Monte Ulia Hotel

On 01.01.2026 I was hoping to book just one night on my way back from Portugal to Germany, with breakfast before carrying on. I accidentally selected the wrong date. I contacted the hotel as soon as the booking was confirmed and asked to move it by a day, but they said they were full. I then asked to cancel because it was a mistaken booking. They waited until late afternoon to refuse, citing the hotel’s cancellation policy, and kept the payment for both the stay and breakfast. There wasn’t even a partial refund. I’d stayed there once before and might have returned, but keeping the money seemed to matter more than having a happy repeat customer. That felt greedy and like really bad service.

The location is great, with lots of parking, and the room was clean and modest. It was frustrating that we couldn’t adjust the room temperature ourselves. At checkout, I was told they control it there and that the ceiling fan is just decorative. That would be useful to explain in the room or at check-in.

Getting around to the city centre meant taking a bus or taxi, and I can’t recommend the hotel based on my stay. The breakfast buffet had plenty of options, but the hot drinks were unreliable: tea water got to only 70 degrees Celsius, and the coffee machine didn’t always work as it should. The room was hard to sleep in. Sound carried easily from the next room, and the windows faced a busy street. The furniture was badly worn and scratched, one fan blade was broken, and some of the blinds were poor quality. I had to tape the sides down to stop the morning sun coming straight in. The hairdryer holder wasn’t secured, and some towel rails had rust on them.

Jon at reception made a big difference to our stay. He helped us sort out another room when we decided to add a third night, and gave us great tips for pintxos, drinks, and places to watch the fireworks. The staff were a highlight throughout. We found Monte Ulia a comfortable base for San Sebastián. Gros is around a 20-25 minute walk, and several buses take you farther into town in about 10-15 minutes. We’d booked two nights at first, but liked it enough to extend our stay.