Hello all, this is my first post. I recently traveled to Spain and chose Hostal La Concha as my place to stay in San Sebastian. I am just writing a quick review of it since I literally could find no information on reviews of this place when I was debating booking it or not. Hopefully this post will help those who are unsure of whether or not they should book this hostal, as well as how to get from Bilbao to San Sebastian, since maybe people fly into Bilbao because of its cheaper plane ticket prices.

http://www.hostallaconcha.com

ROOMS: The rooms are excellent. Everything is brand new (recently remodeled) and functioned properly. My room (105) had a nice double bed, TV, in-room bathroom with shower, air conditioning, in-room refridgerator, and a small balcony. I think (though I am not entirely sure, that all rooms are very similar (except for maybe having a single bed, twin beds, etc.). Everything was exceptionally clean and they clean the room everyday providing new sheets upon request and towels.

LOCATION: An excellent location in the center of San Sebastian. There are really two distinct areas in San Sebastian: Parte Vieja, the older area which has all of the bars and restaurants in the small streets, and the City Center/Beach area called Miraconcha. The Parte Vieja is filled with hostals and pensions, and is where most of the younger travelers stay, but gets very noisy at night. Hostal La Concha is in the quieter part of the town over in Miraconcha, and is literally a 2 minute walk to La Concha beach. You can walk to Parte Vieja for the bars and nightlife within 5-8 minutes of Hostal La Concha, so to me, it was worth staying someplace a little quieter and just walking to the bars. Everywhere in these two areas of San Sebastian seemed very safe to me, and Hostal La Concha is indeed in a safe location as well.

STAFF: Every staff member was extremely nice. They all were very helpful and chatted with us for a minute or two each time we came and left the hostal about what we did that day or what we were planning on doing that evening and recommended places for us to eat and drink. They will answer any questions you have an assist you with anything you need.

HOSTAL TIDBITS: The hostal has an excellent internet room with around 5 computers. I think it was 1 Euro per hour for high speed internet, and everything seemed very new. Additionally, you can order food from the hostal to stock in your mini refridgerator in your room. The hostal has an outer door into the building, another door into the hostal, and then the door to your room, each with electronic locks accessed by the key card they give you at check-in, so you will have no worries about someone coming into the hostal that doesn't belong there.

PRICE: Price for a double was around 80-85 Euro per night if I remember correctly, but you can check current rates at the hostal's website.

GETTING TO HOSTAL LA CONCHA FROM BILBAO: In Bilbao, you can take the city bus from the airport directly to the bus station that they call Termibus. Ask the airport information representative which bus takes you to Termibus from the airport. From Termibus, I took a PESA bus to San Sebastian for around 10 Euro. The ride was around an hour to an hour and a half. Once at the San Sebastian bus station area, you can hop in a taxi and they will take you to Hostal La Concha for around 5 Euro.

SUMMARY: Excellent choice, though slightly more expensive than the typical hostel for a youth traveler. In my opinion, the extra money was well worth it for the ammenities you get, considering that if you have 2 people staying in the room, it runs about 40 Euro per person. In the cheap hostels in Parte Vieja, you'd pay 25-30 Euro per person anyway. Can't beat the location right by the hottest beach in town, and you can also walk to everything from your hostal. Stay here and you won't be disappointed. I hope my information has been helpful to any of those looking to travel to San Sebastian.