Les Rives de Sokoa

We had a great stay overall, close to an amazing family beach. The sofa bed was comfortable, but its linens were too small and made sleeping awkward. There were some housekeeping problems too: the trash can was rancid and clearly hadn’t been cleaned. The smell came through the whole apartment whenever we opened the cupboard beneath the sink, so we hung a trash bag on the door and emptied it daily. The kitchen was really unequipped: no sharp knife, no salt, pepper or oil, and not even a sponge for washing dishes. Buying those basics adds up, and that money could go toward a nicer place. There’s no oven either, which is a big downside for our family since we don’t use a microwave. We’d stay again, but we’d know to pack kitchen essentials.

A massive warning: I would not stay here. It was an absolute shambles. After a 10-hour car journey from southern Spain, we arrived late to bedding that wasn’t very clean and had dog hair all over it. One adult ended up sleeping in the car. The shower head wasn’t fixed to the wall so my family couldn’t shower properly, and the water was far too hot for an adult, let alone a child who could be burned. When I mentioned these problems while returning the keys, I was told nobody had spoken to them. That felt like a complete lie and deception. I’d hope they might consider some sort of refund, but communication so far has been useless. Good luck, everyone, and remember this is just an honest review. Thanks.

The mattress sagged so badly that even getting out of bed was hard, and its springs creaked whenever we moved. The shower swung between scalding and freezing without us touching the tap; the TV and shower holder were broken, and there were no kitchen cloths either. We’d booked the apartment to get proper rest before the Behobia San Sebastian race. The photos showed a bed, but we found a cramped studio with a sofa bed and a horribly soft foam mattress. My wife was 36 weeks pregnant, and I had a race the next day, so we asked reception to change it. They promised a replacement, but nobody came, and reception shut at 7. We barely slept, which ruined my race and the rest my wife needed. We feel completely scammed. Stay away from this rat hole.

We’d booked a night here, but that morning we got a call that our mother was being taken to hospital by ambulance, so we had to leave right away. We called and emailed, and neither time did anyone even say they were sorry to hear it. All we got was, “this booking is non-refundable.” For such an expensive stay, that’s unacceptable customer service.