Hospes Palacio de San Esteban, a Member of Design Hotels
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Hotel Details
Location
Salamanca
Spain, Europe
Brand
Design
Hotel Group
Marriott
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Key Highlights
- ✓Exceptional Service:** The staff receives widespread acclaim for being "excellent," "very friendly and professional," "helpful," and "charming."
- ✓Amenities:** Highlights include a seasonal outdoor pool with stunning views of the cathedral, private parking, free WiFi, a library, and a terrace perfect for relaxing.
Expert Review: Hospes Palacio de San Esteban, a Member of Design Hotels
Hospes Palacio de San Esteban, a Member of Design Hotels, Salamanca, Spain, is consistently lauded as a luxurious retreat that masterfully blends its 16th-century convent origins with contemporary design and amenities. Recognised as a Michelin Key Selected property, it offers guests a remarkable stay in the heart of Salamanca's historic center.
Overall Rating & Sentiment
The general consensus for Hospes Palacio de San Esteban is overwhelmingly positive, with guests frequently rating it as "wonderful" or "superb". On major booking platforms, it achieves high scores, such as 9.1 out of 10 based on thousands of reviews. The sentiment is largely appreciative of its historic charm, excellent service, and prime location.
Key Highlights
Guests consistently praise several standout features of the hotel:
- Historic Ambiance & Design: Housed in a beautifully renovated 16th-century convent, the hotel showcases thick stone walls, vaulted ceilings, and exposed natural wood, exuding a timeless Castilian charm. The interiors are elegantly restored, creating a romantic atmosphere, especially with candlelight.
- Exceptional Service: The staff receives widespread acclaim for being "excellent," "very friendly and professional," "helpful," and "charming."
- Prime Location: Its location in the UNESCO-honored old city is considered perfect, situated on one of the central plazas and just a ten-minute walk from Plaza Mayor and other iconic attractions like San Esteban Convent and the Old Cathedral of Salamanca.
- Amenities: Highlights include a seasonal outdoor pool with stunning views of the cathedral, private parking, free WiFi, a library, and a terrace perfect for relaxing.
Room Quality
The rooms at Hospes Palacio de San Esteban are generally described as very comfortable, cool, spotless, and spacious. They often feature exposed wood-beamed ceilings, charming shuttered windows overlooking courtyards, and mosaic-tiled bathrooms. Beds are consistently noted as "super comfortable" or "exceptionally comfortable," and rooms include amenities like air conditioning, flat-screen TVs with streaming services, minibars, and tea/coffee makers. Some guests, however, have found certain rooms to have a "dull sand-grey decor" or to be a "little gloomy" due to small windows, and some bathrooms, while "old-style" in their intentional design, were not universally preferred over modern walk-in showers. Some rooms also have an opaque glass door between the bedroom and a small bathroom, which some guests found to lack privacy.
Dining Experience
The hotel's restaurant, El Monje, is situated in the convent's original kitchen and wine cellar, featuring stone arches and a wooden floor, offering a unique atmosphere.
- Breakfast: The breakfast often receives high praise for its quality and variety, including excellent bread and fruit. It can be served al fresco in the leafy courtyards when weather permits. However, some guests have noted the breakfast can be "extremely expensive."
- Dinner: El Monje offers Spanish and Castilian cuisine. Reviews for dinner are generally very positive, with mentions of "outstanding food and service," "superb regional cuisine," and "delicious food" with "amazing" flavors. Specific dishes like anchovies with peppers, foie with gingerbread and apple, suckling pig, and suckling lamb have been highlighted as fantastic. However, some guests have found the dinner to be "overpriced," with occasional inconsistencies in service or food quality, and a noted lack of vegetable options.
Service & Staff
The staff at Hospes Palacio de San Esteban are a recurring highlight in guest reviews. They are described as "excellent," "very friendly and professional," "helpful," and "charming." Guests appreciate their welcoming nature, attentiveness, and willingness to assist with any requests. The exceptional hospitality contributes significantly to the overall positive experience.
Location & Accessibility
The hotel boasts an "excellent" and "perfect" location in the old town of Salamanca. It's situated right next to the Church of San Esteban and offers easy walking access to major attractions such as Plaza Mayor, the Old and New Cathedrals, Palacio de Fonseca, Torre del Clavero, and La Casa de las Conchas. For guests arriving by car, the hotel offers private parking, which is considered good and convenient. The property is also wheelchair-accessible, with an elevator and ramps.
Value & Pricing
While the hotel is recognized as a 5-star property, some guests consider its pricing, particularly for certain aspects like breakfast, to be on the higher side. A double room with breakfast might be around €180, suggesting that more prestigious rooms could offer better value for a "wow factor" experience. Overall, many guests feel it offers good value for a luxury hotel given its historic nature, amenities, and prime location.
Common Complaints
Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback, some recurring issues or criticisms have been noted by guests:
- Room Aesthetics: While generally positive, some guests found certain room decors, particularly the "sand-grey" color scheme and small windows, to make rooms feel gloomy.
- Bathroom Design: A few reviews mentioned the "old-fashioned" decoration of some bathrooms and a preference for more modern walk-in showers. The opaque glass door between the room and bathroom in some accommodations was also noted as an issue for privacy.
- Dining Consistency/Pricing: While dinner at El Monje generally receives high marks, some guests found it to be "overpriced" or experienced slow service, particularly when the restaurant was not busy. The cost of breakfast was also mentioned as a point of concern for some.
- Atmosphere: One guest felt that a recent restoration had removed some of the "special atmosphere of an old monastery" in favor of a "very unimaginative" brown and cream palette in corridors, making it "sadly lacking in atmosphere."
- Pet Policy: While pets are allowed, some guests found the hotel's rules for dogs to be quite extensive and felt that dogs were "tolerated rather than welcomed," especially compared to other hotels.
Sources
Points to Consider
- •Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback, some recurring issues or criticisms have been noted by guests:
