Château d'Urtubie
Saint Jean de Luz,
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Hotel
+33 (0)5 59 54 31 15
Visit owner's website
€130 - €198
per night
Minutes from the beach, this listed retreat comes with beautiful rooms in classical style, charming hosts and a family-run restaurant nearby
10 rooms
Rooms sleep 1 – 2
Your enquiry details
2 Guests 21 Nov 24 - 21 Nov 24
Direct with the owner
Visit the owner’s chosen website for availability, online booking or contact details.
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What part does Sawday’s play?
€130 - €198 per night
The Experience
Built in 1341 with permission from Edward III, the keep is still intact, though the roof was changed in 1654 to resemble Versailles. Inside, all is elegant and inviting, and that includes the bedrooms, reached by a stair (or discreet lift).
The first-floor ‘prestige’ rooms are light, airy, classical, imposing, and the ‘charm’ bedrooms on the second floor are smaller. All are air-conditioned and are beautifully maintained, while bathrooms stock the family’s new range of soaps and creams made from shea butter and verbena. Wake to breakfasts of fresh fruit, hams, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs and freshly baked croissants and bread, served in the garden if fine.
This is a sweet retreat in fine gardens with an elegantly decked pool and there are lovely walks starting from the door.
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We think you'll love
- The ancient building and its beautiful contents – history lovers will be very happy
- Being able to walk across the field to a restaurant
- Having mountains and sea – the best of both worlds
You should know
- The turning off the busy R10 requires some care
- It's not suitable for children under 12
- There are tours of the château most days so you will see tourists milling about – but not in your bedroom!
Essentials
- EV charger
- Swimming pool
- Hot tub
- Garden
- Open fire / woodburner
- Breakfast included
- Breakfast available
- Meals available
- Vegetarian meals
- Parking on premises
- Free parking nearby
- Accessible by public transport
- WiFi
- Television
- Spa
- Central heating
- Limited mobility
- Wheelchair access
- Mobile reception
- Hob
- Bar
- Barbecue
- Licensed premises
- Paid parking nearby
- Air conditioning
- Relaxation areas
- Washing machine
- Tennis court
- No smoking
- Credit cards
- Working farm
- Owner has pets
- Pets welcome
Family friendly
- Baby monitor
- Books and toys
- Children welcome
- Babies welcome
- Stair gates
- High chair
- Fire guard
- Cot available
Nearby
- Pub/bar within 3 miles
- Restaurant within 3 miles
- Shop within 3 miles
Activities
- Bikes available
- Food courses
- Kayaking
- Other courses
- Sailing
- Surfing
- Wild swimming
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Accommodation
Pricing
- Nightly price
- from €130
- 1 Single
- From €130
- 9 Twin/doubles
- From €130
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Information
Booking information
- Check in
- From 3pm
- Check out
- By 12pm
- Closed
- 16 October - 14 May.
- Meals
- Breakfast €13. Restaurant 500m.
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Reviews
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Another gem from Sawday's..! A really lovely stay in a beautiful château. We were very warmly welcomed by our most charming host who explained the history of his castle and gave us very useful information on all aspects of the wonderful Basque country we were discovering for the very first time.. Very elegant and comfortable room, delicious and generous breakfast.. We loved the chapel and the orangerie with the exhibition on Basque plants. The Dalzate products are excellent.. All highly recommended!
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Another wonderful Sawdays find. A great welcome by the Count who gave us a personal guided tour of his ancient chateau. Our "charm" room was delightful and we had an excellent breakfast on the little terrace outside the dining room. Very glad that there is a lift as climbing the stone spiral staircase from bottom to top is quite challenging . The nearby Ferme Lizarraga serves delicious food in wonderful surroundings.
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Chateau D'Uturbie is a totally delightful place. Antique with a fascinating history but beautifully restored and comfortable. It's full of lovely furniture but beds and bathrooms are clean and elegant. There is a wonderful breakfast and even an honesty bar. Best of all, the owner Laurent is a truly delightful and courteous host attending to your every need. Don't miss the wonderful restaurant his mother runs, in walking distance from the chateau and with superb food. One of the best Sawdays we've stayed in but they are all always very good.
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A delightful chateau and a delightful host! Laurent, the current owner took us on a tour of the Chateau himself, twice(!) and provided us with lots of fascinating details as his family has owned the chateau for over 600 years. Also, really conveniently is the nearby "Farm Restaurant", just over 1km from the chateau where we had a delicious meal. This is a superb place to stay if you have a car and wish to explore the french basque countryside. Laurent also helped us with highlights of the area and restaurant recommendations, a most charming count!
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We spent one night here. The Count is such a gentleman. A charming man and clearly passionate about maintaining his heritage, this historic Chateau. The rooms are very individual. Comfortable and clean. If you have a car it is in a great location for touring the area. Be aware it is close to major roads but as other guests have said the noise is not so great once in the chateau.
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beautiful small chateau, charming host, extremely comfortable room and a very good nights sleep. Delicious supper 5 minutes walk away at the Count's brother's restaurant and excellent breakfast - very easy to find
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A huge thank you to the Count of Chateau d'Urtubie for welcoming us into his fabulous home. The Castle is so incredibly historic and interesting but the hotel bedroom accommodation is pretty and cosy and utterly comfortable. It is certainly the best stay that we have ever had during our many autumn visits to St Jean de Luz. We loved the turret staircase for our late evening exercise (!) and eschewed the modern lift! And we helped ourselves to the free tea and coffee at the base of the tower. Don't miss a visit to the brilliant restaurant nearby...run by the Counts brother. Thank you both.
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We stayed here for two nights and it is a fantastic hidden gem of a place to stay. The Chateau is located a couple of miles from St Jean de Luz and hidden from the main road in its parkland. We were met on arrival by the Count, who gave us lots of information and then gave us a tour of the chateau. Our room was fabulous - the Louis XVI room. Huge with great views over the gardens. It was super clean and comfortable. There's a great little honesty bar in the tower and breakfast was very good indeed. In the evening, we ate at Ferme de Lizzaraga, next door - also brilliant.
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Location
The neighbourhood
The château (book onto a tour if you want to find out more about its history) sits in beautiful countryside – gentle farmland, vast avenues of plane trees – just outside charming Saint-Jean-de-Luz (3km). There is a good restaurant a short walk across a field for authentic French food and plenty of choice in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Most of the beaches are good for surfing but Hendaye (8km) is more gentle.
Local points of interest from Laurent de Coral
- The basque villages around the château : Urrugne , Ascain , Sare , Ainhoa , Espelette , Bidaray et Saint jean pied de Port . The road going from village to village is very nice (half a day).
- Saint Jean de Luz with the beautiful church where Louis the 14th married the daughter of the king of Spain in 1660 (half a day).
- Biarritz with it's pretty little port and a good Restaurant "Albert" . Biaritz is also the town of Napoléon III and his wife Eugénie . I recommend to have a cup of tea in their résidence called "the Hotel du Palais" (half a day).
- The old part of the town of Bayonne is like it was during 18th and 19th century . You have to walk in the small streets full of shops, walk near the river, have a hot chocolate "chez Cazenave" and finish by visiting the Cathedral and the Basque museum.
- Visit Socoa village and have a look at the miltary fort on the beach, then take the cliff road 7 kilometer along the sea and then walk on the beach of Hendaye . From the port take the boat for a short trip and visit Hondarribia.
- In one day you can go to Bilbao (1 hour from the chateau) and visit Gugenheim museum the on the way back stop in San Sebastian (half an hour from the château) and visit the old town after a walk on the beach
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Introducing
Laurent de Coral
Your host Laurent, generous, charming, and passionate about the place, is a direct descendant of Martin de Tartas who built the castle – it's been in the family since the 1300s. He will meet and greet and you will see his wife Odile in the shop now and then where she helps out.
Chateau d'Urtubie is an amazing building dating from 1341 and kept in remarkable condition by Count Lauren de Coral and his charming wife. Located in the interesting Basque Country there is lots to see and do. Quirky but spotless en suite bathroom off our elegant bedroom.