"Leonardo Boutique Hotel San Sebastián
STAY AWAY! Do not book this hotel unless you want your vacation ruined by daily harassment, aggressive staff, and extreme extortion tactics.
We booked a "Discounted Advance Rate" room which explicitly required full prepayment to even secure the reservation, backed by a strict no-refunds/no-cancellation policy. Upon arrival on June 2nd, the receptionist formally confirmed that our room was fully prepaid.
By the next morning (June 3rd), the nightmare began. Staff began calling our room claiming there was a "payment issue." Every single time we tried to enter or leave the lobby for sightseeing, we were stopped, cornered, and aggressively questioned. When we explained that their own system requires prepayment to book, they blamed "system glitches" on their end. We even showed them our official confirmation email explicitly stating prepayment was required. Though they promised to stop bothering us, the harassment only intensified.
On June 4th, the staff escalated their aggression. A receptionist handed us an unreadable document with microscopic text, claiming our card was rejected, but refused to reprint it legibly or provide actual information, claiming the manager wasn't there. Later that night, a male receptionist began shouting at us and picked up the phone, threatening to call the police simply because we refused to be double-charged for their internal administrative error. Sensing our safety was at risk, we demanded the official government complaint form (Hoja de Reclamaciones).
The morning of checkout (June 5th), things became illegal. After we filled out the complaint form, the staff initially refused to sign it. When we attempted to exit to the street with our bags, the hotel locked the doors and physically refused to let us leave, effectively holding us hostage. Only after we loudly asked if they were holding us against our will did they unlock the door to the outside. They called the police, and after a lengthy standoff, the local officers sided with the hotel's narrative and forced us to pay the entire €775.17 amount a second time on the spot just so we could leave.
This establishment is profoundly unprofessional, predatory, and unsafe for tourists. They will use intimidation, physical confinement, and local authorities to force you into double-paying for their own technological failures. Save yourself the trauma and book elsewhere."
