autodidact

We are planning a 4-day stay in San Sebastian in early June. I'm a bit disappointed with the selection of quality hotels available. Avoiding Hotel Maria Cristina as I get the impression it's a bit tired, and Hotel Londres y de Inglaterra seems to get mediocre reviews.
Probably a toss-up between Hotel Astoria 7 and Hotel Villa Soro, so I was wondering if anybody has any experience/views on these, or on San Sebastian hotels generally.
We are flying into Biarritz and will probably hire a car for the duration of the stay, but we're not firm on that as yet.

Robert2533

Villa Soro is probably the nicest hotel in San Sebastian-Donostia, followed closely by the Astoria 7, both of which belong to the same owner and managed by the same group, thus the level of quality. The Villa Soro is a bit more romantic than the Astoria 7, but either would work well for 4-day in Donostia.

The Maria Cristina is in need of a general overhaul, but is still the major destination of the rich and famous. Some rooms have been renovated, but there are still a few to go.

I think the Hotel Londres, no longer part of the Abba Hotel Group, is fine and has one of the best locations in the city. And yes, it receives mixed reviews on some sites, but this is to be expected when dealing with non-professional reviewers.

wj1

We will be staying in San Sebastian in October. We also were unhappy with the options and finally decided to stay at the Maria Cristina but then we found that the hotel would be closed for renovations during our visit. Ultimately, we chose to rent an apartment as we felt that we could get location, better accomodations, etc. than we were able to get with the hotels. Just something you may want to consider. Good luck.

yestravel

We stayed at he Maria Cristina using Starwood points in May 2010 and our room was lovely -- perhaps it was one of the renovated rooms, I don't know. We had a great view and the room was large, nicely decorated and comfortable. Staff were outstanding.

We had thought about staying at Astoria 7 and changed to the Maria Cristina. Glad we did as the location of the Astoria 7 was a bit of a walk to the main tourist area and old town.

autodidact

Thanks everybody for the info. We might take another look at the Maria Cristina.

annesherrod

I would not be quick to discount Maria Cristina,
We stayed there about 8 months ago and had the most amazing room! Huge fireplace, unique marble in the bathroom which by the way was huge, well appointed with fabulous personal care products. We had a view of the sea - Our huge french door/windows opened all the way up for a glorious view of the sea. The bed was fabulous as was the bedding.
Sure, there are areas where it is worn, such as the common area carpet,hall carpet etc...myabe could use some new paint in Lobby. The architecture is beautiful!
The spa is nice as well. We thouroughly enjoyed it and would go back.
Enjoy your trip!

autodidact

OK we have booked the Maria Cristina on a bed and breakfast basis. We may do without hiring a car as the hotel seems so central.

Thanks for the feedback.

yestravel

Definitely dont bother with a rental car -- we paid something like $30 a day for our car in a public parking lot. San Seb fell right in the middle of a 3 week trip so we had a car with us. We never used it in San Seb. Have a great trip!