Gran Hotel Los Abetos In Santiago de Compostela: An Honest Hotel Review
If you’re looking for a family-friendly hotel in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, then you need to check out this beautiful family-friendly hotel: Gran Hotel Los Abetos in Santiago de Compostela!
I’ll be sharing my honest review of Gran Hotel Los Abetos based on my family’s experience during our 4-day summer vacation to the Galician capital on July 2021(15-18), in the hope that by adding to the many positive reviews about this Santiago de Compostela hotel, a lot of travelers and pilgrims can experience its peaceful ambiance and beauty!
Overview of Gran Hotel Los Abetos in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Gran Hotel Los Abetos is a kid-friendly hotel located in Santiago de Compostela. It offers comfortable, affordable accommodations and is conveniently located in the heart of the city, just a few minutes away by car from the city center.
The hotel has a variety of amenities to make your stay comfortable, including a restaurant, bar, cafe, and outdoor pool. The staff at Gran Hotel Los Abetos are friendly and helpful and is a great option for families looking for a comfortable and convenient place to stay while exploring Santiago de Compostela.
Location
Gran Hotel Los Abetos is located on top of a hill in San Lazaro, Santiago de Compostela – about 5 kilometers away from the city center.
Its location might be a con for others since it’s not in the city center, but it’s actually a pro for my “rural type” family who loves silence and tranquility.
Gran Hotel Los Abetos Property
Gran Hotel Los Abetos is a 4-star hotel that has everything we needed to relax after a day of exploring the city of Santiago de Compostela.
In addition to rooms, the hotel has a 10,000 m² botanical garden, exclusive villas, event rooms, a swimming pool, a gym, and even its own chapel!
Gran Hotel Los Abetos is huge with a 23,000 m² natural environment. And here are some of the amenities and services that we like in the hotel:
PARKING
The hotel has free parking. There are several options: a large parking lot in front of the entrance, and also one on both sides of the hotel.
WiFi
WiFi is also free, both in your room and all around the hotel. The internet speed is quite good – we connected our tablet so the kids can watch some videos of Leo el Camion and Cocomelon.
SWIMMING POOL
There’s a pool located close to the beautiful botanical garden of the hotel. We were not able to swim though because when we went the capacity was already full.
Due to COVID, the number of people who can use the pool at the same time is being strictly controlled. So, a reservation is necessary.
BOTANICAL GARDEN
The garden of Gran Hotel Los Abetos is sooo beautiful and very well-kept! It was my boys who discovered it first because my husband brought the kids outside, so I can sleep a bit.
When they came back, he was telling me about how beautiful the garden was. The following day, we went down and I saw it for myself! And wowww, a beautiful garden indeed! The grass was very green and there’s a small pond with a lot of frogs and fish.
JP had soooo much fun chasing frogs and looking at the fishes, while J had so much fun running up and down the slopy part of the garden.
CHAPEL
This was the first time for me to check in to a hotel with its own chapel and I was in awe! However, it was close.
I suppose that it’s only open for private use since the hotel also holds events like weddings, other celebrations, and meetings. It’s a lovely detail that I like about Gran Hotel Los Abetos.
BAR
This is the favorite spot of my husband in the hotel! The bar is located in the lobby of the hotel and every night, right after arriving from dinner, my husband goes to the bar (accompanied by the entire crew) to order a drink of local wine (different every night).
The first night we went to the balcony overlooking part of the city, then on the following night, we all sat on one of the sofas in the bar.
FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE
This is one of the services that we love and appreciate at Gran Hotel Los Abetos! They have 2 mini-buses that go in and out of the hotel to the city center: 2 schedules for going to the city and 2 schedules for going back.
Check rates and availability at Gran Hotel Los Abetos
We availed of this free service on the day that we did our mini Camino de Santiago. We inquired in the reception about the schedules and were informed that there’s a return schedule at 5 pm and the pick-up area is in front of Massimo Dutti in Plaza Galicia, just a walking distance from Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
Gran Hotel Los Abetos Rooms
Our room was a family room on the 2nd floor. The room was spacious with 2 double beds, a small seating area with 2 comfy chairs, a round table, a TV, a phone, a minibar, a private bathroom with free toiletries, air conditioning/heater during winter, and a safety vault.
The bathroom and toilet are a good size with a bathtub, hairdryer, and the usual bathroom amenities (soap, shampoo, lotion).
We requested a crib for #2, but he didn’t sleep in it at all! We tried on our first night, but he just won’t stop crying, so he was sleeping with me in one bed, and #1 was sleeping with my husband on the other bed.
Having small kids on vacation also means tweaking the accommodation here and there for the safety of the kids and the convenience of the entire family. And this is usually the first thing we do upon entering our accommodations.
In our room in Gran Hotel Los Abetos, we pushed my bed close to the wall for #2’s safety.
We also pushed the living area close to the wall for more space and made sure that the round table was unmovable in between the chairs and the minibar because we found out that the table had a glass covering and #2 was playing with it and was already slowly moving the glass! I can’t imagine the glass falling on #2 if we were not able to detect it.
Child-proofing the accommodation room is a must when traveling with small kids!
#1 had so much fun taking his nightly bath in the bathtub. Since our stay in Casona De El Castañiu In Asturias, he now loves and enjoys bathtubs.
Aside from family rooms, they also have other room types: double room, deluxe, villa, family villa, villa with 2 rooms, and villa with 3 rooms.
Gran Hotel Los Abetos Restaurant & Food Options
We chose the option with free breakfast when we booked in Gran Hotel Los Abetos for convenience. They have a lot of breakfast options from cereals, sweets, bread, ham, bacon, eggs, fruits, juice, milk, coffee, etc. Room service is also available for those who don’t feel like going out of their room.
The staff is very nice and doing their best to ensure the safety of everyone. I was even surprised on our first day because there was already a table with a high chair!
I had the impression that they already prepare tables with high chairs depending on the number of guests who have small kids because I also saw another table ready with a high chair. I don’t know if it was just a coincidence, but I was impressed!
And oh, on the 2nd day, my husband told me that the woman eating at the other table with 3 others was the president of Madrid! He said maybe it was the reason why there was a police checkpoint at the entrance of the street leading to the hotel.
Sorry for digressing.
Hotel Los Abetos offers dinner, too, in their in-house restaurant: El Bordon. But we didn’t avail of this option because it was quite expensive. And since it’s summer, going out for dinner is not a problem.
📌 TIP:
There are accommodations with options of free breakfast and dinner that are quite affordable, so make sure to check them and make calculations on which option is cheaper before finalizing your reservation.
We usually like to avail of free breakfast and dinner because it’s more convenient, especially with small kids and when the location is far from the city center. This is what we availed in our accommodation in Peniscola, Spain because it was more or less the same expense if we went out of the hotel for dinner.
But the option was way more expensive in Gran Hotel Los Abetos, so, we decided to just have dinner outside.
Nearby Attraction & Entertainment
Gran Hotel Los Abetos is very close to Monte del Gozo. We discovered it as we were driving to the nearby places surrounding the hotel on our first night after dinner.
We decided to go back and have dinner the following night in Monte del Gozo, but unfortunately, there was a concert going on, so no cars were allowed to enter. Everyone can come but on foot.
While writing this post, I learned the beautiful story about Monte del Gozo and how I wish that we were able to explore the place.
Monte del Gozo, also known as Monte do Gozo, is a 380-meter-high hill located just 5 km from Santiago de Compostela.
This particular point is known throughout the world for being the point where for the first time the pilgrims arriving in the holy city of Santiago de Compostela can see the towers of the cathedral in the distance.
According to history, the name Monte do Gozo was born precisely from the feeling of overflowing happiness that the pilgrims felt at that time. You can read more of the story on Monte del Gozo in this article.
Since Gran Hotel Los Abetos is just 5 km away from the city, it’s easy to explore different tourist spots and entertainment in the city and come back to the hotel for a cozy rest time.
📌 NOTE:
We booked our stay in Gran Hotel Los Abetos thru booking.com, just like our accommodation in Asturias.
But this time, I booked it through the app on my phone because it was cheaper compared to the price on the booking site opened on the computer.
Always check and compare prices on the booking app (if using) or any other travel app you’re using, on the booking website opened on a computer, and also the accommodation’s website, and make the booking where it’s cheaper.
Final Thoughts: Gran Hotel Los Abetos in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
If you’re planning to go on vacation with your family to Santiago de Compostela, I highly recommend Gran Hotel Los Abetos as one of the best places to stay in the Galician capital especially if you’re looking for quiet, cozy accommodation away from the noise of the city.
Are you planning a vacation to Santiago de Compostela or a pilgrimage to Northern Spain from Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela? Would you consider Gran Hotel Los Abetos as your accommodation? Or have you been to the Galician capital already? Where did you stay? Please feel free to share your answer in the comments below.
BEFORE YOU GO…
Check out these posts about other family-friendly hotels where my family stayed in our previous travels:
Casona De El Castañiu Review (A Little Paradise In Asturias)
11 Best Hotels In Lourdes, France Near The Grotto of Massabielle
