Silken Gran Hotel Durango

The room was warm and clean, and I’d stay here again if I’m back in the area. I was only here one night. Some of the room details were looking worn, though, with wallpaper peeling away in places and the bathroom door starting to delaminate. The hotel’s exterior and shared open areas are very nice.

The hotel itself was fairly decent, and it has a spa. The real letdown was the restaurant. The food may look appealing, but it arrived cold and was bland, with limited choices. Service was appalling. I wouldn’t come back.

The hotel is pleasant, the staff are nice, and our rooms were clean and comfortable. It’s about a five minute walk from the centre of Durango, and the breakfast buffet was superb. I also liked the spa. €18 for 75 minutes in the thermal suites seemed fair. Still, after the trip the hotel contacted me asking me to pay for the spa again, even though I’d paid there and sent them the receipts. They apologized, but hadn’t checked their own system first. We were a group of 16 from Ireland staying three nights while doing the Camino Del Norte. Two weeks before we left, we were told that all of us had to order the same main course. That wasn’t workable for a group with people who don’t eat fish or meat. We repeatedly asked them to offer us a set menu and they kept refusing, saying their association with the top chef in Spain meant they wanted the same standards for every restaurant guest, including large groups. They eventually let us order two weeks ahead, but the choices were cod or pork. We ate at the hotel only on our first night, and I was glad that was all. If you’re travelling as a group, I’d look elsewhere, or avoid the restaurant unless everyone is okay with the same main course. I wouldn’t stay here with a group again if the same dinner rules apply. The room WiFi was crap, so don’t expect to watch Netflix or stream anything.

The hotel is lovely and well located. We had comfortable beds, a nice bathroom and a minibar, and the rooms were fine. Breakfast was fresh with plenty of choice. We had dinner there one night too, and it was very nice and reasonably priced. I’d probably stay again, but I’d bring an extension lead. We chose the hotel for a four night mountain biking stay because its website mentioned bike storage. It turned out to be a shed without electricity, a problem for our e-bikes that needed charging overnight. Of the three plugs in the underground parking, only the one behind the bins worked. Staff didn’t have an extension lead or plug when we asked, and they were so unhelpful that they couldn’t or wouldn’t help find a solution. We ended up spending Sunday morning searching for an open shop, which is rare in Durango, that sold extension leads. We got lucky and found one. Later, back at the hotel on Saturday in the foyer, we saw extension plugs all over the place. English isn’t widely spoken in the North, so perhaps something got lost in translation. That’s why I gave service only two stars. A couple of other things were frustrating. There were no slippers in the room, and the spa, which is lovely, only lets you in wearing flip flops. We had to pay 6E for those on top of the 18E spa entry. You can only use one towel, and the woman there was very insistent, bordering on rude, about enforcing that. As hotel guests paying extra for the spa, I don’t think asking for a second towel is unreasonable. The outdoor pool was also closed, and that wasn’t mentioned on the website when we booked. We’d deliberately picked a place with a pool.