Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastian

About

Opened in 1912, the same year as the Victoria Eugenia Theatre across the river, the hotel was built during the city’s Belle Époque heyday when Spanish royalty spent their summers on the Basque coast. Its architect, Charles Mewès, was also responsible for the Ritz in Paris and Madrid, which explains why the building still carries itself with such confidence more than a century later. The first impression is hard to fault. A magnificent façade rises above the Urumea River, crystal chandeliers illuminate marble halls, and the atmosphere retains a touch of old world glamour without feeling theatrical. During the San Sebastián International Film Festival, the hotel becomes the unofficial living room of the event. Over the decades, everyone from Alfred Hitchcock and Elizabeth Taylor to Meryl Streep has passed through these doors. What makes Maria Cristina particularly appealing is how effortlessly it places you in the heart of the city. A short stroll leads to the pintxos bars of the Parte Vieja, the elegant avenues of the centre and the curve of La Concha. Returning afterwards for breakfast beneath soaring ceilings or a cocktail in the bar feels entirely appropriate. The guestrooms are spacious and comfortable, although the architecture occasionally hints at an even grander story than the interiors choose to tell. Fortunately, the true character of the hotel lies well beyond the room itself. It is found in the building, the history, the riverfront setting and the feeling of participating in a tradition that has been part of San Sebastián for more than a hundred years.