Some years ago our daughter spent sometime in San Sebastian as part of a student exchange, she thought it might be worthy of a visit by the oldies. I had not spent much time in Northern Spain and decided it was time for a change, the Basque reputation for food also helped.
The hotel is located not too far from Ondarreta beach, the walk back after an evening's entertainment can be tricky- it is a little uphill, it is ok in flatter shoes!!! It is a reasonable walk to the Parte Vieja with its mass of tapas bars, about 25 minutes going, coming back depends on the cider.
Externally, the hotel looks like an apartment building,initially I thought I was in the wrong place.Check in was ok, staff were not over friendly. Our room was snug but had a balcony which was most welcome. The room was modern, the bed was firm and the bathroom whilst small was clean and had the hairdryer!!!!
We had an issue during first night with the air condtioning, it warmed rather than cooled after a night on the local cider this meant no sleep and next morning after some debate and a visit from hotel maintenace we were moved.I did feel they could of handle things better, maybe my grumpyness and dodgy Spanish didn't help.
There was a large public area with a pool table and a bar, the staff in this area were exceptionally friendly and helpful.
Overall, air con aside, we enjoyed our time in San Sebastian, it is a city well worth visiting patricularly for the food from the humble tapa to the best michelin starred food it is exceptional.
- Barcelo San Sebastián Donostia
- Barcelo Hotel Costa Vasca
