Serras Sevilla Opens in Aníbal González's Restored 1915 Palace

A 1915 private residence designed by Aníbal González has reopened as Serras Sevilla, a 43-room design hotel sitting almost directly opposite Seville Cathedral, the world's largest Gothic cathedral and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The building, Casa Álvaro Dávila, stands on Avenida de la Constitución, the wide pedestrian boulevard running through Seville's old town. González, the celebrated Sevillian architect credited with shaping the city's urban character, designed it as a private residence for the Marquis of Villamarta. More than a century later, a meticulous three-year restoration converted the landmark into the Serras Collection's newest property, following earlier openings in Barcelona and Andorra.

Who shaped the interiors?

Spanish designer Eva Martínez handled the interiors, pairing the building's retained high ceilings and original architectural features with bold contemporary detailing. The light, spacious lobby — soaring ceiling, marble pillars, glass frontage — sets a tone carried through an airy courtyard, 38 rooms, five suites and a gym.

Martínez's material palette is deliberately local. Tactile natural materials and warm Andalusian shades of sand, cream and terracotta anchor the hotel in its setting, and nearly every ceramic and furnishing piece was commissioned exclusively for the property from local artisans.

The rooms back this up in detail: headboards made of hand-glazed Andalusian tiles, windows framed by dramatic fringed curtains, and full sound-proofing against the tapas bars, shops and restaurants packed into the maze of streets around the Cathedral. The Superior Catedral room — 26 sq m — frames the Cathedral across the boulevard from the moment a guest wakes. At the top of the scale, the Grand Suite runs to 100 sq m with three separate bedrooms.

What can guests do without leaving?

The hotel's restaurant is Fismuler, the acclaimed concept that started in Madrid, expanded to Barcelona, and now lands in Seville as its third iteration. Its menu changes daily around seasonal ingredients from the Andalusian land and sea.

Above it all sits the Almagra Rooftop, furnished with parasol-shaded loungers and a plunge pool for the Sevillian heat. The bar is, in Wallpaper*'s assessment, fast becoming the hottest ticket in town for panoramic views — with the Cathedral and the La Giralda bell-tower close enough that, as the review puts it, their intricate spires seem almost within touching distance.

Why Seville, and why now?

Serras Collection, a group of intimately scaled hotels in carefully chosen sites, frames the opening as a strategic step rather than a whim. President Jordi Serra Burges said: 'Arriving in Seville is a very special step in Serras Collection's expansion, because it is a city with an extraordinarily distinctive identity, history and way of life.'

He added: 'Its character, beauty and ability to blend tradition and modernity align perfectly with our approach to hospitality: hotels with personality, exceptional locations and, above all, deeply personal service — a form of hospitality built person to person.'

The collection pitches itself as a new benchmark for luxury hospitality built on personalisation. In practice at Seville, that means the hotel team arranges bespoke outings, using native knowledge to open doors and arrange insider access to the city's attractions — a hedge against the fact that, with a cathedral, a Fismuler table and a rooftop pool within one 1915 shell, many guests may not need the doors opened at all.