27 Best Hotels in The Basque Country, Navarra, and La Rioja, Spain

With its stone floors and rough-hewn ceiling beams, this 17th-century palace hotel transports you back in time, but it features thoroughly modern comforts: a terrific on-site tavern and winery, cushy beds, framed prints, and flower-fringed wrought-iron balconies.

This handsome hillside estate is among the province's most exquisite hideaways. It has bare stone walls, beamed ceilings, and windows overlooking lush green pastures, plus an elegant breakfast area and glass-walled reading nook. The on-site restaurant serves refined "kilometer-zero" dishes cooked over coals like grilled Navaz wood pigeon and txuletas de buey. 

Sandwiched between the Casco Viejo and the industrial area surrounding the Guggenheim, this corporate hotel soars seven stories over the Nervión, and its best rooms boast semicircular windows that make you feel like you're hovering over it. Cloudlike beds, exceptional breakfasts, and personable service make this hotel a regular choice among business and leisure travelers.

Across the street from the tourist office, Haro's best hotel is built into a 14th-century monastery with a cloister (now a beautiful covered patio) that's considered one of the finest in La Rioja. Arches, a great hall, and Renaissance tapestries complete the medieval look. The restaurant is known for serving local fare in two comfortable dining rooms; its glassed-in wine cellar holds Haro's greatest treasures. Rooms are cozy and decorated with antique furniture; some are newly renovated.  

Close to—but not within earshot of—the raucous food fight that is Calle del Laurel, this hotel by the cathedral is within walking distance of all the major sights. It recently became a Eurostars property and now has a digital option at check-in and renovated rooms that can be unlocked with your phone. Stash your car in the garage beneath the nearby Plaza del Espolón (€15 per day).

Amenities at this traditional hotel in a restored stone building include a complimentary glass of wine at check-in, to be taken in a 16th-century wine cave. Guest rooms, organized around an indoor courtyard, are baroquely furnished with heavy woods and flowy drapes. There are two restaurants—one formal, the other more down-home—which makes the Hospedería lively in the evenings.

This magnificent inn, under new management and with renovated public areas, occupies a wing of the historic Monasterio de Yuso. Heavy medieval stone walls conceal old-fashioned guest rooms, and there's a long baronial dining room on the ground floor that serves international fare as well as regional dishes.

On a mountaintop in the heart of Basque country’s “little Switzerland,” 20 minutes north of Vitoria-Gasteiz and 40 minutes south of Bilbao, this relaxing retreat features breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and an excellent restaurant and spa. Etxegana is an ideal base from which to enjoy the region's natural splendor: hiking, fishing, cycling, and more. Rooms are adorned with rustic woodcarvings and furniture imported from Thailand; numbers 25 and 26 are particularly spectacular.

With rooms overlooking Bilbao from the heights of Artxanda, this Basque farmhouse with cheery interiors and eager young owners offers excellent value. It's surrounded by the green hills and meadows you see from the Guggenheim Museum, so what you lose here in big-city ambience you gain in fresh air and solitude. Nearby asadores—including one next door—are good dining options. You'll need a car to get to downtown Bilbao.

Guests are treated like royalty in this castlelike 18th-century manor house. You don't have to choose between city convenience and country views: the property is located five minutes from the city center yet boasts spectacular views of the surrounding wine region. The hotel features an excellent restaurant, stained-glass windows, antique furniture, and a turreted tower whose spiral staircase empties onto a terrace overlooking the valley. Each room is individually styled, and upgraded digs add Jacuzzis and fireplaces.

More famous for its world-class Michelin-starred restaurant on the ground floor, this modestly priced hotel is one of Pamplona's best-kept secrets, a block and half from the bullring and within shouting distance of party central, Plaza del Castillo. The newly renovated property—awash with grays and whites—is a far cheaper alternative to most of the competition.

This modern property is tucked away on a relatively quiet pedestrian street yet steps from the action on Plaza del Castillo and Calle Estafeta. It's popular with business travelers, thanks to reliable Wi-Fi, a gym, and a sauna. There are suites and triple rooms for families.

Between the Guggenheim and the Museo de Bellas Artes, this quiet boutique hotel with floor-to-ceiling windows and impeccable service is the sister property of The Artist hotel just up the street. Its Y2K aesthetic—picture all-white rooms, crimson throw pillows, and white leather sofas with polished steel legs—ironically feels current once again.

This majestic hotel, occupying a reconstructed 17th-century country palace by the airport, is a peaceful country retreat with a 9-hole pitch-and-putt and nearby activities including sand, surf, and sailing 15 km (9 miles) away in Plentzia and equestrian activities in Mungia. Unabashedly Victorian rooms are spacious and appointed with antique furniture, while the decidedly less ornate restaurant, Harria, serves polished Basque cuisine.

Overlooking the Kursaal concert hall and the Zurriola beach at the mouth of the Urumea, this small but inviting two-star is also steps from the bar-lined Parte Vieja. Some rooms have views northeast across the Urumea River and out to sea, and all are adorned with oversize photos of San Sebastián.

Named for the three kings of Navarra, Aragón, and Castile—who, it was said, could meet at La Mesa de los Tres Reyes, in the Pyrenees, without stepping out of their respective realms—this modern glass-and-stone refuge operates on the same principle: come to Pamplona without leaving the comforts of home. Most rooms have a great view of the city.

The sharp angles and bright colors of this architecturally avant-garde luxury hotel cut a striking contrast to the vernacular architecture surrounding it. The location—12 km (7 miles) west of Laguardia in the sleepy village of Villabuena de Álava—makes it a good base for exploring La Rioja Alavesa and neighboring Rioja Alta. On the grounds are an upscale restaurant, wine cellar, and rooftop bar and gym.

Inspired by the work of Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, this blocky high-rise hotel was built over what was once the nerve center of Bilbao's shipbuilding industry—which explains the collection of Spanish ship models. Rooms are high, wide, and handsome, with glass, steel, stone, and wood trimmings. The views from upper floors are superb. 

This four-star near the old quarter has contemporary rooms, a well-trained staff, and a businesslike calm about it. The decor is dated and a bit hodgepodge in spots, but the efficiency—including complimentary valet parking upon request—makes up for any aesthetic shortcomings. The restaurant, Brasserie Zarcillo, with a grill for cooking over coals, has a good wine list.

Locals call this four-star newcomer a "hotel within a museum" because of its location inside the Tabakalera cultural center, a hotbed of art and innovation inaugurated in 2015 that's located 12 minutes on foot from the Parte Vieja. Expect eclectic modern decor, thought-provoking photography, and sculptural light fixtures in the guest rooms, which range from conventional doubles to airy, designer-appointed suites.

In a renovated convent, this contemporary hotel steps from the cathedral offers a great value. The dependable restaurant in the converted chapel and simple, modern rooms make the property a practical base. (Note: prices quadruple during San Fermín.)

This 17th-century palace has panoramic views over the Álava plains and feels like a time warp with its long stone hallways decorated with bulky, opulent antiques. It's said that Napoleon's forces rested here before attacking Vitoria. Rooms have polished wood floors, and some have glass-enclosed sitting areas or hot tubs. The wood-beam dining room on the third floor makes each meal feel like a baronial feast.

This cozy, cinema-themed pensión with in-room Nespresso machines, Marshall speakers, and big TVs is a good value. Sure, there's no round-the-clock reception, and rooms aren't impeccably soundproof, but staff are exceedingly personable and all of Bilbao's main sights are at your fingertips.

Across from the Teatro Arriaga in the Casco Viejo, this boutique hotel blends old and new design touches such as centenary limestone blocks, exposed brickwork, hand-hewn beams, and spiral staircases. The standard rooms and the showers are a tight fit, and the street below can be noisy on weekends, but amenities such as a generous buffet breakfast and free bicycle rentals make up for any shortcomings. 

An idyllic beach escape with panoramic views over the Bay of Biscay, this renovated 15th-century house on Getaria's uppermost street has cozily decorated rooms. Those facing the street have heavy stone walls and carved wooden furniture, while those on the seaside are more minimal with spectacular views.

Surrender to the slow pace of country life at this family-run hotel perched on a hilltop amid rolling vineyards. The guest rooms may be on the basic side (laminate floors, nothing-special mattresses, astroturfed balconies), but what the property lacks in traditional luxury it makes up for with pin-drop silence, sweeping ocean views, and personalized attention. 

The soaring atrium, expansive lobby, and turreted corner rooms lend this dependable seven-floor hotel a grand, conservative air. A recent renovation ripped out all the wall-to-wall carpeting and added chairs and furniture with clean lines, but the bones of the building—gold bannisters, glass elevators, natural-wood door frames—still scream ’90s.