Hotel Echaurren Relais & Châteaux

What is really special about Echaurren is the strong feeling of family and tradition. The hotel - and restaurants - have been in the family for 5 generations. They are celebrating their 125th year! It was very nice to meet all the siblings! We stayed at the hotel for two nights and dined at both of their restaurants - both restaurants are quite fine. In fact, we decided to visit the hotel because we had enjoyed so much the "pop-up" of their fine dining restaurant in San Sebastián a few years ago. Besides wanting to visit their restaurant, we also wanted to explore La Rioja and learn about the wines - and the hotel recommended to us a private guide - which was fantastic! Her name is ITZIAR CALLEJA - and we highly recommend. In terms of the rooms, our room was modern and very large and the AC worked very well! However, it was not so comfortable... and missing some really basic things like tissues and a make-up mirror, and the shampoo dispensers did not work. The tub was awkward to use... The closets were not tall enough for dresses.. The bathroom is attached to the bedroom which meant that if someone had the light on when they were in the bathroom, there was light in the bedroom. They also seemed very understaffed - for example, when we arrived there was only one woman there and she was rushing to help us with our bags and get back to the desk, and she forgot to tell my husband that he needed a room key to get into the parking lot - he did not appreciate going back and forth to the parking lot after a long drive and then when he did she was helping someone else. Breakfast is nice but also understaffed -- this morning they did not even give us a menu let alone ask us if wanted any hot food. Overall, we recommend for the history and ambiance but hope they can consider the comfort of the rooms and the level of service.

The common spaces and restaurants I would rate 4.5/ 5 stars as well as the staff who were friendly and helpful. Beautiful breakfast area and charming bar and reception area. No doubt the nicest hotel downtown Ezcaray and a great base for La Rioja. I know that below will sound very picky but our entire trip to Spain was based on this hotel and I want to provide honest feedback for other travelers who select this hotel based on its Relais Chateaux distinction. We were disappointed by the room itself. We had the largest room in the hotel and the design/features in my opinion were cheaply done and not up to Relais Chateaux standards in our opinion. We have stayed at 10+ Relais properties and choose travel based on Relais locations. I understand the style is modern and clean, and the rooms do look nice. However, several drawers did not function in the IKEA style dresser, the futon in the sitting area looked cheap and not clean, and the bathtub was melamine or plastic, not porcelain. One sliding door in a closet also did not slide as it should have and one of the window shades fell off the wall the moment we pressed the electronic button to close it. We were able to fix it and just not touch it the rest of the time. There was also no iron or steamer in the room nor a bottle opener in a 5 star wine region hotel.

Wonderful place, extremely modern and stylish in a great spot in the old town. Hotel, restaurant, staff, all lovely and made us feel so welcome. Great food, both the breakfast spread and dining experiences.