Villa Birdie

Spent one night here on my journey back to the UK. Like the owners, herself, the hotel is very chic. But be warned, it is more like staying at a friend's house, not a chain hotel. For me this was perfect, but it might not be to everyone's taste.

Villa Birdie has much going for it. Located on a quiet street and very close to town is provided the perfect place for 3 nights. I always looks for a small place, with parking when I need it, breakfast and charm. This had it all. Blanca, owner/host, is welcoming and energetic. She was patient with our questions. There is a bus stop nearby that is a two minute walk and the buses to town come by every 5 to 10 minutes, it seemed. Every inch of the villa has been remodeled. While not spacious it had everything we needed. Breakfast was good. We can really only say good things. I think it would be a good spot for staying longer and making it your base. Buses are easy with a map app. And, as it has a rare parking spot you drive to other locations.

Exquisitely presented hotel with all the trimmings. Blanca the owner is lovely, shes very attentive, if you spend the day around the pool she comes out offering free drinks which is a lovely touch. She offers her knowledge of the area and gives good advice on places to visit, restaurants, bus routes etc. |Our room was a good size with a lovely ensuite shower room all cleaned daily, the rooms have a free mini bar and free coffee machine which are restocked daily.|There is parking available but you do have to work with Blanca and the other guests as one car sits behind another, it really was no issue to me whatsoever to move briefly if required.|Breakfast was superb and plentyful and you won't need to eat until the evening.|All in all, a loveky place and we would certainly stay again if we were in the area.

Staying at Villa Birdie is an experience of a very special kind. The first impression you get when you arrive is marvellous. The house and garden looks beautiful, the owner welcomes you in a nice way and helps you to find a restaurant spot for the evening and makes check-in comfortable. But when you accustom yourself you will quickly realize that there are several disastrous aspects about this place: - the rooms are so small that it is nearly impossible to move from the bed to the wardrobe without rearranging the furniture. If you arrive with more than two small board case sized suitcases, you will have a massive space problem. - when you arrive, the owner asks you to enter the house from the back side to not disturb other guests since this is an adult-only, no-kids and very quiet place. What the owner does not mention is that right opposite to the Villa you will find a school which seems to be the lyceum of loud music and all-day screaming. From 8am to 5pm you will have a noise experience similar to an AC/DC concert. The windows are not able to hold back that noise at all - which also makes the sounds from the street uncomfortable. - the parking concept is the most absurd thing we have ever experienced. The owner asks you to reserve a parking spot upfront - we did that. When you arrive, she asks you to move your car in the backyard and then she proceeds to park other cars as well as her own in a way that you cannot exit any more (or you have to park your car so it blocks others). Now whenever you want to leave, the owner will disturb you to move your car. One day, we were woken up very early by hammering on our door in such a loud way that even our friends on the other floor heard it. Even after already saying „yes we are coming“, the hammering did not stop. After this experience, we were told it is better to leave the car in the backyard and not use it. We never experienced such an annoying thing in a hotel before. - By saying „hotel“, we come to the fact that this is rather a „guesthouse“ and has nothing to do with a four star hotel as it is stated on Google. There is no 24/7 reception, there is no restaurant or room service, there is no vanity set, there is no breakfast selection, there is no laundry service, no phone, the safe is not fixed in the closet, the service personnell does not speak English… and that list can be extended by many points. - The absolute pinnacle of our experience was the fact that the cleaning service repeatedly touched very personal things such as your toothbrush, underwear or other things in order to arrange them in a way which seems to be more attractive for the owner. They even open the wardrobe to rearrange your clothes. Besides that, the owner took away our second room card because we left it in the socket to leave electricity and A/C on and she does not want that. Since we do not leave any „chaos“ in our hotel rooms, this behavior is really more than ridiculous and inappropriate.

It doesn’t happen very often that we walk into a strangers house and feel at home. However: this was the case when we entered Villa Birdie. This excellent boutique hotel has it all: beautiful rooms, tasteful design, good quality furniture, a spotless garden, a great swimming pool, parking and a fridge with free beer and soft drinks. There’s even a wheelchair-friendly entrance and an elevator if needed. But what makes this place probably the best place we’ve ever stayed in is Blanca, a fantastic host with a warm personality that goes to great lengths to make your stay as pleasant as possible. She reads her guests and gives them personalized insider tips. We liked it so much that, not only did we stay longer than planned, but came back a week later just because it was so great. Me and my partner run a boutique hotel ourselves, so we know what effort it takes to manage a place like this and keep up such a high standard. We can safely say Blanca is a natural: the kind of person you ‘d wish every hotel would have, someone you feel a connection with from the first second, and feel sad to leave when you check out. We’ve read all the reviews and to be honest: the couple of negative ones are so off the mark they basically tell you all you need to know about the people who wrote them. Yes: the host is a colorful, kind hearted character. And that’s one of the many, many reasons we like Villa Birdie so much. We’ll definitely be back! || Much love from Bart & Eva, the Belgians from Antwerp :-)

Great Villa and wonderful host Blanca.||Really enjoyed our stay at this lovely villa Birdie. |Everything was perfect for us so clean and beautiful surroundings. |The owner Blance was attentive and caring made our experience in San Sebastián in another level, she recommended couple of restaurants and organised all booking and even the taxi for us. |It was different to have someone so caring and friendly there all the time felt like visiting family. |Thank you so much Blanca for everything you done for us. Paul & Bayarmaa from UK

Villa Birdie is a special place to stay. More like staying in a friend's beautiful home. Cannot recommend too highly. Blanca is one of life's diamonds! She will enhance your stay with her knowledge and recommendations. Everything is immaculate and the pool and outside space is beautiful. The food and recommendations in the town were fabulous. The local wine and pinxtos are superb. A wonderful stay with a beautiful, generous and magical host. Thank you Blanca.

I see there have been a few negative posts about the host Blanca.|I disagree. She couldn't have been more helpful. Informing us of restaurants, bars, sightseeing, buses, trains and just generally pleasant.|Hotel was lovely and clean. We stopped in a balcony room, which was brilliant early morning and late night for a coffee/rioja with a tasteful portable dimmable light to use.|About 20 mins walk to Gros, 30 to old town. But with the regular N⁰13 (old town),14 (Gros) bus stop less than 5 mins away for a quick drive into town at €1.85. I'd recommend the villa. ||