Not five months after UK paper The Telegraph dubbed San Sebastian "addictive", the Gipuzkoan capital has once again received praise from the British media.

In January, The Times published a report entitled ''The 20 hottest European beaches for 2010''. Placing it ahead of beaches in locations as warm and exotic as Capri, Croatia and Cyprus, the Sunday supplement described the Basque city''s most celebrated beach as both ''boisterous and beautiful''.

Claiming ''fine expanses of sand, where the sun shines and sea shimmers'' the editorial evoked the Concha''s ''caramel-coloured strip of sand'' and ''mohogany-skinned joggers'' as just two reasons for taking a break in Donostia-San Sebastian this spring.

The article - like that of the Telegraph - also reveals a very British penchant for the oldie-worldliness of San Sebastian, referring to the beach as "Victorian - like Dickens in the sun," and describing it as a destination best suited to "traditionalists". This, however, without overlooking the city''s well-deserved culinary reputation, which it insists is "the best food in Spain". Perhaps just as well given the somewhat unpredictable weather for planning a trip to the beach!