Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
I recently spent three nights at Hotel Maria Cristina, a Marriott Luxury Collection property. The hotel is located in beautiful San Sebastian, Spain, in Basque country. The 139-room property is typically regarded as the best hotel in the city, and it also has quite the history, dating back all the way to 1912. Best of all, it’s part of Marriott Bonvoy, so you can earn and redeem points.
We had an excellent stay at Hotel Maria Cristina, and I’d say the hotel met my (high) expectations. The hotel has an ideal location, blends a historic design with modern comforts, has solid food and beverage outlets, and friendly service. Perhaps my only criticism is that the hotel doesn’t have a spa or pool, in case that’s something you value.
By the way, we paired this stay with a couple of nights at Hotel du Palais, a Hyatt Unbound Collection property, in Biarritz, France. San Sebastian and Biarritz are roughly a 45-minute drive apart, so I highly recommend this combination.
In this post:
Booking Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian
Rates at Hotel Maria Cristina vary wildly throughout the year, as you’d expect for a leisure-oriented property in Europe. Rates for a base room range from under €300 per night in the off-season (winter), while they can go for upwards of €1,000 per night in peak season (summer).
We were staying for a few nights in July, where the cash rate would’ve been €1,100 per night (admittedly this is absolute peak season in San Sebastian). I ended up redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points for our stay, at the rate of 107,500 Bonvoy points per night. Personally I value Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, so this was a better deal than paying cash, but not some slam dunk redemption.
If you are going to book a cash stay at Hotel Maria Cristina, I’d recommend doing so through the Marriott STARS program, offering additional perks like a room upgrade subject to availability, a $100 hotel credit, complimentary breakfast, and more. Ford and his team are happy to help with these requests, and can be reached at [email protected].
Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian location
Hotel Maria Cristina couldn’t have a more central location, as it’s right in the heart of the city, on the banks of the Urumea river. From Hotel Maria Cristina you’re within walking distance to endless restaurants, bars, and shops. Hotel Maria Cristina is arguably one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, and it’s a sight that even non-hotel guests want to see.
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By the way, I just want to mention how much I enjoyed our time in San Sebastian. It’s such an approachable and beautiful city, and it might just be my favorite place I’ve visited in Spain.
San Sebastian is known for its amazing food scene, and in particular, for its tapas spots. We were traveling with friends who were intimately familiar with the city, and that always makes a trip better. They knew exactly where to go. The whole tapas culture here is so fun, as you can just roam from bar to bar, having a drink and snack at each.
I enjoyed San Sebastian so much more than I was expecting to, so I can’t recommend it enough. Admittedly having someone who can play tour guide at a destination always helps with making a trip special.
Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian lobby & check-in
Hotel Maria Cristina has one of those lovely, grand, old world lobbies, that you’ll mostly only find at historic properties in Europe. I love these kinds of spaces.
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Our arrival experience at the hotel was great. As we pulled up in a taxi, a bellmen immediately assisted us with our bags and asked for our last name. When we arrived at reception, I was then greeted by name, so that’s a pretty seamless arrival experience.
The property’s amenities were explained to us, and I was also thanked for my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status. I had used three of my Nightly Upgrade Awards (available through the Choice Benefits program) for the stay. I requested the top suite category possible with the program, which was a one bedroom terrace suite with a river view, and that was approved three days before our arrival. Score!
It seems to me like this hotel has great elite recognition in general. For example, some of the friends we were traveling with had Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, and received an upgrade to a huge suite without applying any sort of upgrade certificate.
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At the conclusion of check-in formalities, we were escorted to our room. The hotel goes from level minus one to level five, and our room was on the top floor. The hotel’s elevators and grand staircase are located right down the hall from reception.
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Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian terrace suite
Once on the fifth floor, we headed in the direction of room 510, located at the very end of the hall and on the right.
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Terrace suites at Hotel Maria Cristina are marketed as being 958 square feet (or 89 square meters), so they’re generously sized. As you’d expect based on the name, the most impressive aspect of these suites are the outdoor space.
The suite featured an entryway leading into the living room. The living room had a couch and two chairs, and just generally had a nicely restored historic design, from the chandelier, to the wall and ceiling finishes.
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There was a minibar in the living room with drinks and snacks for purchase (there were several bottles of complimentary water as well).
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There were then double doors leading into the bedroom. The bedroom was probably even bigger than the living room, and featured a king size bed and a desk with a chair. The bed was exceedingly comfortable for Europe, with a soft mattress and plush sheets.
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There were then (narrow) double doors leading into the bathroom, which boasted double sinks, a soaking tub, and a walk-in shower.
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While the shower had excellent water pressure, the issue was that it was elevated above the rest of the bathroom, so water would leak out. Eventually I figured out that the water pressure was simply too good, to the point that the drain couldn’t keep up with the amount of water. So lowering the pressure a bit avoided the flooding issue.
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Toiletries were from Byredo, and were in reusable containers.
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There was also a room off to the side with a toilet and bidet.
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Now let’s move on to the highlight of the room, which was a massive, wraparound terrace. My gosh, what a treat it is to have an outdoor space like this at a hotel. The terrace had two separate sets of chairs and coffee tables, plus a dining table with four chairs.
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But most impressive of all was the views… wow!
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Shortly after checking into our room, we were brought a welcome amenity, with a half bottle of wine (from Marques de Riscal, which is also a Marriott Luxury Collection property), plus some chocolates.
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When we arrived in the room, I noticed the air conditioning wasn’t working well in the living room, so I immediately asked for maintenance to take a look. They determined that there was an issue whereby the temperature had to be adjusted remotely.
This wasn’t a big deal at all, since it wasn’t terribly hot during our stay, and the bedroom air conditioning also worked properly, which was most important. Nonetheless, the hotel sent up a bottle of sparkling wine and some more chocolates as an apology. That’s impressive service recovery, which reflects the generally high level of service I found at this hotel.
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One other quirk is that the rooms at Hotel Maria Cristina don’t automatically have coffee machines. However, upon asking about this, they gladly brought one up. Does anyone know the backstory here, because that seems odd for a luxury property, no?
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In addition to the in-room coffee machine, the hotel also has complimentary coffee in the lobby in the mornings, so that’s a fair alternative.
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The only other thing worth mentioning about the room is that the Wi-Fi was sort of intermittent. It worked well most of the time, but sometimes it was excruciatingly slow, so that’s something to be aware of, if staying connected is important to you.
Anyway, all-in-all, I couldn’t have been happier with our terrace suite. What an absolute treat, especially when traveling with friends, and being able to use the outdoor space.
Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian gym
As mentioned above, Hotel Maria Cristina doesn’t have a pool or spa, which is probably the only real drawback of the hotel, as I see it. However, the hotel does have a solid fitness center, located on level minus one.
For a historic property, the gym is fairly impressive, with a huge selection of cardio equipment, plus an okay selection of weight equipment.
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My only annoyance with the gym was how light the free weights were. The heaviest free weights were 14 kilograms. Getting a proper set of free weights can’t be that expensive, so I don’t understand why this is so commonly an issue at hotels.
Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian breakfast
Hotel Maria Cristina serves breakfast on weekdays from 7:30AM until 10:30AM, and on weekends from 8AM until 11AM. It’s served in a dedicated breakfast room, just off the lobby. How gorgeous is this space?!
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Breakfast was included on account of my status. Those with breakfast included can help themselves to the buffet, and can complement that with a selection from the menu.
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Cold breakfast options included fresh fruit, pastries and bread, cereal, yogurt, cold cuts, and more.
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There was also a selection of hot options, including several types of eggs, bacon, sausage, veggies, and more.
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Then there was the menu, which you can find below.
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One morning I had the txangurro omelet, while the other morning I had the avocado and salmon toast with a poached egg.
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Drinks were available from the attentive and friendly servers, and I enjoyed the freshly squeezed orange juice, filter coffee, and cappuccino.
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Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian lobby bar
Hotel Maria Cristina has Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas, which is the hotel’s all-day lobby bar. It’s open daily from 11AM until 11PM (and until 12:30AM on Fridays and Saturdays). This serves everything from coffee, to wine, to cocktails, to light meals.
It’s a pretty space, and you can either sit in the main part of the bar, or there are tables along the hotel’s lobby corridor, where you can sit as well.
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We had pre-dinner drinks here one day, and they were excellent, and were also served with tasty snacks.
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Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian Cafe Saigon
While we didn’t have a chance to eat there, I wanted to highlight how Hotel Maria Cristina also has Cafe Saigon, open for lunch and dinner. This restaurant is well regarded, and serves a variety of Asian cuisine, including from Vietnam, Japan, and more.
As much as I love Vietnamese food, we figured we’d mostly stick to Basque cuisine while in San Sebastian, so we didn’t have a chance to dine here.
Bottom line
We had an awesome stay at Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian. This is the best hotel in the city, and it has old world charm combined with modern luxuries. The hotel has a central location, impeccable service, a great breakfast, and beautiful design.
Now, to be fair, this hotel isn’t going to change your life, and in peak season, the hotel doesn’t necessarily represent some amazing value. However, the pricing is more reflective of the popularity of San Sebastian in summer, rather than anything else.
To me, these kinds of properties are what make me like Marriott Bonvoy. It’s nice to benefit from a property being affiliated with Marriott, without actually feeling like you’re staying at a hotel affiliated with Marriott.
So yeah, if you’re visiting San Sebastian and can swing it, I’d recommend Hotel Maria Cristina. Though having now visited San Sebastian, let me say that I’d just as happily return in the off-season, when the rates are much more reasonable.
What’s your take on Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian?
Stayed there years ago as our friend with the Centurion Black card booked it..Nice venue and so were the wow restaurants we visited nearby
Avacado Toast - Thank God!!! Otherwise, it would have been a 1-star rating.
Where is the Service section that normally appears in every OMAAT hotel review?
Funny comment regarding the weights... I was wondering the same thing at several hotels... then again, most people use mucg lower weights (like 10 lbs). Stuff over 30 lbs barely sees any use.
Breakfast at 8 AM on the weekends, seriously ? How exepensive would it be to start service at 6:30 or 7 instead ?
Had a great stay here late 2010s, happy to see the continual Bonvoy degradation a la Marriott hasn't hit this property at least.
What utterly idiotic pricing
I'd never spend 1100 EUR or 750+ USD on points per night.
Are Americans really this gullible?
Yes. That said, San Sebastian is ridiculously expensive, when I visited I stayed in Hondarribia as it was the only place vaguely near the city where a decent hotel could be had for less than €170. And it was only June.
We stayed at this hotel a few years back and had a wonderful time. You missed that in the basement of the hotel is a Pintxos Cooking class that was absolutely fabulous and a great introduction to the city's food culture. We also dined at Arzak, a Michelin 3 star that is one of my favorite 3 stars ever! Rekondo is another great less expensive spot recommended by Luis Gutierrez, a Parker wine guy.
Tapas are in Madrid and Barcelona. In Basque Country it’s pintxos.
https://www.tastingtable.com/1169178/whats-the-difference-between-tapas-and-pintxos/
Why, oh why, can't the bed be centered on that wall?
San Sebastián was for many years the #1 city in the world with most Michelin stars per capita. Recently bumped down to #2 by Kyoto. It was one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite cities. He’s jokingly seen on one of his videos telling viewers “don’t come here”. We stayed at the Hyatt in the suburbs but will check this one out when we go back. Glad you loved the city. The food is out of this world.
I was genuinely curious about that so I checked a few cities that perform significantly better than San Sebastian and Kyoto ...
San Sebastian has 9 stars for 187k people
Kyoto has 127 stars for 1 475k people
Megève has 5 stars for 3k peole
Luzern has 7 stars for 80k people
Skt. Moritz has 7 stars for 6k people
Courchevel has 12 stars for 2k people.
Geneva has 12 stars for 200k people.
Zurich has 20 stars for 400k people
Paris has 157 stars for 2 100k people
I don't know where your data comes from and I'm not familiar with some of the other cities, but this is directly from San Sebastian's Wikipedia page. I believe Tony Bourdain also mentions it on the show but it's been a while since I watched it. Different sources may be doing the math differently.
Wake up babe, an OMAAT luxury points hotel review just dropped! Joking aside, happy to see you able to get out and review a desirable points hotel in a beautiful area.
Question: you say the hotel doesn't have a gym, but does have a fitness center. You then switch back and forth calling the space a gym/fitness center. Is there a specific meaning for each?
@ Super -- Sorry, I meant to say that it doesn't a pool or spa, and by mistake used the word gym. Fixed now.
San Sebastian is my favorite city in Europe. Was there for a week this past July so maybe we crossed paths. Glad you got to experience some of the basque food culture during your time there. Stayed at this hotel many years ago and had a good stay but lack of pool was a bummer.
On several occasions (pre-Chinese virus) this was one of our favourite ‘watering holes’ while travelling south through the Basque Country.
One is hopeful that the Marriott effect will not have a detrimental influence upon the establishment.
What is the Chinese virus?
San Sebastián is incredible. Only a short distance by road from Bilbao and even more of a treat.
I loved the Maria Cristina but even as a Platinum (this was pre-merger, when Platinum was top tier) I got absolutely nothing in the way of upgrades or special welcome on arrival. In fact, I found the hotel pretty uninterested which was disappointing. Maybe Ben got lucky.
Breakfast was fantastic, however. Slightly surprised it’s still...
San Sebastián is incredible. Only a short distance by road from Bilbao and even more of a treat.
I loved the Maria Cristina but even as a Platinum (this was pre-merger, when Platinum was top tier) I got absolutely nothing in the way of upgrades or special welcome on arrival. In fact, I found the hotel pretty uninterested which was disappointing. Maybe Ben got lucky.
Breakfast was fantastic, however. Slightly surprised it’s still on offer these days since Marriott allows so many properties to wriggle out of it.
My friend and I stayed at the Maria Christina years ago on points while traveling in Spain. Also staying at the Maria Christina was Bruce Springsteen who spent 20 minutes in the lobby taking pictures with hotel guests. What a gem.
Nice! Bruce Springsteen was at my hotel- The Grand- in Stockholm last month. Saw him several times in the lobby.
I always enjoy your luxury hotel reviews. This is the first one that doesn’t make me wish I could go stay there ASAP. I guess at the end of the day without fun amenities the difference between a hotel like this and an AC Marriott is fancier room and better service, which while important doesn’t justify the $$$ difference. Looking forward to the Hyatt Unbound!
@ Jake B -- Yep, totally fair takeaway. It's a beautiful hotel, but there's not all that much to it, and it is expensive in peak season.
Which flights did you get to get to San Sebastion and from Biarritz? I'm guessing nothing "special" since there seems to be no mention :)
@ Ben Holz -- Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but I ultimately decided not to do a full trip report this time around, but rather am just doing some individual hotel reviews. Long story short, I had lofty goals with this trip, but award availability just didn't come together as hoped. So I ended up flying Air France business class MIA-CDG-BIQ, and I figure I've done enough Air France reviews lately...
I was going to ask this question as well so glad someone else had it. It’s not always about the review - it’s helps with trip planning (whether in reality or in our heads).
FWIW, I like when travel blogs have the entire trip outlined at the top with links to all of the posts. But best to add it at the end after the posts are all written so you have links.
Love that you didn’t review food at the hotel besides breakfast…. That would be counter productive in such a foodie town
@ Eric -- Hah, thanks. I usually go out of my way to eat in hotels to be able to review the offerings, but in this case, I couldn't bring myself to have an Asian meal while only being in San Sebastian for a few days.
Best foodie city in the world ! Basque Country is so special , pinxtos and the culture is incredible