San Remo Palace Hotel

DON'T GO. A DISASTER. Not even a decent place to sleep... I went for the weekend of the Enduro event and told them I’d arrive Saturday night. When I got there, they said there was no reservation and the hotel was full, so they couldn’t give me a room. Someone spent half an hour trying to call the manager, but there was no answer. I ended up wandering around Villa Gesell until 4 a.m. before I found another hotel. The next morning, the receptionist said the reservation was there and the night shift had made a mistake. I asked to speak to the manager about refunding what I’d paid for the other hotel, but the manager never appeared or even called. They also wouldn’t refund us because they couldn’t access the cash register without authorization. When I went back Monday, I called the main office, and Ms. Camila was the only one who offered a solution. After repeated messages, they refunded our money for the stay on Wednesday. The room was full of ants, and the bathroom was damp and flooded whenever you showered. Hygiene was poor. People walked through the hotel barefoot, leaving the breakfast area and lobby wet, and nobody said anything.

The location is great. The forest is just outside to one side, and the town center is in the other direction, about two or three blocks away. The place itself is beautiful too. The reception area has windows all around and lots of natural light. The heated pool was especially nice on rainy days, and we could relax in the warm water through the storm. The rooms are basic but functional; ours had air conditioning. It’s very quiet, and the armchairs in the games area are extremely comfortable. There are a few shortcomings in the facilities. The breakfast area feels cramped. With three of us at a table, our chair backs sometimes bumped into people’s chairs at nearby tables, making it awkward to get breakfast. The pool should have something on its bottom to prevent slipping. I saw an elderly woman fall while getting out. The games area has a foosball table, a couple of armchairs, some chairs and tables for eating, and a ping-pong table, but no ball, just the paddles. The services would get 2/5 from me. On arrival, they’d mixed up the room and we had to wait a few minutes. Breakfast runs from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, but it was a total mess. You had to hunt for a reasonably clean table because people left their food behind, and only ONE PERSON, who looked under 20, was serving everyone. Tables took ages to get cleaned, some bread was nearly raw from being so white, and we had to ask for hot water, which is ESSENTIAL at breakfast. You could also buy hot dogs and hamburgers, but the sign was by the self-serve food table. It should be nearer reception so people who aren’t having breakfast, and other guests, can see it. The turndown service worked well. You leave your key, go out, and return to a clean room. Sand and water from going to the beach make the room and bathroom messy, so it was nice to come back to clean, dry spaces with fresh towels and soaps. What the hotel offered was enough for my needs, even if it could have been better.

The location and pool are the only real pluses, assuming there aren’t too many children staying there. When we arrived, I reported ants along the bed’s headboard and a leaking toilet. The toilet had been fixed by the time we got back from the beach, but in the early hours ants were crawling all over the bed. Thankfully, the night receptionist dealt with them using Raid and opened the windows wide so we wouldn’t suffocate. A genius! Just keep in mind that the windows face the pool, so if you didn’t get any rest while he was closing up, forget it. The white sheets were stained or dirty, there’s no air conditioning, and we weren’t given towels until the second night, when I asked whether they were included. For the price, it leaves a lot to be desired. Dissatisfied.

The wiring and fixtures were worrying: loose outlets, a power strip hanging from one and getting hot, and a little TV balanced on a bedside table. Water came through the bathroom light on day one, then it started flickering the next day, so we showered by phone flashlight. The rooms smelled musty, had ants, old sheets, unchanged towels, and no real cleaning. We got just one toilet paper roll each day. The advertised mini-fridge wasn't there either. Breakfast was awful, even the toast. There was only white cheese, and the greasy little croissants were horrible. Cleanliness throughout the hotel was a nightmare. The staff seemed to be doing what they could, though. After I complained, one man after another came in, including someone whose bathroom door wouldn't close properly, haha. Seriously, if you want to relax, go somewhere else and spend a little more. This place is a disaster and feels negligent. It shouldn't be allowed to operate like this. I won't return or recommend it.