María Cristina
HOTEL
The María Cristina hotel must have something special to have been chosen by Coco Chanel as the backdrop for her fashion shows after the First World War. The designer is considered one of the 100 most influential people of the last century, and was famous for making smart business decisions that would help her to achieve her goals when she presented her collections.
Since its opening at the beginning of the twentieth century, María Cristina has played a very important role in terms of hosting business and social events of great importance. It is true that the hotel has many things in its favor: it has the best location of San Sebastián, its rooms are especially prepared for meetings of all sizes, and its employees have extensive experience organizing weddings and prestigious events.
Ibaia, Elcano, and Zubia are the three main rooms where events can be held.the three have direct access to the spacious terrace that runs along two of the sides of the building, with views of the Urumea River and the Victoria Eugenia Theater, the hotel’s contemporary. Zubia is a light blue room with gold accents on the walls which contrast with the majestic blue curtains covering
the windows that measure more than 5 meters in height. It is the smallest of the three rooms and is designed to accommodate conferences of a medium size with up to 109 guests. Elcano, on the other hand, is decorated in Baroque style with marble columns and pale blue walls.
Its 205 m2 are covered by an elegant wooden floor and it is illuminated by monumental glass chandeliers in keeping with the spirit of the Belle Époque.the largest
room is Ibaia, the favorite of couples to celebrate their wedding banquet due the large number of guests it can accommodate (280 guests) and to its solemn decoration which features classical moldings around its high ceilings and cream and gold palette hues. Ibaia also has an adjoining room, Easo, which can be used to make the space bigger.
The furniture of these rooms is completely modular and can be arranged in a U-shape, in theater arrangement, classroom arrangement, conference arrangement, reception arrangement, or banquet arrangement. María Cristina also has audiovisual equipment and videoconferencing equipment, panels with LCD screens, projectors, walkie talkies, and camcorders, among other devices.to meet even the most demanding of the desires of event organizers, the hotel makes available carpenters, decorators, electricians, photographers, security guards, and technicians. The icing on the cake for successful events is the catering service. Executive Chef Jesús Caballero and his team contribute to the refinement of Basque Cuisine with every breakfast, lunch, dinner, reception, refreshment, and banquet they prepare.
In addition to the meeting rooms mentioned above, the hotel has a very special suite decorated with the same exquisite taste as the other 139 rooms and dedicated to executive meetings with a maximum number of 10 people. Over the last century, said suite –along with Ibaia, Elcano, Zubia, and Easo– has been the stage of all types of events from small managerial meetings to small cocktail parties. Thanks to its impeccable work, and because it remained true to its elegant style, María Cristina was, is, and will always be one of the most sought after locations in the Basque Country to hold events, festivals, and fashion shows. Chanel saw it coming: “Fashion fades. Only style remains the same.”