"Igeldo, the out-of-town settlement somewhere between suburb and bucolic hilltop village, is best known in San Sebastián for three very different things: its funicular railway, the baby peas grown on its allotments, and Pedro Subijana's Akelarre restaurant (one of a trio of storied establishments in the city boasting three Michelin stars). For years, Subijana had dreamed of building a small hotel as an adjunct to his restaurant and was snapping up adjacent plots of land for the purpose (on one of which stood an abandoned discoteca). The result, unveiled in 2017, is a cut above the average restaurant with rooms. Attached to the existing building is the modernist structure of the hotel (designed by Marta Urtasun and Pedro Rica of Madrid-based architects Mecanismo) whose low-slung cuboid forms are faced with rough grey slate. Akelarre's 22 rooms have the studiedly neutral aesthetic of the boutique retreat de nos jours, with oak-lined walls and floor, cool modern furniture (check the butterscotch-colored leather armchairs), total soundproofing, and plate-glass windows giving wide-screen views of sea, sky and verdant farmland. The effect is so restful it's easy to forget you're just a 10-minute drive from the bustle of downtown San Sebastián." - Paul Richardson
