Those of you who have stayed at Hotel As Artes en Santiago de Compostela, do you know if any of the rooms have two beds?

You might check with CathyM who stayed there last year. You can read her review and account of her trip in her " Back from Galicia! " thread. sel, you'll be able to get some useful tips from this thread too.

Saludos, MadridMan

sel, we stayed at the hotel As Artes two summers ago. It is VERY close to the cathedral. There was no elevator, and we were on the top floor ( el ático) with our two daughters, in a larger room that was not as beautifully decorated as the others we saw.

It is a lovely little hotel. The breakfast room looks larger in the picture on the website than it is in reality, but it is just fine. All in all, we would defintely stay there again...but I had really wanted to stay in a place that I had read about here on Madridman that was a monastery...it was under renovations that summer though. You might want to do a search to find that place.

I am debating between the Monastery and As Artes. I did look at the Parador as well but it is a bit pricey considering we need two rooms for 5 nights. The two kids who are coming with me are 14 and 19 years old and sometimes we each need a little time alone! This trip has grown in length so I am feeling a bit guilty about staying at an expensive place. However, I want to stay in the old part of the town.

Sel,
I'd definately chooose As Artes over the Parador (even though I'm usually a big fan of the Parador system). However, I'm sorry but can't answer the question on how many beds are in each room. I had a single for double use and my friend had a single room. We both had one bed. I'd send an email direclty to As Artes inquiring about the types of bed available. Our rooms were on the 2nd level and although there was no elevator, I made do even with my heavy suitcase. The location is literally a stone's throw from the parador and the Cathedral.

I love the paradors but from what I have read this particular location can be a bit stuffy and not all the rooms are great. In fact, I met into a couple (americans teaching school in Germany) on the street and we ended up having dinner together. They were staying at the parador in Santiago (after spending time at the parador in Baiona). They didn't feel that it was worth the cost and the atmosphere was snobby. Of course, this is only one impression and everyone has different opinions.

Have a great trip to Galicia and let us know what you decide.

We stayed in As Artes. The location is both good and bad.

The closeness to the cathedral and other sites was great--we could pop into Vespers, wander back and freshen up, then go stroll around and be back within minutes of tiring (our first stop in Spain, after loong flight from California). The hotel people were kind, helping us figure out where to buy a SIM card and other questions. The bed was comfortable and the hot water good.

However, our room was noisy. We were on the 2nd floor and our windows faced a pedestrian-only alley (well, wider than an alley, narrower than a street). On both sides were tall and very broad stone buildings, and bounced sound like crazy. Santiago was having rock concerts in the cathedral square, a fiesta in the park, and cheerful people everywhere. I tried to be grateful that the people walking by were laughing and singing, but the voices echoed on the stone walls , and they were there all night long, till the dawn. This was the major route for walkers to the north of the cathedral. A higher-up room or one facing another way or another time might have been quieter, or if the weather had allowed closed windows, I might have slept better.

So, if you find loud happy voices breaking out into song echoing off stone at 4am disruptive, you may want to ask about a room facing other than east. And no, I don't remember the name of our room, alas ... so many wonderful experiences have blotted out the less interesting.

Once again, the location was great and the rooms themselves, and the hoteliers were good.