We can't rave enough about our stay at Villa Embril in Getaria, Spain!! First of all, the villa itself is absolutely stunning. It's perched up high above the seaside with panoramic views from almost every room of the water and the perfect fishing village and port of Getaria. The villa is decorated beautifully a la Restoration Hardware with tasteful neutral colors and linens. Every detail adds to the beauty, while still allowing the superb sea views and terraced gardens to hold the spotlight. We are still dreaming of those views. The only possible issue I can imagine regarding the villa is for someone with mobility issues because there are quite a few stone steps going up to the villa from the road, and then the villa itself has 3 levels.
Getaria is a dream village 5 minutes walk on the easy paved walk way that runs between all the nearby towns, and is safe day or night. Getaria has cobblestone streets, beautiful old buildings, plenty of shops and restaurants, and a very nice wide sand beach. The town has a lovely family feel with babies to grandparents happily socializing, eating and enjoying themselves long into the evenings. We quickly found our favorite cafe in Getaria for grilled fish (a specialty of the region and freshly caught daily by the local fishermen) and local wine. The town is charming and beloved, and though quite small it even boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant. We all decided we could easily live in Getaria and be happy forever!
In terms of location, the more well-known small city of San Sebastian is about 25-30 minutes away from the villa, Bilbao is an hour, and the Rioja Valley wine region is 1.5 hours. So everything is quite convenient, though we found it hard to tear ourselves away from Getaria and the villa.
Last but arguably most important, Miguel was a charming and gracious host who attended to every detail to make our stay comfortable and memorable. Based on our photos of his villa and our rave description, we have already shared his contact info with 4 of our friends who hope to plan future trips! Thank you for everything, Miguel. We loved our stay in your beautiful home!
Amy Peck