Where is the best place to stay close to or in San Sebastian.
I love small places that are family run.
Many thanks!
We just returned and stayed here.
It’s a pension so no lobby and fancy accomdations. Just a very nice room 200 feet from El Barrio, perfect location as it’s very quiet yet right in the heart. They also have access discounted parking which is a BIG deal in SS because there is literally no street parking for anyone but locals and even then it’s extremely limited.
SS is at the top of my list of favorite cities.
Let me know when your start the thread for food and activities recommendations!
You can roll like Todd French and stay at the hotel Christina Maria where the bar uses Riedel glasses. Service is unbelievable but you’re paying for it in a big way.
Last year, I stayed at Hotel Leku Eder, a small family place outside the City Center. High on the hill with nice views of the ocean. A little funky but friendly staff and a decent breakfast. There are some nice foot paths. I had a car so drives into the city center were easy.
Address: Paseo Cristóbal Balenciaga, 2
20008 San Sebastián Gipuzkoa Spain
It is fairly inexpensive.
I saved money so I could go to Akelare.
Stayed at Pension Amaiur last fall. Great location in the heart of the old town. On the budget side of the spectrum. Check the notes on TripAdvisor.
San Sebastian is an amazing town with so much great food. My favorites in the old town included Ganbara, Bar Nestor, Atari Gastroteka and La Cuchara de San Telmo. If you make it into nearby St Jean de Luz, France a meal at le Kaiku is a must.
Stayed at the Maria Cristina in San Sebastian. Neither small nor family run. Big and grand. But also awesome and ideally located. Exceptional service too. When my wife left her jacket at Mugaritz (a non-trivial drive up into the hills), one of the hotel receptionists took it upon herself to drive up to Mugaritz on her own time and personally deliver the jacket back to us. Classy place.
Greatest hotel experience we ever had
Thanks to all.
Last year, we stayed at Hotel Londres Y Inglaterra near the beach. It’s not family-run, but it’s modern, with some old/classic touches in the decor, plus it’s comfortable. But, we also liked it for being only a 5-10 minute walk to the Parte Vieja (historic town center); while you can also peruse the beach for long walks.
good post. Atarti and their other place next door were my two favorites but there are 15 interesting places to eat in a 200 yard radius. Do it like a local, one drink and pintxo then move to the next place. Hit up a bunch. Great way to empty your pockets of all that Euro change.
here’s Atari and my wife’s boyfriend.
Or, if you tire of the tourists in the Old town, you can take a lovely 20-minute walk across the river to Gros District for some of the finest pintxos and small plates where locals flock. For crazy costs of about Euro 3 each plate.
Tons of Pintxos bars lined-up and tucked-away in Gros, but I recommend Bar Senra and Bar Urtxori-Bi.
Ditto. Just returned form 5 days in SS and 5 in Barcelona at the Ritz/Hotel Arts and the MC blew Arts out of the water.
FYI - Bar Senra, which we also liked a lot, has closed. A local foodie told us it will reopen, but it “will not be good.” I took that to mean new ownership or management with a new spin.
I’m sorry to hear about Bar Senra with the new management. It was always worth the trek to Gros District with the creative pintxos. Friendly bartender, too.
I hope they will, at least, keep the chef and some of the dishes on the old menu.
Ramon - I don’t know if a management change, ownership change or chef change really. Could be all of those. The guy at Hidalgo 56 who told us it closed when we said we were headed there next, seemed very sad about it. I tend to trust him. It’s one of the nice things about a place where a “crawl” is an accepted practice: you can ask one place about another and they’ll give you an honest opinion since they take for granted you’ll be going to 3 more places anyway and can’t be convinced to eat only at their own establishment.
stayed at the hotel maria cristina two summers ago after running with the bulls in pamplona. wonderful hotel that i enjoyed very much. the cocktails were fantastic. only downside was no pool, but a great beach just a short walk away. ate at rekondo, elkano, arzak and mugaritz. arzak was just an incredible dining experience that blew me away- top 10 restaurant experience in my life. rekondo was less spectacular, but eating in the courtyard , drinking unico and then touring the cellar made up for it. elkano has spectacular traditional spanish seafood… it was about a 45 minute bus ride from san sebastian, and i spent a couple hours at the balenciago museum down the road, which is not to be missed. a true genius, visionary and master of his craft.
Elkano was incredible. Señor Arregui was so gracious. He wanted me to know how welcome I was in his house. Terrific turbot. I liked the Kokotxa but the barnacles (percebes) were out of this world. Fresh and tasted like the best mussel or clam.
Pintxos. We haven’t scratched the surface. Hongos a la Plantxa at Ganbara. Terrific.
The thing that slayed us was a wonderful Torta de Queso (cheesecake) at La Vina. This one is not one of the most recommended but the concierge here told us that Le Cepa and this place had first rate cheesecake. No lie. It is amazing.
The Maria Christina is a super luxury hotel. You have everything at your disposal. Reservation at any restaurant. Information. Central location. Not cheap but for those of us who are exploring for the first time, this place is fantastic.
Fantastic Don. I didn’t make it to Elkano on my first trip so there is a big reason to return. I just love Ganbara.
Those cheesecakes lined up on the counter… Damn good and beautiful.
Found the cheesecake.
Those cheesecakes are first rate.