Azpeitia Hotels

Hotel Loiola: Great little hotel

If you are interested in a local, family operated hotel and you want to stay in Azpeitia rather than in San Sebastian, this is a great little hotel. It reminded me of a retreat house, except the bathrooms are marble. My room was very clean and neat and everything was in good condition. The housekeepers were very friendly and I talked to them for a long time. The family who owns and operates the hotel was friendly but very reserved.

The breakfast buffet is simple, but dinner at the restaurant was fantastic. I had read a review of the restaurant online which said it was a great place for authentic Basque food, and that was true. The restaurant is not swanky, but it is pretty and the food was fantastic.

If you are going to Azpeitia to visit the Shrine of Loyola, as I was, you can't beat the location. It is about 1/2 mile from the shrine, a very nice walk. Every morning there is a 9 a.m. Mass in the converstion room. We went and it was a lovely experience.

The people who work at the shrine are very friendly and helpful. Be sure to take the self-tour with the little card that looks like a credit card. It comes in eleventy bazillion languages (it's run by Jesuits, what do you expect?) and it was very interesting and well done.

The countryside of Azpeitia is beautiful. I liked it even better than Austurias because it wasn't so touristy. In fact, it was my favorite place in all of the north of Spain.

Unique Quality: Lovely view of the countryside.

• Opinion of Price: about average
• Address: Loiolako Inazio, 47
• Website: http://somehavehats.typepad.com/some_have_hats/
• Related to: Religious Travel, Castles and Palaces, Historical Travel
• Written July 11, 2006

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