Basque Country, Spain

Hotel Nafarrola

Price per night from$199.35

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR194.40), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Hotel Nafarrola Photos

Style

Basque bon vivant

Setting

Bay-facing farmland

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An all-senses induction into Basque Country life awaits at Hotel Nafarrola, a bucolic farmhouse stay near the Bay of Biscay’s coast. Your guides here are two Basque-born-and-bred brothers: Gaizka’s restaurant makes an art form of farm-to-table fare, washed down with hand-picked local wine pairings, and Josu jumps in with behind-the-scenes winery tours, cultural workshops, and lesser-known hiking routes. They call this spot the Garden of Bilbao – and it’s ripe for the picking…

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Facilities

Photos Hotel Nafarrola facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Eight, including two suites.

Check–Out

Noon. Check-in is at 5pm, but both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates are room-only, but breakfast is available at the hotel’s restaurant for €20 a person.

Also

One Junior Suite has been specially adapted with a roll-in shower for guests with limited mobility, and all the hotel’s communal spaces are wheelchair accessible.

At the hotel

Wine cellar, orchard, vineyards, private forest and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, whirlpool bath, Nespresso coffee machine, minibar, yoga mat, hairdryer, bathrobes, slippers and Per Purr bath products.

Our favourite rooms

There’s no such thing as a rum deal here – all eight rooms have a whirlpool bath tub, and seven have a private balcony or terrace. If snuggled-up stargazing sounds like your thing, swing for the Deluxe Room or the Junior Suite, both of which have skylights above the bed and bath tub.

Spa

The hotel doesn’t have a spa, but there’s a spot in the estate’s historic woodland that makes a magical spot for a massage – say the word, and staff can enlist an expert practitioner.

Packing tips

Once you’ve got the Basque Country essentials covered – comfortable walking shoes, waistbands with leeway – save the rest of your suitcase space for wine.

Also

Get ready to kick your dinner party game up several gears – as a counterpart to the in-depth cookery classes, Hotel Nafarrola has a calendar of shorter culinary workshops, each introducing a different aspect of traditional Basque cuisine.

Children

Leave the little Smiths at home – this is an adults-only stay.

Sustainability efforts

As a Europarc-certified stay, care for the environment is at Hotel Nafarrola’s core. Energy is all sourced from solar panels and water from its own mountain spring; and in the restaurant, seasonal ingredients come from local suppliers or straight from the hotel’s kitchen garden.

Food and Drink

Photos Hotel Nafarrola food and drink

Top Table

With bucolic views like these, by the window is always a good bet; but for something a little different, ask about a candlelit private dinner in the historic stone oven – trust us, it’s more romantic (and less toasty) than it sounds.

Dress Code

Rep a Basque-boy-made good with Balenciaga; otherwise, match Rola’s vibe with all-natural threads.

Hotel restaurant

Chef Gaizka Goikoetxea Larrauri grew up on this bountiful patch of the Basque countryside, and his passion for local produce and flavours permeates each finely spun dish. At Rola, his seasonal menus spotlight ingredients from the hotel’s kitchen garden and orchard, as well as a network of nearby farms, markets and artisanal producers.

The lunchtime tasting menu is worth devoting an afternoon to, especially when paired with txakoli from the oenophile-wooing wine cellar. Dinner might be confit cod with a red wine sauce, chilli-laced lobster ajoarriero or roasted pigeon with zingy tomato compote. And with temptations like spiced apple pastries, classic Basque baked cheesecake, and torrija (the caramelised Spanish answer to French toast) on the cards, you’ll want to save a spot of room for pudding.

Hotel bar

There’s no separate bar, but oenophiles can rest easy – with over 150 labels in the hotel’s wine cellar, there’s some serious swirling and sniffing to be done here. There’s a collection of txakoli from local small producers, along with international varietals, organic wines and some impressive vintages. Rola also hosts its own wine pairings, if you prefer your sips with some sustenance. Between meals, make for the communal living space, where you’ll find an honesty bar, but not as you know it. You can help yourself to chilled beers and a list of spirits and liqueurs as long as your arm, from aguardiente to Zacapa. And there’s always someone on hand to magic up any bottle you fancy from the wine cellar, or to mix you something from the menu of classic cocktails, too.

Last orders

Breakfast at Rola is from 8am to 10am, but there’s an early breakfast service available on request. Rola serves lunch at 1pm, and dinner at 8pm.

Room service

For a do-not-disturb dinner à deux, dishes from Rola’s menu can be delivered to your room.

Location

Photos Hotel Nafarrola location
Address
Hotel Nafarrola
Artike Auzoa No. 45 Caserio Nafarrola Erdikoa
Bermeo
48370
Spain

Hotel Nafarrola is set amid 25 acres of bountiful Basque farmland, backed by a pine-shaded peak and gazing across the valley to the Bay of Biscay.

Planes

The hotel’s a handy 30-minute drive from Bilbao Airport.

Automobiles

You’ll want wheels for branching out into the Basque Country. There’s free private parking at the hotel, including a space with an electric car charging point.

Other

The hotel is heaven-sent for cyclists, with maps and routes ready to download, isotonic drinks and energy bars on-hand, and a bike storage space with tools and a pump.

Worth getting out of bed for

The hotel can arrange all sorts of cultural and culinary experiences, tailored to the season and your interests. In cookery workshops, you’ll learn the history of traditional techniques, try your hand at them and – crucially – tuck into the fruits of your labour. Book ahead for tours and tastings at txakoli wineries, or to set out on trips to local suppliers including cheesemakers, bakers and fishing families that stretch back generations. Other inductions into the region’s culture include a peek behind the curtain at a private ceramic studio; an introduction to pelota vasca, the racket sport deeply rooted in local village life, and a live performance by traditional Basque musicians. If you’re planning to crawl the pintxo bars in Bilbao, ask the hotel to arrange a private tour of the Guggenheim while you’re there.

This is some seriously scenic hiking, cycling and mountain biking territory. Pick the team’s brains for the quietest routes and best spots to catch the sunset; ask in advance and a picnic can be packed. Reached via a stone bridge and a sizeable number of steps, the islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe rewards determined visitors with centuries of swashbuckling history and spectacular Bay of Biscay views. There are several pebble beaches in Bermeo; for surfing, mosey on down to Mundaka’s sandy stretches. And adrenalin fiends can up their heart-rate further with a helicopter tour of the wildlife-rich Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.

Local restaurants

The hotel has forged relationships with a hand-selected cluster of restaurants – for a tried-and-tested local spot for a post-hike lunch or seaside supper, speak to staff and they’ll happily send you in the right direction.

At Portuondo in nearby Mundaka, steaks and locally caught seafood are oak-fired and served over sweeping coastal views.

If you’re pootling into Bilbao, you’ll want to make a pintxos pitstop or two – cheese fans should squeeze in at Gaztandegi, and jamon diehards will want to head straight to La Viña del Ensanche.

Local bars

You’re all set on the wine front, as once you’ve worked your way through the hotel’s cellar, you can strike out for tastings at nearby vineyards. If you’ve a thirst for something different, the local team can loop you in on the best tabernas in Bermeo and the neighbouring coastal towns.

In Bilbao, Bar Basque’s swirling art nouveau architecture alone earns it a place in your evening plans; the huge spirit collection and standout G&T seal the deal.

Reviews

Photos Hotel Nafarrola reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this heritage-steeped hotel near Bermeo and unpacked their txakoli wine and traditional espadrilles, a full account of their epicurean break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Hotel Nafarrola in the Basque Country…

Top tip: topa is a word you’ll want in your vocabulary at Hotel Nafarrola. It’s Basque for “cheers”, and you'll get plenty of mileage from it at this gastronomic stay. Each fertile acre of the farmland estate, from historic forest to freshly planted vineyards, feeds into the restaurant’s seasonal menu. Homegrown produce is supplemented with goodies from regional growers, and the wine cellar is stocked with bottles of locally made txakoli – a lingering lunch here, and the toasts practically propose themselves.

But really, Nafarrola celebrates the Basque Country’s natural glory, where pine-scented hikes and cycles end with hilltop picnics worth raising a glass for. An espresso on your valley-gazing terrace or a drop of red as you let your fingers wrinkle in your whirlpool bath tub are further cause to clink. And after a trip out to meet some of the fishers, farmers and artisanal producers who make Nafarrola tick, only one toast seems fitting: to the Basque way of doing things. Topa!

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Price per night from $199.35

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