Comments on: Parador Santillana Gil Blas

By: Graham & Lynda Cooke

Graham & Lynda Cooke — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:02:33 +0000

We wish we had known just how wonderful this hotel was before we booked in for one night. If we had known we would have stayed longer!
The reception we received was friendly and efficient. Our room was spacious. warm and comfortable, with a lovely view of the garden. Once the window shutters were closed there was absolute silence in the room.
The public rooms had a wonderful decor and the food in the restaurant was delicious!
Th hotel is located on the Town Square right in the heart of Santillana. It is not the easiest location to find, but once yo are there the car parking is very good.
Our favourite Parador hotel is the Lerma Palace, but the Gil Blas is very high on our list and we are looking forward to our return visit.

By: Charles Corser

Charles Corser — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:07:24 +0000

It was a pleasure to stay at Gil Blas for one night on 12th September. Our welcome was warm, the room good and we had an excellent meal in the restaurant. Somewhere in the booking (probably my fault) two children were included-surprising as we had booked the golden days deal! This was sorted out and as far as I know no extra charge was made.

By: Lori and Darcy Moch

Lori and Darcy Moch — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:29:38 +0000

We had the pleasure of staying at your lovely hotel Gil Blas Parador in July 2011. We unfortunately could only
stay one night but we enjoyed every moment of our stay. The 2 rooms we had were comfortable, the views amazing and overall setting wonderful. How often does a person get the opportunity to stay in luxury that dates back to the 7th century? The village was quaint and we were glad we were able to enjoy it’s history.

By: Richard Gowland

Richard Gowland — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:02:24 +0000

Our last night on the tour. We enjoyed our stay. One of our party had a problem with an odour in the room. The staff responded very quickly and changed his room. The village has many tourist traps, but there was a really good pottery where we talked to the potter and bought some of his work.

By: Mrs. A de JOng

Mrs. A de JOng — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:28:21 +0000

We loved this parador and got two rooms right above the main entrance. The food was wonderful and the staff was friendly.
We’ve enjoyed our short stay in Santillana.

By: William Howat

William Howat — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:50:33 +0000

My wife and I have stayed at a number of Paradores over the years and have enjoyed them all. On this occasion (October) we did find a shortcoming and it was one shared with the Parador at Leon. We ate from the regional menus in both Paradores. It was evident that the English translations in the “Arte Breve De Cocina” in both had been done by a non -native English Speaker. The worst example was at Gil Blas where we were confronted with “Puff pastry with Anchovy Scum,” which turned out to be a savoury cream with an anchovy on top which was very nice. Its a minor complaint, we would have been content to use the Spanish version, but given the high standards of the Paradores and their international clientel it is unprofessional. If you provide translations then it is essential that they make sense. I am more than happy to be of further assistance (at no charge).

By: Patrick Tierney

Patrick Tierney — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:31:20 +0000

My wife and I have stayed in a number of Paradors and had visited Santillana previously so we were looking forward to staying in the Gil Blas this time. Unfortunately, the experience was a disappointment on a number of levels. Our reception was brusque rather than welcoming and our room was cramped (perhaps because we had booked a Golden Years deal) and good deal less pleasant than in other Paradores we have visited. Once beyond the reception area the quality of the public rooms was poor: the bar was like a mediocre town cafe and the dining room little better. The rooms have no character whatsoever. The staff in the dining room were the only people who seemed to be working really hard. The dining room was understaffed at dinner and the same held true for breakfast where the rush to attend to people meant that our hot eggs did not materialise until we reminded the waitress after half an hour of waiting. She was not to blame as there were only two people on duty.
The final straw was the residents’ lounge which was kept in total darkness, perhaps in the hope of discouraging anyone from using it. When I did venture in, I could find no way to switch on the lights and had to hang around for 20 minutes at reception (rarely manned) to discover that only they could switch the lights on. What a ridiculous arrangement.
So, easily the worst Parador we have experienced and I could not recommend it to anyone.

By: Bev

Bev — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:26:16 +0000

We stayed in this paradore in early September and thought it was great, the breakfast was to die for.
The village was busy but better at night and had many bars and restuarants to choose from.
Would recommend it.

By: Colonel Paul Long

Colonel Paul Long — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:52:24 +0000

Had we realised that we would be staying in the middle of an enormous tourist trap, we would probably not have stayed here. It is very expensive.

The town is quaint in a touristy way with beautifully restored XIIIC and XIVC buildings but far too many little shops all selling the same sort of tourist trash. The parador is certainly a fine and interesting building and our room overlooking the square was comfortable.

Dinner was disappointing. Although the food was OK (no more) the restaurant was full and understaffed. We had to wait for half an hour before we could place an order and that rather set the tone for the evening.

This parador did not represent value for money for us and we would not stay here again

By: Jose G Molinari

Jose G Molinari — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:25:11 +0000

The Parador is smack in the middle of the village, but has plenty of parking available.
The restoration is brilliantly done, the room quite large with a balcony and a modern bathroom with both bathtub and shower.
The hotel is spacious with many living spaces available for guests.
The service was excelent.
And I had dinner at the restaurant and the regional tasting menu was EXCELLENT!
One of the best hotels I have stayed in spain.