Akelarre - Relais & Châteaux

“A Luxury Escape at Hotel Akelarre”

Great stay at Hotel Akelarre…spectacular view , rooms are sleek & super comfortable and the staff made everything easy.A perfect way to relax enjiy tge scenery and treat yourself. Tge highlight of our stay was dining at Akelarre Restaurant - food is amzing!!! Highly recommend…

“Gorgeous hotel outside of town”

Gorgeous property, grounds and location. The only thing that didn’t fit in was the front desk check in process and area. That could use improvement since it has motel vibes within a gorgeous 5 star property. The rooms are huge. They are so clean and so nice. The view from the balcony is stun… more

Gorgeous property, grounds and location. The only thing that didn’t fit in was the front desk check in process and area. That could use improvement since it has motel vibes within a gorgeous 5 star property. The rooms are huge. They are so clean and so nice. The view from the balcony is stunning and sitting outside and just listening to the sounds of nature makes it extra relaxing. The concierge and bell boy were super helpful and kind. Very friendly. Breakfast was delicious and with a ton of options. Overall I’d say this property is well worth the splurge.

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“5-star hotel, 3-star level of service”

My husband and I just finished a 5 night stay at Hotel Akelarre. Overall, we had a good experience with the actual room and location but a very average experience in terms of level of service for a 5-star hotel at such an expensive rate. Pros - Gorgeous location, perched on a mountaintop overlook… more

My husband and I just finished a 5 night stay at Hotel Akelarre. Overall, we had a good experience with the actual room and location but a very average experience in terms of level of service for a 5-star hotel at such an expensive rate. Pros - Gorgeous location, perched on a mountaintop overlooking San Sebastian - Rooms were clean and spacious - Sunset views were unparalelled - 3-Michelin star restaurant Akelare is on property (though need to make reservations well in advance and separately), and it lives up to the number of stars Cons - Level of service left much to be desired: despite having only 22 rooms, breakfast was painstakingly slow and none of the staff recognized us even though we went to breakfast and entered/exited the hotel every day. By contrast, we stayed at similar size & star level hotels in Barcelona and Sevilla and received much better service that felt a lot more welcoming. - The place felt more like it was optimized for people who were going to the restaurant or going to the property to have drinks to enjoy the view. At bare minimum, I would have expected that the staff would recognize who was staying at the hotel vs. who was a temporary guest there for drinks and treat us differently...but no, one evening upon going down to the terrace level to enjoy the sunset, we were told that we could only sit there if we planned on purchasing a cocktail, even though when we checked into the hotel, we were told that we could enjoy the terrace level for getting some sun. - Hotel restaurant food is good but pretty overpriced. You're in a bit of a food dessert that high up the mountain. - Hotel staff will tell you to take taxis into town as the primary mode of transport, but don't listen to them: TAKE THE BUS! It's about 20 euro each way for a taxi, and less than 2 euro each way for the public bus (even less if you get a bus pass). The bus is super convenient, has two stops close to the hotel (which the staff did not tell us about), and runs about every 30 minutes during the day.

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“Beautiful property, wonderful staff, but misleading room descriptions”

Modern and stylish hotel with exceptionally friendly staff. Everyone we encountered was helpful, accommodating, and truly went the extra mile. The rooms are spacious, all offering ocean views, and the spa treatment was both relaxing and enjoyable. That said, two aspects could be improved. First, t… more

Modern and stylish hotel with exceptionally friendly staff. Everyone we encountered was helpful, accommodating, and truly went the extra mile. The rooms are spacious, all offering ocean views, and the spa treatment was both relaxing and enjoyable. That said, two aspects could be improved. First, the cocktail program falls short of what you would expect from a hotel associated with a 3-star dining experience. Second, the room design and descriptions are misleading. The "Panoramic Deluxe" category is advertised as offering a wide, panoramic ocean view, and all photos on Expedia show that specific layout. However, not all "Panoramic Deluxe" rooms match this description. Some are simply a slightly larger version of the lower-tier "Double Horizon" category, without the true panoramic layout. When we raised this concern, the response was that room configurations vary and no alternative "Panoramic Deluxe" room was available. This was especially disappointing given the +20% price difference. In reality, we received what could be described as a "Premium Double Horizon," offering only about 10m² more space than the regular version. This feels misleading and is not acceptable for a hotel of this caliber. The property should update its room categories with clearer sub-types and transparent descriptions to avoid future guest frustration.

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