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Beth Bochnak's avatar

We had the most wonderful time in San Sebastián a few years ago. We splurged on the hotel Londres and had a room overlooking the bay. We liked it so much we didn’t go to Bilbao and stayed there 2 extra days. They upgraded us (I think because of our enthusiasm) to what was the grand opening of the top two floors. They were re-enacting a famous moment when Ava Gardener and an opera singer (whose name I forget) had a rendezvous at the hotel. The actress playing Gardener was staying next door and she was a lot of fun. She generously shared her cava with us. The rooms had lovely terraces with sun beds and her room had a big bathtub filled with bubbles. In the evening (to which we were not invited) bigwigs from the hotel’s parent company were invited up to her room where she was entertaining in her bathtub or on the terrace in a sexy bathrobe (which sounds like an oxymoron). For the next 2 days the staff referred to us as “the friends of Ava Gardner” pronounced “Ahva”. Everything we ate was delicious and we had fun at the pinxos places and at a place the hotel recommended right nearby. On day we drove to France for lunch and had a picnic of bread, cheese and freshly opened oysters in a parking lot. We dream of going back but are also afraid that some adventures just can’t be repeated. Thanks for reminding me of our wonderful time.

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Teddi C's avatar

We just had three glorious weeks in Northern Spain and Southern France in September, and plan to return, so I love all of these suggestions. We stayed at a lovely parador in Hondarribia, just a few miles from San Sebastián. We happen to hit during the Festival of Guadalupe, which was fun to see. We had to drop off our rental in San Sebastián, and took the opportunity to spend the day. Thank you for the hotel suggestion as we plan on returning. One day was not enough. We had a private driver take us from Hondarribia to Saint Jean de Luz, where we spent a week. I highly recommend the Hotel de la Plage. We had the top corner room facing the ocean, and it was fabulous. It is in France, but because it is so close to the border it is the best of both worlds. The food was excellent. A great place for some R&R.

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