Akelarre - Relais & Châteaux

Beautiful hotel, amazing breakfast

My husband and I initially intended to visit Akelarre only for lunch at the 3 Michelin starred restaurant and return to San Sebastián old town. But after some thought, we decided to fully immerse ourselves in the Akelarre experience and also booked spa treatments and an overnight stay to enjoy the terrace at sunset. This was the way to go. From the concierge, to the spa staff, the terrace waiters, and everyone at Akelarre restaurant, a truly visionary experience was delivered. While each of these experiences were excellent on their own, the relaxation invoked by the skilled spa staff, the legendary meal and service at Akelarre restaurant, the continuation of cocktails and atmosphere on the terrace, culminating with the enjoyment of a golden sunset from our room balcony, all I can say is it was simply perfection and a time we won’t soon forget. Thank you to everyone at Akelarre for delivering such an impeccable and genuinely warm and exceptional experience.

This review would easily have been 5 stars were it not for one (rectifiable) flaw - the spa needs an upgrade. The hotel does not have an outdoor swimming pool or access to the ocean, so this is particularly important. However, there is only a sauna, steam room, and hydrotherapy pool. The sauna is tired and not what I would consider premium spec; it is out of keeping for a hotel of this calibre and price. Also in the hydrotherapy pool, one of the taps was hanging off for the duration of my stay, so maintenance standards are questionable. With that said, the hotel itself is absolutely spectacular. The setting and views are amazing. The food is also superb, albeit I was disappointed to find that the main restaurant (3 Michelin stars) was fully booked, largely by diners not staying in the hotel. I would have thought, given the prices of the rooms, that an allowance would have been made for that. Nonetheless, I would stay again. As with all hotels, what really makes Akelarre is the staff. Everyone was very friendly, helpful and professional. In particular, Laura on breakfast service was outstanding. I imagine that if she chooses to stay in the hospitality industry, she will go very far indeed. Bravo.

Clothing stolen and room accessed by staff twice with do not disturb in place. Very upsetting and ruined our stay at what was otherwise a premium hotel.

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.