Mr & Mrs Smith

Having landed in glorious Biarritz afternoon sunshine, we were greeted by a huge smile belonging to our transfer driver. The hotel organised this for us, and how lovely to cruise along the highway in a beautiful leather-bound black Mercedes. On arrival to Astoria7, our first concern was finding a restaurant. A phone call later, reception had us a table reserved at Akelarre (3 Michelin Stars), a few miles out of town. So we then happily unloaded our bags in The Alfred Hitchcock suite. Very clean, open and super to have our own balcony area. We opened the complimentary fizz. 'Mr & Mrs Smith' always provide a personal touch. Dinner was fun; we chose the taster menu, however it was like sitting in a giant light bulb in 'Akelarre'. The view outside could therefore only be appreciated if you went during daylight hours. During our 3-day stay in San Sebastian, we walked, shopped, used taxis and buses, ate mountains of Tapas and drank tremendous measures of Gin and Campari. The waiters simply ask you when to stop pouring. Very reasonably priced too. I absolutely recommend Le Perla, a relaxed yet smart beach bar-restaurant. Having had a lovely fish lunch, we stayed there all afternoon reading on a comfy sofa on the terrace. The beach was literally yards away. Summing the town up, it’s like a busy mini city in slow motion, a gentle pace in the day, then the streets gallop into a whirlwind Tapas Al Fresco party at night. A big tick beside the Astoria7. My husband and I love your boutique hotels; friendly and the staff genuinely care.

I can highly recommend the San Sebastián Food company (www.sansebastianfood.com) who took us on a fantastic food tour of the city. We were taken to a local cider house to sample this seasons cider fresh out the cask (something you'd never know about without insider local knowledge), a pintxo tasting tour to all the best pintxo bars around the city, and also booked into some brilliant restaurants. The tour was really informative, hassle free and we wouldn't have got nearly as much out of our weekend there if we hadn't done it. Highly recommend!

31 Augusto St is well worth a tapas bar crawl,lots of great places

Rather than take a taxi to San Sebastian airport,ask the hotel to book you a car.Unlike many hotels in Asia or America,its actually exactly the same price for a caffeured Mercedes with a charming driver.