We stayed at Chez Chilo last year for two nights and have nothing but praise for it. Our room was a newly refurbished one right above the bar so it got a bit noisy on Sunday afternoon with all the locals in for their lunch but that was the only slight cavil.

The food is the hotel is sensational and is easily equivalent to what you would find in a smart Paris restaurant - all at a fraction of the price! M Chilo was trained in Paris but decided to return home to his native area for the sake of peace and quiet and a bettre way of life and lots of young chefs come to learn at his knee.

The evening meal we had was four courses with such free add-ins as a sorbet between courses and real homemade petits fours to finish - wow!

The village itself is pretty basic and the surrounding countryside is nicer in other parts of the Basque Country but the food alone makes a visit well woth it.

One tip to pass on is to prferably avoid dinner on Sundays as the staff are by then exhausted by the afternoon's feasting and bacchanalia - better go another day but then Sundays are always the same in France and you need to book well in advance to have a chance to participate.