Hotel Escuela Las Carolinas

Being a school for catering / hotel personel the reception area and entrance to the dining area were, at times rather daunting with lots of students standing around. It was just confusing for new arrivals.

We liked the hotel because it was small and intimate. The parking facilities made a big difference as other hotels in the city had no on-site free parking. This had been a major consideration when booking the hotel.Time spent walking round Santander proved this to have been a wise consideration. The room was basically furnished but clean and comfortable. We were also pleasantly surprised at the breakfast facility and the extended hours during which breakfast was served. This made it possible to start the day in a leisurely way. We, and several other guests were staying at the hotel prior to cathcing a return ferry to England on the following day. It appears that this hotel is used quite regularly for this purpose.

There were three factors which we found of concern. Firstly there were very few staff in attendance and those who were there spoke no language, or understood any other language other than Spanish which made communication extremely difficult. Secondly, there were no dining facilities and the hotel is situated quite some distance from the restaurant quarter in the city. Thirdly the map supplied with the booking is not adequate enough to be able to properly find the hotel. It took us nearly an hour of driving around the area to discover its location.

It was convenient to access from incoming roads and for onward passage to the ferry terminal.

Reception facilities were minimal and staff were unable to provide information about hotel and local facilities (Spanish speaking only)