What can I say here. My wife and I along with four friends made Villa Embil our home for a week and absolutely fell in love. It's a majestic property overlooking the kinda sleepy town harbor and beach with a sweeping view to the mountains surrounding San Sebastian, about a 25 minute's drive away (and perfect for peace and calm. The perfect respite, reminding us of the California coast, with the bluffs and crashing waves.
We intended to stay in San Sebastian, but one look at (the now out dated photos) of Villa Embil, we made the switch and so glad that we did! While the Villa is utterly beautiful as a result of the major update that Miguel made (really, you can't believe it), Miguel himself is what made our trip so memerable. He knows EVERYONE in every direction. We asked for a recommendation our first night and he called his friend that owns a michelin star restaurant down on the water. Then the following night we asked him to arrange for a chef to come to the villa and prepare dinner one night. Well, he had the owners (also long time friends) of orhi come and they were nothing short of warm, wonderful and of course amazing.
Miguel and his place are just perfect. The home was lovingly restored to it's original look and feel using all top of the line cabinetry, appliances, bathroom amentities and anything else that you can think of. All bedrooms have windows that open to the sea (and blackout metal shutters for the dark). One bedroom has a balcony. A beautiful balcony with dining table is perfect for eating outdoors. The living room dining room combo have a giant bay window overlooking the sea.
None of us wanted to leave. It was a chance finding and we feel like we won the lottery, with both Villa Embil and Miguel. If you considering the Basque coast, you MUST put the Villa Embil on your list!