Restaurante Akelare | Pedro Subijana

"The haute cuisine dishes at Akelarre strike the perfect balance between innovative and comfort food. That’s no surprise considering Chef Pedro Subijana was one of the founders of nueva cocina vasca. His contributions to this movement are still on display on the €350, eight-course tasting menu. Here, traditional Basque dishes, like beans and blood sausage, get a makeover from humble stew to a tiny, perfect black pudding layer cake served with a shot of thick garbanzo consommé. Add floor-to-ceiling views of the Cantabrian Sea and a wine list with rare bottles you can’t get anywhere else in town, like Buisson Renard from Didier Dagueneau, and you have all the ingredients for an unforgettable night." - Marti Buckley

"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

"The Akelarre hotel, distinguished with two Keys, features spacious rooms, soaking pools, and a spa with views of Monte Igueldo and the Cantabrian Sea. Its design highlights Japanese simplicity, and the Akelarre restaurant offers innovative Basque cuisine by chef Pedro Subijana." - The MICHELIN Guide

"Among them: Akelarre in San Sebastián (restaurant: Akelarre), Atrio Restaurante Hotel in Cáceres (restaurant: Atrio), and Pepe Vieria Restaurant Hotel in Poio (restaurant: Pepe Vieira)." - The MICHELIN Guide

"With 22 spacious rooms, deep bathtubs, soaking pools, a spa, and a setting painstakingly considered by hoteliers down to the last detail, the Akelarre hotel — distinguished with two Keys — exudes innovation." - The MICHELIN Guide