sms6225

A recent stay report:
Stayed in SS for four nights at the MC on C&P in late May. No construction problems to speak of. Even though we were on C&P, as plat was upgraded to the "Picasso Suite" which was a huge, very spacious corner suite - so I wouldn't necessarily say you need a normal paid rate for a nice upgrade.

The hotel is definitely a "classic" as in, showing some age (specifically the bathrooms). But, it has all the charm and feel of the classic European hotels. Staff was very helpful and tried very hard to make us feel comfortable.

We had a great stay. It did rain quite a bit, but the hotel is nicely located for a short walk to the Old Town, the beaches, the Aqarium. For a very unique degustation of pinxtos, try En Fuego Negro. Very modern, creative tapas. I think it was 8 "courses" for 30 Euros.

We ate at Mugaritz and Arzak, and would highly recommend Mugartiz for lunch over Arzak.

stimpy

Great to hear. And yes, the old city is a short walk from the hotel and pinxos y cidre is world-famous. Just hop from bar to bar to bar trying all the different wonderful pinxos while enjoying the cidre or some wonderful wine.

singtx

Thanks for the review and comments on food. Looking forward to my stay! Will report back in Oct...

singtx

Recently spent two nights. Arrived by car and was immediately helped, they opened my wife’s side and escorted her to the front of the hotel (comes with in/out privileges). Quick and efficient!
During check-in they needed a few minutes, so they escorted us to the bar for free drinks. Great service in the bar, they came to the table and poured us HUGE drinks. Room was ready so we left after finishing our drinks. Bags were in our room. The room was huge and the bathroom was as big as some hotel rooms I have stayed at! Flat screen TV, room was in great condition…All the toiletries were “luxury brand”. Inside the room… a cider and some sweets that we killed. One thing to note…to turn on any lights you must insert your card near the door and leave it until you leave. Situated ourselves, got a map from the front desk and left for the beaches (a few blocks away). The “pintxos” or “pinchos” bars are two blocks away and there are too many to choose from, so go to all of them! Everyone was friendly at the hotel and bar…always asking how we were doing, etc.

CONSTRUCTION IS GOING ON…but we never heard a peep.
There are only two computers in the lobby for customer use and they were always busy. I posted the entire instant awards menu in that particular thread, but they had an semi-extensive list.

Concierge made dinner reservations for us and had directions to the restaurants waiting for us. Great service and I recommend using them pre-arrival and during your stay. We had some amazing meals but some of the more famous restaurants are closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesdays!!

Were going back to San Sebastian and staying here! Great hotel!

Happy travels.

-singtx

Score8

Just finished a two nighter.

Booked a single bed ROH and received an upgrade to a Grande Suite on the fourth floor. Had one bathroom, but a very large oval parlor (no view to speak of).

Room was classically nice. Desk agents were extraordinarily nice (though one of my colleagues didn't get his wake up call) and very helpful.

Shower was a little treacerous in that you had to navigate a fair bit of marble in order to get in it. I suspect there have been some slip and falls historically.

Water pressure was better than average. Bed was firm but comfortable (a little like those at the Sheraton Park Tower but a little softer and more comfortable).

Internet access was really expensive at 19EUR day (waived for me as Plat).

Common areas were also very nice. Hotel was very close to Old Town, so within walking distance of many great tapas options. I ate enough Iberico ham to hold me over for a while.

Overall, I highly recommend this location and hotel.

wcrhkd

My son and I just completed a stay here. Originally, we'd planned on going to Istanbul and Rome - but changed to San Sebastian at the last minute rather than Istanbul.

I had no idea I would fall in love with the area as much as I did.

We flew into Bilbao and took the 65 minute bus ride (12 euros, I think), to San Sebastian. Took a quick taxi to the hotel and were greeted warmly. We were upgraded to a huge top floor suite with a large balcony overlooking the river. Delightful. I was happy to have chosen the local wine for my amenity and we thoroughly enjoyed drinking it while sitting outside. Both rooms in our suite were large, bathroom as well. And yes, there was an ample amount of marble in the shower. I loved the Caudalie soaps and lotions.

The front desk staff is young (with one exception). They are all pleasant, earnest and hard working. They were always quick with a suggestion, and explanation, and always - with an umbrella when needed.

The old town is a very short, pleasant walk away from the hotel. Food was fabulous.....I mean - I'm going to remember this forever fabulous. Borda Berri was one of our favorite places for pinxtos, the carrillera and the risotto were standouts. Both fellows behind the bar were delightful and attentive to us.

We were busy our entire 5 day stay here, there is much to see. I've been to Spain before, but I've never loved it the way I loved this area. We left thinking, "the next time I'm here...".

silentbob1974

We have about 72 hours for our honeymoon in the Basque region before heading to Greece -- arriving in San Sebastian early morning of day 1, then driving down to MAD the early morning of day 4 to catch a 1:00 pm flight to ATH.

Should I book nights #1 and #2 at the Maria Cristina and night #3 at the Marqués de Riscal, or #1 at the MC/#2 and #3 at the MdR?

On the one hand, we're definitely planning to dine at Arzak, Akelarre, et al. and enjoy pintxos during the trip so it would require much less driving to stay up north.

On the other hand, the Marqués de Riscal seems like a much cooler hotel, and taking wine tours/relaxing in a quiet town is quite appealing too. Plus, if we were to stay at the Marqués de Riscal for only the final night, it would really be for only about 18 hours (checking in at 1500, leaving at 0700 the next morning for MAD). That may be too late in the day for a wine tour or anything else for that matter.

Very torn here.

fljbrs

Both hotels are excellent and among my favorites, with incredibly good staff that will help you have the most wonderful stay. MC is a classical luxury hotel, where you can sleep in a room that could have been used by movie stars attending the film festival. SS is a beautiful city, with several of the best restaurants in Spain around....book early and if you go to Akelarre (which I recommend) ask for a table with a view.... For me, although, MdR is more appealing for a honeymoon....the hotel is very cool and magnificent architechture, and the spa has excellent treatments (try the one for couples!!). Maybe you could spend your first day in SS, have either lunch or dinner at any of the very good restaurants around, stay again there for the second morning and have lunch in another good restaurant...and drive to MdR on time for some spa treatment and a light dinner...3rd day have breakfast in your room (this is the hotel with the best breakfast served in the room I've ever seen), go for the wine tour in the property, go for a walk and light lunch, spend the afternoon at the spa and go for a walk nd lunch in Laguardia (much better than Elciego and very close), spend the evening at the spa and have dinner at the gastronomique restaurant in the hotel (excellent, trust me). If you are not much into the spa thing (hard to believe you wouldn't like the wine therapies at the MdR spa), then stay the second night in SS. Anyway, I'm sure you will be very very pleased with both places. Congratulations for your choice.

newbluesea

We did something similar last September... spent two nights at the Maria Christina and then two nights at the Marques de Riscal.
My suggestion would be to spend two nights in San Sebastian and one night in Elciego. In any event if you plan only one night in SS eating at Arazak, Akelarre plus pinxtos is an awful lot of eating in 24 hours.

Both hotels as described are very nice but very different and there are lots more to see and do in SS vs Elciego which has a catherdral as just about the only point of some interest.( ok so you are on your honeymoon)

Perhaps you can do what we did.... by leaving the Maria Christina by 800am which will get to the Marques in time for the 1000am English language winery tour ( trip takes about 1hr 15 mins driving) The cost of the tour is 20E per person which comped however if you are guest.
To book the wine tour just send a message to the hotel concierge I found they were most helpful and will reply quite promptly. You should also make a pre-arrival dinner reservation if you do plan to dine in their very good gastronomic restaurant

As suggested a visit to the small medieval town of Laguardia set on a hill overloking the beautiful country-side would be my afternoon option lots small resturant An added bonus would be is that at the Marques you are a little closer to Madrid.

Make sure you have a good GPS

silentbob1974

Thanks! I just managed to book a flight that now allows us to be in Spain for four nights, though we arrive pretty late on the first day and have to leave early on the fifth day. How late are the places that serve pintxos open? We land in BIO around 2130. If we can get our luggage and rental car quickly enough to reach SS by 2300, is that too late? I've heard great things about the pintxos at A Fuego Negro and La Cuchara de San Telmo, but their websites don't seem to indicate opening hours.

This is probably what we will end up doing. What kind of GPS did you have? We own a Garmin -- if I bought and installed the City Navigator for Detailed Maps of Major Metropolitan Areas in Europe, would that be good enough?

more4less

I can also recommend La Cuchara de San Telmo. Excellent and very creative tapas.
We went quite late because we had a big lunch, but cannot remember exactly what time it was. In any case I guess 2300 should be OK. The problem is that if you plan to go to the hotel, check in and later walk to the place(10/15') it might be tight.

stimpy

I think pintxos y cidre usually only lasts til around 11pm, or maybe midnight on some nights. So you may not make it for that.

As for the GPS, yes if you load a Euro map you should be fine. But I had no problem finding the hotel pre-GPS days. It's pretty easy to get to from the main highway. You just follow the water straight to the hotel. I would print out a Google map if I didn't have a GPS.

newbluesea

I also highly recommend A Fuego Negro and another favorite was Senra on the Gros side.

This site will have all the info on pintxos you could possibly want:
http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php

As far as the GPS goes for San Sebastian finding the Maria Chrstina there wont be problem just follow the river I was more referring to Elciego and if you decide to go to Laguardia.

I have Garmin with City Navigator loaded and it worked great but there are some new roads linking the area around Laguardia to the AP68 which you will be driving to Madrid.

barelyelite

They are closing the hotel for an extended period later this year for restoration.

Per the Starwood website:

Hotel Closure Due to Restoration
From October 9, 2011 through June 30, 2012, the hotel will be closed to undergo a complete restoration.

PatMike

Has anyone found cheaper parking than at the hotel ?

I heard that there is free parking near the university, with easy bus access to the Maria Chrstina.

Any info would be appreciated.