Ezcaray is a town in the Oja Valley in the La Rioja region of northern Spain. The name is of Basque origin. The town is situated at the base of the San Lorenzo peak and is 13 km from the Valdezcaray ski area
Echaurren Hotel
Styling itself as a Gourmet Hotel, and a member of Relais & Chateau, the bar is set high. The hotel has been completely refurbished to a high standard. The rooms are comparatively small, but perfectly large enough. Our room looked out onto the road, but the double glazing kept out all traffic noise.
Parking is difficult/impossible in the town, and we booked a place in their garage (14 euros a day). Arrival was difficult as the hotel is on the main road, there is little or no space to wait to check in, and the garage is up the road and the receptionist has to guide you there. Without a place in their garage you could spent a lot of time trying to find a parking space
It would be fair to say that this is a restaurant with rooms, rather than a hotel. We never found a lounge and were never told of one. There was a gym at the top of the building, but for reasons unknown was kept locked and you had to get a key from reception
The hotel has two restaurants and a tapas bar: the more expensive one has 2 Michelin Stars. We opted not to eat there as menus ran from 135 euros a head, and went to the other, which was nevertheless of Michelin standard in appearance - white tablecloths, black clad waiters.
We had the menu in the Tradition Restaurant which was not cheap at 65 euros a head - we had expected better. The croquettes were excellent, and were the high point of the meal . However the White Beans Pochas was inedible, and the meat balls nothing special, and the hake was cold. I appreciate that this is not a Michelin starred restaurant, but the food we had did not live up to the price tag for the tasting menu. Further the service was less than convivial
After our evening meal, breakfast at 22 euros looked pretty pricey, so we opted for breakfast in the town square, which was very agreeable
Click on thumbnail below to get the larger photo
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The town of Ezcaray seems to be a ski resort, with many apartment blocks on offer. There was an interesting area of the old town, where we had breakfast: a walk along the river: a glass of wine in the old railway station, now a restaurant/cafe: and a climb up to the hermitage overlooking the town
Click on thumbnail below to get the larger photo
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