Palacio de Avilés Affiliated by Meliá

“Breathe art in Aviles”

art to welcome you art to desire you art every where even in the stairs to the sky that is Nh Collection Palacio de Aviles ... el arte de vivir Gracias a la welcome lady de los deayunos por la simpatia y arte de recibir un hospede

“A bit of a disappointment really”

This was our first break, due to Covid, in fourteen months and despite looking forward to it we were left feeling underwhelmed and disappointed by the experience. The positives are that the location cannot be beaten in Aviles, it is right in the centre, the breakfast buffet was extensive and the ... more

This was our first break, due to Covid, in fourteen months and despite looking forward to it we were left feeling underwhelmed and disappointed by the experience. The positives are that the location cannot be beaten in Aviles, it is right in the centre, the breakfast buffet was extensive and the old part of the hotel is charming. Quite a few other reviewers have commented that this does not deserve to be rated as a 5* hotel and I can't disagree with that. In my opinion it is a 4* at best. I've stayed in a number of 5* hotels and this one doesn't come near what I would expect in either facilities or, more importantly,staff attitude. The greeting we received upon arrival was less than warm and it took 15 minutes for us to be checked in. Despite being Spanish residents the receptionist made a total hash of our details and originally marked us down as French and repeatedly got our address wrong. It later transpired that she was a new member of staff undergoing training. I don't have a problem with this because we all have to learn but she shouldn't have been left unsupervised and standing in the lobby for quarter of an hour while someone mashes keys is not a good way to start a break. The room was fine but the facilities in the room left a lot to be desired from a hotel with a 5* rating. The tea and coffee making equipment was a joke with a generic travel kettle, four tea bags, some sugar that had gone hard and no milk. Like other reviewers have mentioned, we had to go out and buy tea bags and a litre of milk. The bathroom was a standard NH design, which is to say, large clean and functional. Sadly, the towels seem to have seen better days and were more appropriate to a youth hostel than a top rated hotel. The complimentary toiletries consisted of own brand soap, shower gel and shampoo. Covid precautions had closed a number of facilities in the hotel including the restaurant and the gym but we were told about this in advance and it was not a problem. In fact, the levels of hygiene and precautions against infection seemed to be fine. This included the breakfast buffet which was done very well. There was a large selection of food at the buffet and the head waitress (who was the nicest member of staff we encountered) was happy to fry up some bacon and eggs for me and clearly had everything under control and running smoothly. Sadly, not all members of staff we encountered were as positive and friendly as the head waitress. A large part of what makes a 5* experience is the way the guest is made to feel. Unfortunately we were made to feel as a necessary inconvenience. Quite a number of staff who we passed in the corridors couldn't even be bothered to say a simple ‘good morning’. Does this make you feel like a valued guest? No it does not. This indicates a lack of training in customer care and is not something I have encountered in a NH hotel before. For example the NH in Leon, which is a 4*, has a totally different attitude from its staff and every member of staff we met there was positive and engaging and made you feel welcome and valued. One final thing that rankled a little was that the hotel had a very small number of guests staying that weekend, less than 20 rooms were occupied, or so I was told. This would have been an ideal opportunity for the hotel to upgrade their guests to rooms of superior quality to generate a bit of goodwill. It costs the same to clean a superior room as it does a standard so why not give people who are supporting your business in these difficult times a bit of added value? Years ago, the Hilton Tower Bridge upgraded me to Business Class and I liked it so much that whenever I go to a Hilton now I always go for the Business Class. So that simple act by the Hilton has generated them thousands of pounds of extra income over the years. Would it have been so hard for the guests this weekend to have been upgraded? Don't get me wrong, I got what I paid for but it would have been nice to have been offered the opportunity. In conclusion, I have stayed in NH hotels around the world and this is the first time that I have been disappointed so it won't stop me using the group in the future. However, if you have got to the end of this review (well done!) you should now be aware that, if you book this hotel, you will get a perfectly adequate stay but you need to be aware that you will not get 5* treatment or facilities and certainly don't expect to get cosseted by the staff. In other words, don't go there with high expectations.

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“Great location ”

Stayed just one night, hotel is in a perfect location. Didn’t find the welcome very warm, we were complimentary upgraded to a garden view room, room very good size with a Nespresso coffee machine which was appreciated. Nice bathroom but expected branded toiletries (Elemis, Molton Brown) given its... more

Stayed just one night, hotel is in a perfect location. Didn’t find the welcome very warm, we were complimentary upgraded to a garden view room, room very good size with a Nespresso coffee machine which was appreciated. Nice bathroom but expected branded toiletries (Elemis, Molton Brown) given its a 5*. Also felt the price for parking a motorcycle in the car park was excessive, 12 euros if I recall correctly. It’s difficult to give more feedback given many of the hotel facilities including the bar were closed due to COVID.

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