Hotel Maria Cristina, A Westin Hotel, San Sebastian San Sebastián - Donostia

I was so happy we stayed here because the bathroom and bedding were to die for after 6 days into our trip. We relaxed, had room service, and a romantic evening.

But it is true about being nickeled and dimed. Coke is $7 in the mini bar. Room service was off the charts (I travel all the time for business and this place really marks things up!).

The rooms are huge, but the common rooms of the hotel need a face lift. Hallways look old and a little dirty. And the guests we encountered were, well... full of themselves and rude (experienced guests cutting lines during both check-in and check-out!!). Staff was very cool, however.

We moved over to the Londres (it was pre-planned not a result of our experience at the Maria Christina) and we very happy there, but I wish I could have take the luxury bed from the Maria Christina with us ;-(

We stayed in Maria Christina for 2 nights in August. We booked a double room on the net (only room in san seb avaiable!) which was expensive (380euro's). When we arrived they where overbooked and upgraded us to a suite. Lovely views, private balcony. For the suite the price was reasonable!We didn't use any of the hotel facilities as it was a bit stuffy and expensive. Lovely biulding, great location, very comfortable but overpriced.

Having just returned from a stay at the Maria Cristina, I am very surprised at the negative reviews that seem to dominate on this site. From the moment of check-in, the staff was professional and very kind (they even gave us an upgrade!). The facilities at the hotel such as the lobby, restaurant, etc. are beautiful if a little worn/tired. However, I enjoyed the historic motif of the hotel and still felt that it was comfortable and functional from a 21st century perspective. Anyway, the most impressive aspect of the hotel was the excellent room we were assigned. It had a huge marble bathroom, king bed, nice furnishings, and a spectular balcony overlooking the river. As an added bonus, the hotel was kind enough to provide my wife and I with a complementary bottle of champagne and some fresh fruit (it was our 1st anniversary). The location of the hotel was also fantastic as it allowed easy access to the excellent beach and the historic district of San Sebastian. Overall, this hotel was excellent and I would not hesitate to stay here again!

HINT: If you are a Starwood Preferred Guest member, this hotel participates in Cash and Points (4000pts and $60 a night) during the spring and fall. This really makes the hotel quite affordable if you have the points. Look either at the Starwood website or call ---- for info from Starwood. Enjoy!!!

First off, the location of the hotel is great. Right in the old city and on the river, yet down near the beach. Second of all, it is a beautiful hotel with large rooms and great amenities. Third, the staff was helpful and very sincere. Finally, the place is expensive - probably more than it needs to be. After some drinks, a meal here and there, etc...you will easily spend around $400 US per day at this hotel.

San Sebastian is just a beautiful, fun, and amazing place.

We spent four nights here at end of Sept. (two rooms, 4 people). One of the rooms had phone that didn't work, and it was never fixed. This is not a 5-star hotel in my opinion. Not only did they charge a lot for everything they could possibly charge for (room service ice, 4 euros for a tiny cup of coffee in the bar, 30 euros for buffet breakfast, etc.) but they have no pool, no spa, no sauna, etc. I thought you had to have amenities to be a 5-star hotel! We have stayed in other Westins (including on this trip) & they were much more reasonable than this one. It got tiresome, and pretty much ruined our stay there. You're also a long way from the beach here.

We thought this was going to the luxury hotel of our whole honeymoon - it was not.

The rooms are nice, quite regal and, of course, the Westin beds makes for a very comfrotable nights sleep - you can't really go wrong with those beds.

However, what a completel rip off. The room rates were the highest of the whole honeymoon and yet this was the only hotel which found every single way to charge us that it could - 2 euros here for the phone card phone calls we made, 9 euros there for internet access (free for all other hotels) 22 euros for parking a night - good grief - 25 euros or so for two coffees in the morning. I ask you, this is ridiculous - perhaps they think most of their guests are spending so much on the room that they don't worry about all the other incidentals.

We paid 177 euros a night, which is low for this hotel, and it was definitely VERY overpriced even at that price.

I thought 5 star meant it had to have extra facilites, this was a 3 star hotel in a very grand used to be 5 star building. It had a bar and a restaurant and that is it.

Go for another hotel if you go to San Sebastian.

The town itself is GORGEOUS though and well worth a visit. Just don't stay here.

The service was terrible. The bellman just stared at us as we pulled our luggage up the stairs after being caught in the rain. The front desk made no effort to seem apologetic when we mentioned this to her. Perhaps it was because it was siesta? The concierge was impatient and rushed through our requests which was unnerving. There is no gym, golf, tennis or swimming pool in or around the hotel. We did try to make golf arrangements which was about 20 minutes away and when we got there it was siesta and it was closed. It would have been nice if the concierge thought of that when he planned it for us. Very unaccomodating and unfriendly. Rooms were nice.

we had the most incredible time in san sebastian, and the maria cristina was the perfect base for our stay. It is right in the middle of everything, an close walk to both beachs, both sides of town, the grocery store, and the old town with all of the fabulous pintxos bars.

If you are offered a rate that includes the breakfast buffet, GET IT.

The food was great, lots of fresh high quality ham, smoked salmon, caviar, champagne, and cheese. It would have been worth the $20/day, although we probably wouldn't have eaten it every day if it wasn't included, since there is so much good food in the city.

The staff was very courteous and helpful. They booked us a table at one of the city's finest restaurants with just a few hours notice, and went out of their way to keep us happy.

We did not stay at this hotel, but I feel compelled to point out that there is what seems to be a permanent protest by locals staged outside the hotel - I would imagine it would make a stay there very unpleasant indeed and I would recommend asking about it before you make a booking.

We spent our wedding night & reception here & can't recommend it highly enough. The service, rooms, restaurant & location are all of the highest order & if you looking to spend some time in the north of Spain, this is the place to do it in style.