We were welcomed by the lovely Esther at her 5th (top) floor apartment (lift access) at the agreed time and she showed us round a well appointed and comfortable residence which covered 2 floors. There are beautiful views form the light filled apartment to the spectacular Basilica of Loyola, the birth place of Saint Ignatius, and an important point of pilgrimage for people exploring the origins of the Jesuits. There were also fantastic views of the surrounding hills in which could be seen hill farms with rugged peaks beyond with eagles soaring over them (Esther has binoculars in the apartment for this use).
Although we were only a couple and only used 1 floor, the apartment would work well for a larger group as it has 4 bedrooms. Esther took the time to explain all the features of the apartment and she speaks English which made it easy for us to understand. She also took time to explain what was in the area and the wealth of tourist information she has at the apartment along with her advice on places of interest and local knowledge was excellent.
We stayed in the apartment for 2 weeks and used it as a base to visit Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Pamplona, the coastal villages, the brilliant high sierras and many local villages and points of interest (even managing to take a trip on the coal-fired steam train from the train museum in Azpeitzia). We also took time to explore Azpeitzia and its bars, cafés and restaurants (useful recommendations from Esther in the apartment) and even partook of the local cider drawn very theatrically direct from the vat by the bar owner.
We had calls from Esther during our stay to check that everything was OK and to see if she could help with anything. The day before we left we had a visit by Esther when she brought some of the local cakes (can’t remember the name of them) to share over a cup of coffee.
We enjoyed our stay immensely and would have no problem in recommending both Esther and her apartment to anyone seeking to explore the fascinating Basque area of Spain.