Overlooking San Sebastian, Spain, Mount Ulia is a natural park that offers panoramic views of the coastline, the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean. On its steep slopes rises the Mendi Argia Hotel, a proud three-story villa built at the beginning of the 20th century.e century and typical of the region, with its massive balustrades, its white plaster facades enamelled with granite stones which highlight the door frames. This former Russian consulate was transformed four years ago into an elegant and comfortable hotel establishment which is entered through a living room opening onto a large terrace and a swimming pool.
At the helm of the renovation, Mari Luz Vidal, interior designer and co-founder of the Barcelona lifestyle magazine Openhouse. In this living room which serves as a reception, lounge and breakfast room, Mari Luz Vidal has skillfully combined southern colors and contemporary design: Noguchi glass table, colored mirror by designer Sabine Marcelis, terracotta tiles from Morocco…
You have to take the century-old solid wood staircase to discover the Ulia Romántica suite, whose terrace offers a view of the mountain and the bay. Parquet floor, fabric headboard framed in blond wood, black Thonet chair, ocher lime walls, this is a refined and relaxed refuge. The most spectacular space is the bathroom hidden behind the glass roof, with its Japanese bath in black marble from the quarries of Markina, a village near San Sebastian. The Hotel Mendi Argia, “illuminated mountain”, in Basque, was imagined as a beacon in the night and has preserved its terraced garden, its Basque pelota pediment, its romantic sculptures and other surprises to discover.
At 700 meters: enjoy another gastronomy
Mirador de Ulía is without a doubt the restaurant with the most beautiful view in San Sebastián. It unfolds in a large veranda converted into a restaurant room whose bay windows overlook Zurriola beach. In the kitchen, Rubén Trincado, the third generation at the helm of this gastronomic address, offers, in addition to local specialties – pork, langoustine, etc. – a vegetarian menu that invites new flavors, such as beetroot tartare or walnut carpaccio cashew.
At 950 meters: overlook the bay
You must continue the road which passes below the hotel towards the summit of Mount Ulia, then take the first stairs which descend on your left and access the Arbola Pasealekua trail. We then enter between maritime pines, umbrella pines, holm oaks, laurel leaves, acacias and magnolias… When the vegetation becomes scarcer and the ferns replace the forest at the top of the cliffs, the path offers spectacular views of the waves crashing on the rocks and the fishing boats in the distance braving the Atlantic.
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