| | Oblatas, Santiago de Compostela, 15703, Spain
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Overall Community Rating: |   5.0 (based on 1 user reviews) |
 AC Palacio del Carmen: Not up to the 5 Star rating by Ann Duckenfield |
| Posted 22 October 2007 about a visit in October 2007 | Overall rating: 5.0 |
We booked this hotel for 4 nights for my 50th Birthday as we really enjoy interesting historic architecture and thought a converted Convent sounded just the ticket.
Our first problem was that the street department had changed the traffic flow of Oblates street, where the hotel is located, to one-way. And, of course, the Tourism department hasn't caught up and changed the signage, which subsequently directs you the wrong way down the one-way road to the hotel. Not Good. We went in circles for an hour and a half trying to figure out how to get going in the correct direction on the street, even after an extended telephone conversation with the Hotel's front desk.
The decor is very contemporary and, as others have pointed out, the place has been modernised at the cost of the original features, and felt very...sterile. The room was reasonably clean, but the towel replacement service was sporadic, and a used water glass sat on the desk for 3 days (and was still there when we left). The wardrobe and wall unit would have benefited from a thorough dusting.
Ladies, if you use curling or straightening tongs, beware; the only mirrors are in the bathroom or on the back of the room's door - all far, far away from the wall plugs. I was trying to straighten my hair using my eye makeup mirror! Also, I don't know about you but I found the concept of a glass bathroom door quite off-putting; Ok, it was semi-opaque, but that also means it was semi-transparent!
The staff were a bit stiff. Fernando was nice and spoke English, and one of the ladies in the bar spoke no English but managed to make our hour there pleasant. Our room window opened up into a courtyard garden and we were delighted to be able to shut off the air conditioning and fling open the windows. Too bad that the Kitchen door also opened up into the courtyard and that the night staff and breakfast cooks would stand outside the doors at 4 AM to smoke their cigarettes and have a laugh.
And the hardwood floors seemed charming until the guests in the room above us began to move around (unfortunately they were very early risers!)
The restaurant was good but expensive (£100 for two of us, and that doesn't include any wine!) We found that we could get a lovely meal in the Historic Centre for a third of the cost. Breakfast in the hotel was 13 Euros each. There is a very small luncheon menu that consisted of about 4 over-priced sandwiches.
The Historic Centre of Santiago De Compostella is about a 10 minute walk straight up hill from the Hotel. We are experienced and frequent Pennine hill walkers but I was puffing by the time we arrived at the plaza in front of the cathedral. But there is NOTHING around this Hotel. If you want to eat any place else, get ready to hike up to Franco Street.
On the last night of our stay we were told that they had 'forgot' to mention that there was a 10 Euro a night parking fee, which we thought was rather back-handed.
Right. The bottom line. If you want 5 star service AND historic ambiance, then give this place a miss and book at the Parador. We took a tour of it and immediately thought, “Now THIS is the business!” Everyone we spoke to that was stopping there loved it. The AC Palacio del Carmen was a very expensive 3 and a half star hotel in my opinion.
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