I don't usually spend the time to rate hotels where I have had at least a decent experience. However, Astoria 7 was so good that I thought it was worth making a notable exception.

I stayed here for a weekend in November 2012 for the San Sebastian Marathon. I primarily picked the hotel because of its location. It is literally a two minute walk from the bus station which connects directly to Bilbao Airport (more about the buses later). Despite this, there is no noise from the bus station, or the main road which runs parallel to the hotel - indeed the entire hotel is suprisingly calming and peaceful. The ticket offices for the two main bus companies are literally across the road, and are open in the small hours of the morning. The hotel is a 15 minute stroll to the town centre, 20 minutes to the old town, and 10 minutes (in the opposite direction) to Anoeta Stadium. In the direction of the stadium, you will find what bars more catering towards the locals (especially football fans) so if you want something more authentic than touristy stuff (and if your Spanish is to a decent standard) head that way instead of into town. The hotel is also five minutes walk to Amara train station, which also has a metro station (often not mentioned in San Sebastian guides) which connects both sides of the town. There are a few convenience stores and cafeterias nearby that are open late and on Sundays (a lot of stores and cafes are closed on Sundays, even in the main tourist drag).

The hotel is themed around cinema and movies, and the hotel is tastefully furnished to a modern and high standard to stick with this theme. There is subtle movie soundtracks playing in the public areas (reception, drawing room, breakfast room) I was struck by entering the hotel and the room how spotlessly clean it was. The rooms themselves are also named after actors (I got the Kevin Costner room on the 9th floor)! The room I had (905) had a balcony overlooking a quiet street and contained a reasonably comfy bed, great bathroom with rain shower and floor heating. Toiletries are supplied and replaced every day. I wasn't bothered about using the gym given I was running a marathon, but I checked it out and it was fairly basic, but adequate for a few nights stay. However, if you enjoy jogging, you may as well run outside in San Sebastian as there are a lot of areas to run in the city, and traffic is minimal. WIFI is complementary in all the hotel, including rooms, and there are also two internet terminals located in the drawing room (which also contains an array of books and DVDs, which I think you may be able to borrow to watch in your room). The breakfast is of a standard I would expect for such a hotel, and the breakfast room never felt too busy or crowded. All that is missing is a pool and spa.

I mentioned the buses. One company, PESA, has a monopoly on the route from Bilbao Airport to San Sebastian. The cost (one-way, no return tickets are available) was €16.50 and is cash only (both at the airport and in San Sebastian), and takes 70 minutes. If you decide to travel to Bilbao for the day to San Sebastian, PESA charge around €11 for a direct service which takes 70 minutes. Another company, ALSA, operate from the neighbouring office in San Sebastian and charge €7. However, the journey stops in towns between the two destinations and takes 100 minutes. It should be noted that you are expected to put your luggage onboard the PESA buses yourself, whereas the ALSA drivers will load and unload your bags for you. What I would recommend doing (as I did) is getting the direct PESA bus to Bilbao and the ALSA bus back to San Sebastian as some of the scenery on the ALSA bus that you will see on the way back is astounding, though you unfortunately don't get the time to stop and take pictures! ALSA buses also have complimentary WIFI whereas PESA buses do not, so I found this pretty useful for catching up on email for some of the journey. It is worth noting that the ALSA company accept credit cards at the Termibus depot in Bilbao. It should be noted that the buses are faster than trains for getting between cities, roads are very quiet and the buses appear to be very punctual.

We stayed here in April, lovely modern and clean, close to the bus station from Bilbao and a short bus ride/walk in to town and all the pintxos bars. Enjoyed the Hollywood theme. We only found out on the last evening (too much eating out) that the hotel restaurant was also excellent. Reasonable set price menu with a half bottle of wine per person.

this is a quirky hotel with a movie star theme as apparent upon entrance. It was developed from a 7 screen cinema
called the Astoria. My room was decent size, comfortable & clean with a good wifi connection. Breakfast was pretty good & the
reception service was pleasant.

I echo what has been said before. It's a great hotel, with a fun movie star theme (we stayed in the Quentin Tarantino room for two nights).
The rooms are quite large & clean, featuring a king-sized very comfortable bed. The bathroom is also large with all the things you would expect, including a rain shower & a selection of very nice toiletries.

Breakfast was included in our rate & included a continental buffet, plus a hot dish ordered from a short menu. We didn't bother with the hot dish so i can't comment on that, but the buffet was good & enough to tide you over until you hit your first tapas bar at lunchtime.

Front desk staff are helpful & have a list of all the best places to eat in the old town (after all, that's why you go to San Sebastian).

The location is ok. It could be closer to the old town (it's a 15 minute walk to the town centre - as others have said & I wouldn't really call it a picturesque walk). Other than walking, the hotel is on 3 bus routes & so it's very easy to take the bus to/from the town for a couple of Euro each. Or, if you are heading home after midnight when the buses have stopped, the hotel is within the distance covered by the taxi flag-fall (i.e. nothing more than flag fall to pay).

If you have a car, the parking in the hotel is quite expensive at €15/day, and you can park outside in the metered zone. These meters are also quite expensive, & inconveniently, you can only buy parking tickets for a short amount of time (90 mins, I think). So you need to keep topping up the meter which is very inconvenient. Meter parking is free after 7pm & all day on Sunday (and during the daily lunch break).

We booked directly through the hotel two days before arriving & paid an average of €167/nt incl tax. We will stay here again on our next visit