An 8-room boutique on Monte Ulía adjoining chef Rubén Trincado's 1-Michelin-star Mirador de Ulía restaurant — opened May 2010 — with the most-photographed Bay of Biscay view in San Sebastián and the smallest hotel in the city.
"Eight rooms above the Trincado-family restaurant on the eastern Monte Ulía cliffs — the alternative to Akelarre's Monte Igueldo position. The smallest five-star hotel in San Sebastián, with the only Bay-of-Biscay-eastern-cliff view from any city hotel."
The Mirador de Ulía hotel opened on 1 May 2010 as the boutique-hotel companion to chef Rubén Trincado's eponymous restaurant — a Trincado-family establishment that has operated on the eastern Monte Ulía cliffs above San Sebastián since 1965, and that has held one Michelin star continuously since 2007 under the third-generation Trincado kitchen team. The site is on Paseo de Ulía 193 — a 30-minute walk or 10-minute drive east along the coast from central San Sebastián, with the Atlantic to the north and the Old Town in line of sight to the west. The architectural commission was Bilbao practice ACXT (the firm responsible for the Guggenheim Bilbao's interior detailing) with a deliberate eight-room contemporary boutique register that integrates discreetly into the existing 1965 restaurant building.
The 8 rooms are uniformly configured at 35 sqm each — there are no suite categories, only the eight standard rooms. All include floor-to-ceiling Bay of Biscay views, private balconies, and direct access to the small property garden. The deliberate small-scale operation is the principal proposition: the property is the smallest hotel in San Sebastián, with the highest staff-to-room ratio of any city establishment. Bathrooms are travertine; bath products are Trincado-curated organic Basque botanicals.
The principal dining programme is at the adjoining Restaurante Mirador de Ulía — Trincado's 1-Michelin-star kitchen — open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Hotel guests have priority for both seatings; the standard reservation programme runs two months in advance for non-residents. The hotel runs no separate dining programme other than the breakfast service in the small breakfast room. There is no spa, pool, or fitness centre.
The Monte Ulía position is the booking trade-off relative to the central San Sebastián heritage hotels and to Akelarre on Monte Igueldo on the western side. From the property it is a 10-minute drive into central San Sebastián and the Old Town; the property does not run a complimentary shuttle (transport is by personal car or taxi). The eastern Monte Ulía position offers the only hotel view of San Sebastián from the eastern cliffs — and pairs naturally with the Atlantic-coast Pasaia village three kilometres east. For travellers wanting the smallest, most-discreet boutique hotel in the Basque Country with the Trincado dinner programme, Mirador de Ulía is unambiguous.
For honeymoons in the Basque Country wanting the smallest, most-private cliff-edge boutique with the Trincado dinner — particularly for couples wanting the Akelarre-alternative on the eastern cliffs — Mirador de Ulía is the right answer. Eight rooms, no suite tier, full uniform luxury.
A milestone-anniversary booking with one of the eight rooms and the Trincado tasting menu at dinner. The smallest, most-discreet anniversary set-up in San Sebastián.
For solo travellers wanting the most-private cliff-top hotel base with the Trincado kitchen as the dining anchor and the eastern Monte Ulía coastal walks as the daily programme, Mirador de Ulía is the right answer. The smallest hotel in the city; the highest service ratio.
Paseo de Ulía 193, Monte Ulía
20013 San Sebastián
Spain
Central San Sebastián 10 min by car; Old Town and Concha 12 min; Pasaia village 8 min by car east; Eastern Monte Ulía coastal trail at the door; San Sebastián Airport (EAS) 18 min by car
8 uniformly-configured rooms at 35 m²
Standard from €420/night
(Restaurant tasting menu separate)
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Hotel opened 1 May 2010
Restaurant since 1965; 1 Michelin star since 2007
Trincado-family ownership
Restaurante Mirador de Ulía (1 Michelin star)
Eight cliff-edge rooms — uniform luxury
Direct eastern Monte Ulía coastal-trail access
Private property garden
No spa, pool, or fitness centre
Smallest hotel in San Sebastián
Trincado-family three-generation operation
From €420/night. With only 8 rooms, the property books five months ahead. Restaurante Mirador de Ulía tasting-menu reservations recommended at booking — two-month lead time for non-residents.
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