Sheila

My husband and I are looking for a scenic, romantic place to stay for a dew days while we tour around the coast from Bilboa to San Sebastian and then on to wine country. Will consider any price range

cristina

Sheila, <BR><BR>My favourite is Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian 5*, it is an elegant and historical building, centrally located within walking distance to the beach. But maybe you prefer Parador de Hondarribia in the beautiful village of Fuenterrab&iacute;a/Hondarribia, close to the French border . What are your preferences about situation? Beach, mountain, city center...?<BR><BR>Cristina<BR><BR>

Sheila

Cristina, <BR>Thanks for your help, I was not very specific. We will be traveling in late June and would enjoy a small, quiet, place to stay, preferably on the coast, but would enjoy mountains as well. The Maria Cristina looks lovely, but we were hoping for something more quaint. The parador you suggested is more of what we had in mind. Any other suggestions in the smaller coastal towns or in wine country?

Shain

Hi Sheila,<BR>as my girl and I like to taste good food and wine, our recommondation for you would be the <BR>Hotel San Roman de Escalante. It's just<BR>65km (45min by car) west of Bilbao.<BR>This ancient 17th century lies inbetween a wonderfull garden, close to the rockie coast. The rroms are really spacious (ca. 15 rooms) very private, cozy and intimate. We guess you will love it. I fyou need more about this<BR>lovely hotel email us and/or check<BR>http://www.relaischateaux.com/escalante<BR>And - do not miss out the kitchen there!<BR>The wine stock holds surprisingly fantastic "Rijoas" and other great and /or old wines of the region.<BR>Shain/eu/de/d&uuml;sseldorf

cristina

In Fuenterrab&iacute;a I can also recommend Hotel Pampinot(3*). Another coastal village with a magnificent beach is Zarauz, Hotel Karlos Argui&ntilde;ano(4*) could be a good option. I have not much information about La Rioja, but in Haro best hotels are Hotel Iturrimurri and los Agustinos (both 4*). There is a web page about La Rioja (www.larioja.com), but I´m afraid, it is just in Spanish.<BR><BR>Hope this helps and if you need more information do not doubt to email me.<BR><BR>Cristina

John

We stayed at the comfortable, very friendly (small) Hotel Atalaya in Mundaka, on the coast maybe 45 min. from Bilbao. Opens onto the town square (cute daily market) and is steps from the boat harbor and the bluff overlooking the bay, one of the most popular European venues for surfers. Frank Gehry stayed there sometimes while he was erecting his opus in Bilbao, we were told. Woohoo.

Maribel

Sheila<BR>I'd like to second Cristina's great suggestion of the Castle Parador in Hondarribia (but book ASAP!-the Pampinot or the Obispo are good second choices). We're planning to base ourselves in Hondarribia for a week in mid-July (were there for 5 days last July as well), not at the Parador but at an agrotourist caserio (Basque farmhouse). We think Hondarribia is just a perfect, extemely picturesque, friendly, lively but not noisy, highly atmospheric Basque fishing village that I'm sure you'd love, with great tapas bars everywhere you look, highly acclaimed restaurants (like Ramon Roteta, Alameda, Sebastian, and Zuberoa and Matteo in nearby Oiartzun). Everyone I've sent to Hondarribia has really enjoyed the town. Zarautz, staying at the Karlos Arguinao, would be my second choice.<BR><BR>About Mundaka: We had loved the surfing town of Mundaka, and the Atalaya and the Hotel Puerto, the first time we stayed there and recommended it to everyone, but when we returned last July we found it surprisingly run-down, the Atalaya had turned their restaurant into a "Steakhouse", which surprised us, and a militant pro-ETA faction had draped the entire town with pro-ETA banners; it made us feel uncomfortable, particularly on the heels of two ETA political assasinations in the Basque Country the week before, so we didn't want to linger, so I can't personally suggest it any more as a pretty and romantic base. <BR>I've read lots about a new, beautifully decorated, luxurious (and exp. for this area) country house hotel in Gipuzkoa, the Caserio Pikamendi, outside the picturesque little coastal town of Getaria (where the Basque wine, Txakoli, is produced), but haven't seen it yet. We plan to stop by and see it in July for future reference, as we like Getaria very much. You can view it at www.innsofspain.com <BR>www.rusticae.com<BR><BR>In the Rioja region, rather than staying in Haro, we love the wonderful medieval walled village of Laguardia, the wine capital of the Rioja Alavesa, and the beautifully decorated "Castillo de Collado", featured in the Spanish Vogue. The rooms are lavishly decorated with the finest of antiques (was a 10 year labor of love restoration project for restauranteur and wine expert Javier Acillona), there's a delightful "Amor y Locura" rm in the turret, and the hearty regional Rioja cuisine and wines attract Basque chefs from all around. This is our favorite Basque hideaway! See it at www.madridandbeyond.com <BR><BR>I also love San Roman de Escalante, but it's in Cantabria; you may not want to travel that far west.<BR><BR>Hope this helps a bit.