Zenit San Sebastian

We had a very disappointing experience at Zenit San Sebastián. Our flight was disrupted, so out of courtesy we contacted the hotel in advance to explain that we would be arriving later than planned. They acknowledged this and told us they would see us the following day. Despite this, they then charged us the full amount for our original stay and cancelled the entire booking. Once we had secured a new flight, we contacted the hotel to ask whether we still had accommodation for the remaining nights, particularly as they had already taken full payment. They refused to refund or to discuss the issue by phone and would only communicate via email through the manager. They would not reinstate the original booking and instead offered us a new booking for the period we still originally booked at a higher price. We were told this was in line with Booking.com policy, but after checking the policy ourselves, we could not find anything stating that an entire booking must be cancelled in these circumstances where the hotel had been notified in advance of a delayed arrival. When we eventually arrived a few days later (as there were limited options for other places to stay at such short notice) at around 12:15am, there was no apology or acknowledgement of what had happened. My fiancé was called back to reception and told that because we had previously had “issues”, we had to pay immediately on arrival, which made us feel very uncomfortable. The room itself was quite nice and the bed was comfortable, and we were given a complimentary upgrade. However, housekeeping was poor. Basic items including toilet paper, coffee and teabags were not consistently replenished, and on one occasion my fiancé had to go down to reception late at night to ask for toilet paper because the room had run out. Unfortunately, the way the booking was handled completely overshadowed what could have been a nice stay. Based on our experience, I would not stay here again.

The ladies who were working on reception on the afternoon 30 August are the best of the best. We had cycled for 2 hours through a rain storm and were overjoyed to finally reach the hotel - only to find that the cycling company had made a mistake with the booking, so we weren't staying at Zenit after all. The ladies went above and beyond to help us - we were cold, soaked through to the bone, and miserable, and they found us big towels, made sure our bikes were safe in the side, managed all the puddles we created on the floor and every surface we touched, and helped us to resolve the problem with the booking - and we ultimately weren't even guests (but we wish we had been staying at this modern, bright, beautiful hotel). Would love to stay here next time in San Sebastien. Can confirm that the bar is great, too!

AVOID! Zenit, you had such potential! The garage! Oh my god! Why is it so dark! I’m all for sustainability but this is insane. Unsurprisingly, I had difficulty finding my assigned lot in the darkness in a convoluted garage. I grant you, the layout is not your fault but at least get the lights turned on for heaven’s sake. If not for convenience, then for safety. And whose idea was it to use white font on a light green background for signs so it’s difficult to read? When I finally found my lot, I then couldn’t find the lift. A man took pity on me and showed me where the light switch was. How can I find the switch if there’s no light?!” All this for €18 a night! I found out the hotel upgraded us, which was nice. The room and bed were nice and big. There were bathrobes and slippers. So I thought “There’s hope for you yet Zenit” Alas, that was not to be ☹ You have to hold the key card at just the right distance if you want to get into the room. There was no milk so no café con leche for me. I used their toothbrush to stir my beverage because there was no teaspoon. You’re a 4-star hotel and you want to charge water at €2 a pop! Seriously!? The shower on the wall could not face forward and the rain shower didn’t work. Then after using the wall shower for 15s, the rain shower decides to work, wetting my hair suddenly and giving me a shock. Oh and the restaurant is closed on Sun. Only cold food with surly service is available at the café. So needless to say, I would NOT recommend this hotel.

Hotel - modern, clean and spacious room with a pleasant bar. Location - spot on. Use the 26 or 28 bus just down the road and it’s perfectly simple. Anyone scoring the hotel down on location, is failing to use a map to ascertain this information before booking making it their problem, not the hotel’s. Excellent all round! Thanks!