Beautiful privately gated boutique hotel that gives the feeling of being in the country side while…read morein the heart of San Sebastián. It was about a 20 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride to the center of town. The building, British in style, was built as a family home in the 19th century and forms part of the Historical Heritage of the City of San Sebastián. The hotel keeps the spirit of the period intact, with its large lounges, high ceilings, fireplaces, and a carved wooden staircase. The 25 room villa really felt more like a home than a hotel. We stayed in room 24 which had a charming window with a beautiful garden view. The room was spacious, laden with dark wood which added to the sense of being in a luxurious country side home. Our room on the 2nd floor opened to a beautiful foyer with a huge overhead skylight that allowed natural lighting to flow in. There was an elevator but we only used it twice to bring luggage up and down. Otherwise we chose to use the beautiful carved wooden staircase to immerse ourselves in the essence of the hotel. The restaurant/bar, Eguzki Soro, had the appearance of a country side British bar. Breakfast came with the room and was served there. There was a small menu for lunch and dinner. Outside dining also available. Wonderful staff who helped us with directions and recommendations for places to eat. Big shout out to JM in the bar and Virginia and John at the front desk for going out of their way to give us directions and some gems that we wouldn't have discovered on our own. We would love to stay there again on our next visit. Happy Travels!!

I'm going to start with the downside, because I missed that before booking and it's important. This…read morelovely boutique hotel is pretty far from Old Town. They say it's a 20 minute walk. I didn't time it, but I definitely think it was farther--at least 30 and I'm a very fast walker. And not super fun in the rain. (And it does rain here--a lot). It's not in a very convenient location. That said, they do have complimentary bikes, and it took about 10 minutes to ride to Old Town (ride on the sidewalk until you can pick up the bike path). We took the bikes all over, really, which was really helpful in exploring some of the spots farther away. (Though be warned--these are beach cruisers--no gears!) They also provide locks, and you can keep the bikes out all day. You can also take a bus for around 2 Euros into town, though bus service at night is infrequent. For example, when we left dinner one night at 10:30pm and walked 10 min to the bus stop, it said that the next number 14 bus would come at 11:21pm. Maybe we could have taken a different bus, but it was hard to figure out. So we wound up walking back--maybe about a mile and a half in total? Here's the upside. The lobby and sitting room off the lobby is lovely. We sat and had a glass of wine and olives and had great conversation with some of the other guests. The beds are comfortable, and the bathrooms beautiful, stocked with Molton Brown bath products. Since the water in San Sebastián isn't safe for Americans to drink, they give a few complimentary bottles of bottled water. The service is wonderful--the staff really goes out of their way to make you feel at home. Breakfast is very complete and very good. And served in a beautiful room. If I return to San Sebastián, the only way I would stay here again is if they offered complimentary rides for guests to and from Old Town. That's all that's missing to make this a 5-star experience. Otherwise I would choose a place in Old Town to make it easy to get to all the restaurants, shopping, beach, museum, etc... Oh, and if you do decide to book, request a room in the main house. Apparently they're more charming.

One of my favorite hotel stays in a long time, and a luxury home away from home for my weekend trip…read moreto San Sebastián. I reserved one adult double historical room a few months in advance through my travel agent. You pay in advance and there's a strict no refunds/cancellation policy, so they are very clear up front what to expect. That said, it was a really dreamy experience. I arrived on a Saturday of a busy weekend around 11:30 am and they let me check in early and get to my room immediately, which was a huge plus after a few exhausting days of travel. The hotel is less than 300 meters from the main Old Town pintxos drag, but also removed enough that it's very quiet at night AND attaches to a main road that allows taxis through (clutch if you have heavy luggage like I did.) I ended up being able to walk to 95% of what I wanted to do (primarily eat pintxos across the city) and took a short taxi for the one bit of sightseeing I wanted to do (Comb of the Wind was absolutely worth it.) When I got sick, the farmacia was literally less than a block away. The convenience of this hotel is genuinely unbelievable. Hotel staff are available around the clock to help you with what you need but rooms are also well stocked with amenities to help you really relax during your stay. The shower water pressure was strong, the water steamy and got really hot how I like it, and the room temp was very easily adjustable to my preferred cold temp, which isn't always easy to find. The bed was very comfortable. I got sick right before coming here and spent a lot of the weekend napping, reading, and otherwise relaxing in the awesome bed. The room came with a hot water kettle which I used liberally for hot water and tea to recover from the cold I had acquired. It was a rainy weekend but the hotel offered umbrella rental for these who needed it. The hotel is also adults only, which was a huge plus. On my last day, they arranged a taxi (fixed flat fee of 61 euros, which is a bit steep but the airport is a hike and it was very early) for me to the airport, which was great because taxis are a bit annoying to order at odd times. My one small bummer of the weekend was it was cold and rainy the majority of the weekend so the rooftop pool and bar was closed. I would not hesitate to stay here again if given the opportunity to come back to San Sebastián!

We had a 14-night trip planned across Spain that we had to cancel after our dog was diagnosed with…read morecancer. She will be in treatment for the next year, and travel is not possible. We provided veterinary documentation and explained the situation clearly. Every other property, including five-star hotels, refunded their non-refundable rates immediately once they saw the documentation. This hotel was the only exception. We have received multiple email responses from the hotel, essentially repeating the same explanation over and over again. What I understand from their stance is this: even with a non-refundable rate, they are unwilling to show compassion for a unique and serious circumstance. This is not a case of choosing to stay at another hotel. This is the cancellation of an entire trip because our dog has cancer. The hotel insisted on charging us for the first night unless we returned within three months, which is impossible given the year-long treatment our dog is facing. Our booking overlapped with the film festival, when nearly every hotel in the city was sold out. They could have easily rebooked the room and avoided any loss. Instead, they enforced the charge without regard for the situation. This experience shows a lack of empathy and professionalism. While every other hotel we dealt with demonstrated understanding and fairness, this property chose to prioritize policy over humanity.

Gayle and I loved our recent experience at the Parador de Hondarriba. We got upgraded to a Junior…read moreSuite, with loads of room and a stunning view of the Spanish and French waterfront. There's also the very nice Plaza Armas at the entrance, and lots of walking opportunities within the Old Town and beyond. The only challenge was finding the Parador parking lot before we checked in. But as a helpful citizen advised from our lost position - Arriba - Abajo - Derecha! Parador Hondarribia is a 10th century castle built by the King of Navarre in the early days of the Christian re-conquest. The castle was remodeled in the 16th century by Emperor Charles the Fifth. Napoleon stayed here for some time during the wars between Spain and France and many other notable figures in the history of Spain and Europe have stayed here as well. Beneath the castle, there are apparently various tunnels and passageways. One legend is that "many have entered, never to be seen again." A Spanish version of the Hotel California? And to support that point, the walls apparently creak at night, although Gayle and didn't hear anything or experience any haunted sensations. The Parador de Hondarribia Parador is every bit the castle people imagine and Gayle certainly felt like a princess during our stay. We also admired the monolithic stone walls (still pockmarked by cannon-fire from old wars), and interior decorations of medieval armor, weaponry and tapestries. The Parador also contains many charming nooks and common areas for quiet reflection or soft conversation. That included the outdoor room used for breakfast and a river-view deck for guests only. It was a great Parador stay and one of our favorites. There's only a basic café here, but there's great dining right out the door. Staff were helpful and professional and the other clientele were an interesting bunch. Did we already say that our room was fantastic?

This was a super fun experience for us. It was our first stay in a Parador and I'm glad our friends…read morerecommended it. The rooms were ok, very noisy with paper thin walls but the view was so cool that you didn't care. The staff was very nice and we really enjoyed having drinks in the salon and envisioning what this must of been like when it was first built. I would highly recommend this if visiting the area.

One of the best hotels we've ever had the pleasure of staying. As united airline crew members to…read moretraveling the world with Apple, Google and Sodexho! The service of this staff is as the bar manager Marco stated our team has "emotional intelligence" this is so very true! The rooms, location and restaurants is all so impressive! Thank you hotel Maria Cristina!!

Given that we decided to allocate our entire budget to food in San Sebastian, there wasn't quite…read moreenough left in the coffers to stay here. It's pricey. Really pricey. But we couldn't resist stopping by the lobby bar for a cocktail just to get a taste of what it would be like to be rich and famous and staying at the Maria Christina. Dry bar is like a scene from the great gatsby (at the beginning of the night before Daisy is throwing up all over everyone and it's still classy). Art Deco abounds and all the cocktails are fantastic, with a price that won't let you forget what a swanky place you're in. A drink here throws you back in another era... one in which your great grandma was young and flapper dresses were the thing. It's certainly worth a peek if you've got the dough, just realize a that a few dollars of your steeply priced Vieux Carre is going towards your experience, which is truly one of a kind.

This hotel had some positives and one insurmountable negative. It is in an old building which is…read morevery nice because it lends a little more sophistication to the standard budget travel hotel decor. I booked a standard double room and was put in a lovely room overlooking the bridge and river with beautiful double doors and a Juliet balcony. Another plus was the service of all the hotel staff during our stay, everyone was great from check-in to check-out. Which brings me to breakfast; although a budget hotel the breakfast was fantastic: multiple cheese options, fresh fruit, croissant, many juices, ect. The only negative aspect to staying here was the location. It is an easy enough walk across the bridge to old town, and Bayonne is small so you can pretty much easily walk anywhere, but the neighborhood on the hotel's side of the bridge is a bit blighted and depressing. Also I did see a few unsavory characters hanging around the waterfront, but they did not seem to be bothering anyone. Parking is at the train station parking lot, for which you will need to stop at the hotel first and get the parking pass from reception. The parking garage was a bit old and dodgy looking, but our car was fine overnight (we did not leave anything in it). I would definitely recommend this hotel, but not its location. If I were to stay in Bayonne again I'd stay in old town.

I've stayed here twice now and had a great stay both times. The woman at the front desk was…read moreincredibly kind and friendly and allowed me to check in early which was great because it rained the first day I arrived. The room is nothing special or fancy, but it's clean and has all the things you need. The best thing about the place is the location, right in old town, close to the train station, and the coastline, as well as the hike up the hill to the old fort. If you love San Sebastián like I do, you'll love staying here.

Parma Hotel provides all the benefits of staying in Parte Vieja (Old Town) San Sebastian, with none…read moreof the hassles. Located on the far edge of Parte Vieja, a few blocks away from all of the into-the-early-morning noise of the pintxo bars and drunk revelers, you can count on a good nights sleep. After trying to spend one disastrous, miserable, hot, noise-filled night in a pension in Parte Vieja, we switched to Parma Hotel and couldn't have been happier. The 24 hour front desk is extraordinarily polite, knowledgeable and helpful. The rooms, while small in a typical crowded European city standard, are very clean, comfortable and air-conditioned. Unloading and loading luggage is very easy, using the 2 spaces provided immediately in front of the door for such purposes. Private parking is very conveniently located nearby in an underground parking lot. It is significantly discounted from the public lots and comes with unlimited in and out privileges. If you want to experience the best of San Sebastian--lounging at Playa de la Concha and playing in the waves at Gros, shopping and pintxo-ing in Parte Vieja, touring the harbor, visiting Museo San Telmo, walking the promenade at night, then Parma Hotel is in one of the best locations for all of this. At 130 Euros/night, it was a bit expensive for us, but San Sebastian is the most expensive city in all of the Basque Country as well as all of Spain. If we wanted a comfortable stay in one of the best, most convenient locations available in San Sebastian, we would return to Parma Hotel.

This has got to be one of the best places I've stayed in such a beautiful setting! The restaurant…read moreis not top-notch, but it's understood because all the action is well-situated below the hotel in the city. The rooms were large enough, spotty wi-fi, but such a nice relaxing setting. Good, fair prices and they were really nice to our group, considering we had 16 bicycles to unpack and build in their parking lot prior to our tour of Spain!

Stay here and pay for a room with a water view. A friend and I stayed in a Junior Suite with one of…read moreus on the sofa bed and the other in the bedroom. It was a perfect set up! We both had closets and we could shut the door between the two areas when we needed privacy. We stayed in Room 111 which had a balcony with chairs and a fantastic view of the water and the promenade. The windows were also fantastic. When they were open, we could hear the lively noise of the promenade but when they were closed we couldn't hear a thing. The bathroom was also very nice with a bidet attachment to the toilet. The toilet even had a motion-activated night light. The shower was a little difficult to use without flooding the bathroom. The breakfast buffet was outstanding with lots of pinxtos, fruit, hot food, cold food, and pastries. My friend is a vegetarian and she found plenty to eat. One night we ordered room service and the food arrived within 20 minutes and was very good. The front desk people were also very helpful answering questions we had. The only negative was that we couldn't get the coffee maker in our room to work.

Awful. Rooms on non-seaside, street side noisy with construction going on across the street. If…read moreyou wish to use pools or workout room they charge extra. Avoid.