San Francisco Hotel Monumento - Santiago de Compostela, Spain     

Your hotel came highly recommended and I stayed with you overnight on Friday July 4th. Although I found the hotel itself and its amenities very impressive I have to express great disappointment with the service. On ordering a drink at the cafe/bar on arriving I found the waitress had poor English and finding a suitable wine was extremely difficult. I booked dinner in the restaurant at 8.30pm and went once more for a pre-dinner drink at 8pm only to find no-one serving. After ten minutes I enquired at the reception and was told someone would be there after they had been 'phoned. Ten minutes later another waitress with absolutely no command of English served me a gin and tonic from a list after I indicated it. When it was poured it was not as advertised and had not the twist of lemon and lime but there seemed little point in my requesting this as I could not be understood. On entering the restaurant at 8.35pm, being held up by the length of time it took to be served in the bar, there was no-one there or indeed any lights switched on. Eventually a waiter arrived and I explained my booking to which he indicated that I could sit anywhere and turned on the lights. To my dismay he vanished and the waitress from bar came to take my order. This was a lengthy process as she attempted to try and explain alterations to the menu and answer my questions about vegetables etc. I ordered a bottle of wine which she poured before I had the opportunity to taste. Then an amuse bouche was served but with no indication as to what it contained and I only discovered that it was a form of soup when the only two other diners tasted it. I have though to report that the food was delicious and although served very slowly I enjoyed the meal. Before retiring to my room I requested at wake up call for 8.45am. The excellent room had been turned down most impressively but I was disappointed as a non-Spanish speaker to find that the only English channel on the TV was CNN and it was of such a poor signal that the sound hissed and drowned out the vision. The next morning my alarm call was not made until 9.05am by which time I was fortunately awake and already dressing in time to get a taxi to the airport to catch a plane. These criticisms may seem minor but do reflect on the standards you advertise as four star. I am an experienced traveller and have stayed in many hotels all over the world and four stars usually indicate a quality that I found was not up to the rating at your hotel. When visiting anywhere by oneself it can be a lonely experience and the necessity for bar and dining staff to be friendly, communicative and helpful can make the experience less daunting and more enjoyable. I felt somewhat neglected over my few hours with you. I hope that these observations are helpful when considering any changes or improvements to your operations.

I loved this Hotel. Staff are excellent. Location is great. Food is good. Can't praise the hotel and especially staff enough. Worth a visit at any price. Loved every minute.