An Indagare member, Lesley M. M. Blume, recently traveled to Barcelona and San Sebastian. Below, she shares some tips on where to stay and eat in Spain:
“Thank you again for all of your help with our Spain trip; your insights, recommendations and accommodations were exceptional. I wanted to share some notes with you, in case you wanted to use them for future references for other Indagare members:
1. We recommend the Hotel Pulitzer (Calle Bergara 8, Barcelona; 34-934-816-767; www.hotelpulitzer.es) as an affordable, stylish option in Barcelona. I think we paid 170 euros a night, and it is a wonderfully designed hotel with great art in each of the rooms, a very good breakfast, a great lobby area and exceptional service located just above the old town. It is hip but not egregiously so.
2. Additional must-add restaurants to the Indagare roster in Barcelona: Can Pineda (Calle Sant Joan De Malta 55, Barcelona; 34-933-083-081), which is adored by Mario Batali and Mark Bittman, and Inopia (Calle Tamarit 104, Barcelona; 34-934-245-231), which was a revelation. It was sublime. Also, we adored Cal Pep and actually recommend eating in the back room instead of the counter in the front. You feel like you’re in a VIP realm and the waiters are wonderful and hilarious. An excellent, tiny coffee place is Café del Born (Plaça Comercial, Barcelona; 34-93-268-3272) where they have sweet little marble topped tables and divine empanadas. It is lovely and quiet in the afternoon but a mob scene at night.
3. We loved the Villa Soro (Avenida Ategorrieta 61, San Sebastian; 34-94-329-7970; www.villasoro.com) in San Sebastian. They gave us a beautiful room with a huge terrace and discounted it heavily. We recommend that other patrons take the Villa’s bicycles into town and ride along the promenade. It’s great fun. Also, we found some ridiculously good pintxos places in the Parte Vieja. The best ones seemed to be on the far end of Calle 31 de Agosto, including A Fuego Negro (Calle 31 de Agosto, San Sebastian; 34-650-135-373) and an all-white pintxos bar next door. Incidentally, San Sebastian is one of the most special places I’ve ever been.
4. In nearby town Hondarribia, Indagare members MUST visit the beautiful little restaurant called Sebastian (34-94-364-4604) in the walled old city. It was incredibly charming and the tasting menu was wonderful.
5. We were a little disappointed with El Peregrino (Calle Irunbidea, Punte La Reina; 34-948-340-075; www.hotelelperegrino.com) outside Pamplona, where we stayed for one night on our drive from Barcelona to San Sebastian. Decor-wise, it needs a bit of updating and the staff wasn’t particularly friendly, although we were enchanted by the honeysuckle arbor near the entrance.
6. Biarritz was wonderful and we can attest that the Hotel du Palais (1 Avenue de l’Impératrice; 33-05-5924-3684; www.hotel-du-palais.com) poolside lunch was really divine, especially the fish dishes.”
Read the Indagare destination report on Barcelona
Read about eating in the Basque Country
Read about the best shopping and dining in Biarritz
For tailored travel advice or to learn about preferred rates at hotels, contact our booking department by calling 212-988-2611 or by sending an inquiry
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