Arbaso: we show you the luxury hotel that has opened its doors in the center of San Sebastián
Arbaso: we show you the luxury hotel that has opened its doors in the center of San Sebastián
Arbaso is one of the latest hotels to open in San Sebastián, designed in response to the increase in tourism over the last decade. Its location is one of the best in the city, right in the center, occupying the nineteenth-century building where, until now, the Loewe boutique was located, opposite the Buen Pastor Cathedral.
The name Arbaso –which means ancestor in Basque– refers to the philosophy with which the hotel is presented: a space where the origin of stories can be experienced with the five senses, a place in which guests will be able to breathe the essence of the Basque environment and culture. This accommodation option offers multiple activities inside and outside the hotel, all of which revolve around the four elements of nature: fire, with storytelling for adults around a fireplace that has underwent a site-specific intervention by Bilbao artist Aitor Ortiz; water, rowing in a traditional ‘trainera’ boat through the Cantabrian Sea; land, inviting guests to immerse themselves in a traditional farmhouse; and air, making it possible to fly over La Rioja in a hot air balloon.
Its culinary space, Narru (‘leather’ in Basque), is made up of a restaurant and bar which –under the watchful eye of Chef Iñigo Peña– follows this same line in terms of transmitting local values. The restaurant is warm and elegant, with an open kitchen for diners to look inside and where fresh, local products and refined flavors abound. The bar recreates the more informal experience of a txoko –a Basque gastronomic society– and acts as a meeting point amongst guests and locals who appreciate good food and architecture.
The hotel’s fifty rooms measuring between 23 and 73 m2 are divided into 10 different categories, each with its own name in Basque: Izar (single room), Xirimiri (double standard), Sustrai (deluxe room with a balcony), Olatu (premium room with a balcony and viewpoint), Ilargi (junior suite with a living room and bedroom), Sua (duplex penthouse with a bedroom and a living room with a wood-burning fireplace), Zerua (premium penthouse with a living room and bedroom), Hodei (suite with two bedrooms), Basoa (suite with a living room and two bedrooms), and Zuhaitz (a family room with two interconnecting bedrooms). All the rooms are designed with the highest quality materials, treated in a traditional way, and include iconic decorative elements and the latest technology.
With the honest intention of becoming champions of Basque luxury, Arbaso has been surprising its customers since it opened –both the citizens of San Sebastián and foreigners– with values very much in line with those of this publication, in which authenticity can truly be seen above anything else.
Arbaso Hotel
Calle Hondarribia 24, San Sebastián.
Tel.: +34 843 931 400
