute walk to the Sierpes shopping street;
it is a 1/2-minute walk to an excellent grocery store in the Corte Ingles and the same distance to a cab stand and a bus stand.
It is a 10 minute walk to the Triana area. It has numerous restaurants (from North African to Andalusian to Italian) within a 3-minute walk.
There are at least 5 ABC stands (selling newspapers—including the IHT, the Guardian and the Times of London) within an easy walk in just about any direction.
The amenities of the 1-bedroom apartment we rented were also excellent.
The bedroom was of a good size and had its own air conditioner and window.
The ventilation through the apartment is superb. The kitchen was good--not excellent.
It is equipped with a two burner stove top, a microwave and an under-counter refrigerator.
If you want to make coffee, chill your yogurt and cheese, cook an egg or some vegetables, it is excellent.
Do not expect to roast a chicken in this kitchen. Rather, plan on eating out most evenings—either at the numerous tapas bars or the restaurants, or both!
The washing machine works well for those (we travel light and wash clothes) who want it.
There’s no dryer but a drying rack is provided.
Ask for the 1-bedroom apartment on 2d floor if you want access to the internal courtyard to dry clothes or, otherwise, use the sun-drenched balconies to dry clothes in other apartments.
The closet space for the apartments exists mostly in the living room area, not the bedroom.
This oddity (at least to we Americans) was no problem for us.
The two large closets held everything we wanted them to and were far more spacious than any hotel you might find.
Another amenity we discovered is the apartment’s owner--Alvaro.
He personally greeted us, gave us good hints on using the washing machine, and, in English, gave us his phone number.
He was particularly kind, friendly and responsive.
One day, the elevator to our floor had a programming error and wasn’t functioning properly.
One text message/mobile phone call produced a repair within hours.
One hint to other renters: if you rent a car, we suggest you don’t use it to get to the apartment.
We suggest renting it/parking it at the Santa Justa train station and taking a cab to/from the cab stand at Plaza de Magdalena (1-minute walk from the apartment).
It will cost you about 6-8 Euro each way (depending on time of day and your driver) but this approach will keep you sane and happy.
Driving on Sevilla’s jigsaw puzzle of one-way (mostly) streets and trying to get from Santa Justa to the apartment or any other place in the city by driving yourself will do the opposite.
We heartily recommend these apartments for a pleasant stay in the beautiful city of Sevilla."
Best regards.
Doug B., Portland, Oregon USA
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 10:46 AM
Subject: Rioja - Guestbook
We just want to write a letter of recommendation for apartment Rioja:
We stayed at the 1 bedroom Rioja last month and It was just perfect.
Manuela was so patient in answering our many questions, even giving us
valuable instructions on where to pick up some simple groceries on a
Sunday. The apartment was very clean, quiet, and comfortable.
It was in a fantastic area with lots of restaurants and shopping, but an easy walk to the cathedral or across the river for tapas.
Because it is on a pedestrian-only street, there is lots of people-watching and it is very quiet.
Honestly, it was not our first choice and so we were stunned when we fell in love with it.
We will absolutely stay there again if we are lucky enough to return to Seville.
Sincerely,
Kimberly & Jeffrey, Sebastopol, California
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 8:32 PM
Subject: Studio Rioja (12-18 Nov)
I just wanted to let you know how wonderful Studio Rioja was--
the location was fantastic, the apartment was very comfortable & well-appointed, & we were altogether delighted with our accommodations.
You can be certain that I'll recommend you to anyone I know who is planning a trip to Sevilla.
We let our son sleep in after we left for the airport early Sunday morning. I hope he left everything in good order!
Many thanks for your hospitality,
Leah P., USA
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 3:22 PM
Subject: RE: Studio Rioja (19-22 May)
To all at sevilla5.com, we would like to thank you for your help with our recent stay in Sevilla and the courtesy and efficiency shown to us by yourselves.
The web site is top class and certainly enabled us to get a very good feel for the city before we arrived.
We stayed at Rioja studio and it was perfect; great location, very clean and safe.
I would like to especially thank Alvaro and Mercedes who were like old friends to us during our stay and who were particularly helpful and welcoming.
Thank you so much for everything. We look forward to returning to Sevilla and will certainly be recommending your website to others.
Again muchas gracias; hasta la proxima,
Martin and Fiona O Shea, Ireland
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:36 AM
Subject: Contact-Form
Howdy! I stayed in one of your apartments (c/ rioja)in the monthof march for a week, and honestly, it was like being at home.
The location was perfect, the premises as promised...overall a great experience.
( ... )
Please, do let me know if you think there will be anything available for me. Thanks!
Soni T., USA
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: departure
Thorsten,
We had a wonderful time in the Rioja apts 2 #1.
It was perfect and very central to everything.
We had to leave this morning and did not know where to leave the keys, So we left them on the table.
The gentleman who greeted us was very warm, welcoming, and friendly!
The Santa Cruz area is very central to everything and we enjoyed our stay very much.
We would enjoy staying at the Rioja apts again upon our return to Seville.
Thank You and Best Regards,
Patricia and Roger, USA
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: Studio Rioja (24-28 October)
Dear Thorsten/Markus,
Thanks for everything. I enjoyed my stay at Studio Rioja very much.
I hope to see you again next year.
With thanks,
Scott, USA
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: Supplies Rioja 3 - 1
Thank you so much for everything. We had a great time and really enjoyed the apartment and the location.
We will be leaving early tomorrow morning and will leave the keys on the table.
The sofa bed is very difficult to collapse back in, so we will leave it pulled out. Gracias y adios!!
Jerome K., USA
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 9:28 PM
Subject: Accommodation
(...) I enjoyed very much my stay in los aptos. de Rioja, 24, en mayo/junio de 2004 -- and would like to have the same apartment, if possible!
Dates can be somewhat flexible. I will attend a conference in Sevilla 17-21 julio, and would like to stay about 3 weeks.
Thanks and hope to see you again,
Kathryn, USA
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2005 8:27 PM
Subject: RE: Apt Rioja (11-15 September) Arrival
Dear Thorsten
Just a short note to say we had a very enjoyable stay in Sevilla, it is a lovely city with a climate I could live with.
Our stay was made even better by the apartment in Calle Rioja, an excellent location,
my thanks for the efficiency with which our stay was handled,
I will certainly recommend Sevilla 5 to anyone thinking of visiting Sevilla Kind Regards
Patrick D., England
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 12:45 PM
Subject: Accommodation
I stayed at the Apartementos Rioja in December last year and was very satisfied.
Returning now, I would happily stay in the same flat, i.e. top main floor + separate bedroom.
Johan N., Norway