Hotel Central, Santander

With a small foyer the rooms are accessed by an old rickety lift (elevator). The decorations while ok are nothing to write home about, whereas the breakfast is particularly plain stingy to the extent of charging for additional cups of coffee. The poorest we had in Northern Spain.

The building is painted a bizarre dark blue, but you can’t see that when you are inside and is set in a narrow one-way street, so narrow you can hardly stop to unload your luggage. The reception staff are not particularly friendly and really want you to clear your car from the entrance as quickly as possible, which you want to do so that it does not get hit. Parking in front of the hotel is made more difficult by the bollards strategically placed either side of the entrance, making it almost impossible for two cars to off load at the same time.

I suppose I’m a little biased because when I booked the hotel I didn’t expect to have a car, but later hired one. When I rang the hotel two days before I was due to arrive to cancel my reservation they said I couldn’t because they had already charged my credit card. I found this annoying that they charged the card before my stay. Also the same day I discovered a price via an Internet booking engine 30% cheaper than they had charged me.

In conclusion if you have nowhere else to stay this hotel is ok for cleanliness and basic facilities. I cannot recommend it because of their attitude and behaviour.

We arrived on an early flight and hoped to leave our bags at the hotel until our room was ready. However we were delighted to be able to check in straight away. Our room was pleasant and large, not luxurious, but perfect for us. Best of all it had an enormous terrace
with a fantastic view over the rooftops. We were comfortable and it was nice and quiet too. The hotel is ideally situated about five minutes walk from the bus station and near the promenade. Santander was very enjoyable. We liked the Magdalena headland and the bars and restaurants. The bus system was easy to use and cheap. We would like to go back again.

We stayed at Hotel Central for five days, beginning on 5/25/05. This hotel is in the heart of Santander, Spain. It's just a block or two away from the main downtown shopping district, so it's very convenient. A couple good grocery stores are nearby, if you're in the mood for a picnic or a quick snack. The ocean/bay is about four blocks away, and the walking/strolling areas nearby are very fun. You'll love the beaches, too!

From the airport, it's only about an 8-minute trip into downtown Santander via the local city bus. I believe the rate was 1.50 Euros to get downtown. The hotel was just a short walk from where the bus dropped us off.

The hotel is a true local hotel--not a chain. It has a great deal of local flavor and furnishings, and the room was quite colorful. There is an tiny elevator to take you to the upper floors of the hotel, but we used it only for transporting our luggage. We opted to climb the carpeted, winding staircase instead. I believe the staff knew some English, but since our daughter speaks fluent Spanish, she did all the speaking for us.

We had a triple room, which rivaled the size of most typical U. S. hotel rooms--so we weren't cramped at all. The room contained two twin beds (pushed together), plus one fold-out bed. The pillows were huge, and the bedding was nice, with a down-like comforter underneath the bedspread. Our room had a glassed-in balcony, which overlooked the mostly pedestrian walkway below. The windows could be opened fully for ventilation. This was very helpful, since it was in the lower 80s during our stay. There was no air conditioning or ceiling fan in our room.

I assume that there were wood floors underneath the floor tiles in our room, and they were quite squeaky. They didn't bother us at first, but they became a little annoying after five days--especially when someone was sleeping in a bit. That's probably our only complaint, however.

There was a large closet, desk, chair, and a television. There was no safe or refrigerator--but we didn't expect them. The floor was done in blue tiles, which were mopped every day. As non-smokers, we were concerned that the room might have lingering odors, but we didn't notice any at all.

The bathroom in our room was quite large, with a full bathtub/shower combination, toilet, bidet, sink, hair dryer and toiletries. Shampoo and soap were provided in the dispensers in the bathroom. Everything was very clean, and the shower pressure was fabulous.

There is a dining room area on the second floor of the building, but we didn't eat there--so I can't comment on that. There is also an separate enclosed area where you can access the Internet (fee imposed).

Our overall experience was very good here. If you're not looking for anything too fancy, this may suit you very well. It was a very good value (we paid about 85 Euros a night), and it was very convenient!