SANSEbay Boutique Hotela — Hotel in San Sebastián

Our experience at this hotel was appalling.

The rooms were extremely uncomfortable, and the noise levels each night were unbearable. Even with earplugs, it was impossible to get any sleep. When we raised this with the hotel, they refused to switch our room.

Eventually, we agreed with management that we would move to a different hotel altogether, on the clear understanding that the three-night stay (£1,300) would be refunded. However, once home, the hotel lied and denied that these conversations ever took place. They even misled Expedia with this claim. We have written confirmation from the new hotel, who confirmed these discussions, as well as receipts for our stay there.

The service we received was atrocious—dishonest, dismissive, and entirely unprofessional. The rooms were uninhabitable, and the hotel’s conduct afterwards has been completely unacceptable. I would strongly advise against staying here. To date, the hotel has completely ignored me and only partially responded to Expedia. Unfortunately, we are now having to action S75 card protection to obtain our money back. I would advise anybody not to book this hotel.

EDIT – Response to the Hotel’s Reply:

It is disappointing that the hotel seeks to deflect by alleging damage. The lamp in question was already damaged and reported shortly after check-in. It was not £350 in value; the issue was a minor securing fixture that could be replaced for a few pounds. Attempting to charge us for this was unethical and not our responsibility.

Instead of addressing the genuine concerns raised, the hotel has chosen to criticise my review history. This is irrelevant and only demonstrates the poor level of customer service I experienced. Most people post reviews when service is either exceptionally good or exceptionally poor – unfortunately, in this case, it was the latter.

The suggestion that booking via a third party justifies poor treatment is also unacceptable. Expedia has confirmed the hotel’s refusal to honour the refund that was promised in person. That is not defamatory; it is a factual account of what occurred.

To be clear: we were forced to leave after two nights because the hotel was so noisy that sleep was impossible. The hotel declined to move us and instead agreed, at their expense, that we could relocate elsewhere. That promise was not honoured, and instead an unfounded damage allegation was made to avoid a refund.

As a Platinum Expedia member who has never before encountered this kind of conduct, I find the hotel’s stance highly unprofessional. Expedia has already compensated £250 for the inconvenience and confirmed their support. My bank is now processing a Section 75 claim, meaning a full refund will be recovered with or without the hotel’s cooperation.

This entire situation could have been avoided if the hotel had kept its promises and responded transparently. Instead, the approach taken has left a very poor impression. Based on my experience, I would strongly advise others to avoid this establishment. It is of note, their response to this review, is the first communications...

Terrible - I am editing this comment following the response from the hotel. While at the hotel I complained via email about the treatment I had received from a staff member on reception. The email response oddly came from the same person who was rude to me in the first place, and, from the words used, is the same person who has written the response on this post. The hotel clearly has no senior manager overseeing the customer feedback system. Platitudes meaning nothing. In short they had falsely advertised their room on the web site, charged too much as it was peak season and they could, there was no fault with the aircon - it was simply too small, and they were very rude when asked about it. Importantly nothing will change as they clearly don't have the processes in place to change. Below was my experience - Booked into one of their 2 bedroom apartments. On the 3rd party platform the apartments looked spacious and offering sea views. In reality it was very small, cramped and no view. The main issue however was the small aircon in the living space did not ventilate the bedrooms which were down the corridor. In 37 degree heat this was a problem. When I asked if anything could be done, I was rudely told I had got exactly what I had paid for. At $700 a night this was not acceptable. Finally found one staff member who arranged small fans to move air around the apartment. Not a...

Pros: The service was really nice, helpful with any questions, greets you with a glass of wine at check-in while explaining everything, etc. The location is also amazing, right on the edge of Old Town walkable to all the bars and restaurants, but also right on the edge of the bay next to the water. Despite it looking like it might be a loud location with tons of young people drinking outside the bar next door, our place faced the back alley and was super quiet. The 2-bedroom apartment is a great option when traveling with 2 couples, complete with little kitchenette and living space — this was really the biggest reason I picked this spot.

Cons: While the 2-bedroom apartment is quiet because it faces it the back streets, that means it also doesn’t have much of a view and one of the bedrooms is super dark. My hair dryer stopped working after 1 minute, the coffee machine leaks, the internet is very spotty, and the beds and pillows are some of the hardest...