We wanted to be close to certain hikes and sites and ultimately chose three different towns around the park. If we had to do it again I would have skipped Las Arenas and added an extra night in Potes (our favorite) and in Cangas de Onís.
Potes
El Balcon
A steep road leads up to the parking area, which leads to a beautiful view of the town and surrounding hills! Check-in was quick as we had filled out all the paperwork in advance. The reception was always ‘cerrado’ but a quick message through Whatsapp would make the lady appear from the back. We never had trouble finding parking at the hotel. Going back into town was a steep walk, but for those that don’t want to make the climb on foot, we always saw available spaces in the free town parking lot.
The kitchen had a good amount of items including a wine opener and small fridge. Only one outlet though, so you can’t have the coffee maker and toaster plugged in simultaneously. There were also no napkins or paper towels.
We didn’t love the lofted bedroom as the bathroom was located on the main level, down a steep set of stairs, but the window shutters made the space totally dark which was perfect for sleeping. The unit could also use a coat rack or hooks, as there was no easy spot to place our jackets on first floor.
Our patio was nice for the non-rainy days with amazing views of town and pastures across the valley. In fact, every time we looked the sheep in one field were in a different corner! There were also lots of farm sounds: cow bells, donkeys braying, and bird calls.
One unexpected perk was a free laundry machine and dryer! We had brought pods with us, thankfully, so we were able to do a load without using the vending machine for laundry soap. There was also a small gym with some free weights and cardio machines.
the view from our balcony was amazing
Las Arenas
Hotel Picos de Europa
We arrived in the late afternoon and our room was ready. For some reason they kept our passports for a while; I guess the computer wasn’t moving very fast? We were assigned a corner room which meant great views of the mountains and the river from two windows. The room was generally quiet and dark but we did smell some cigarette smoke creeping in from the hallways during our stay.
I appreciated the private, off-street parking lot and was able to easily back our car into a sizable space on both days. We were also glad we had a small mini fridge for yogurt and milk although it wasn’t very cold.
There were a few oddities to our room. One, it didn’t have a kettle, a rarity in Europe! The front desk staff offered to provide hot water if needed, but I never bothered. Second, the hallway lights didn’t work that well, so it could be quite hard to see until you were most of the way down the hall. Third, there was no headboard on the bed, just a shelf, so you couldn’t prop pillows up to sit upright.
Bathroom was (so!) bright white, especially in the morning light. The bathtub was great for relaxing our muscles after our long hike.
The surrounding town was fairly lackluster, and mostly shut down on Monday and Tuesday.
the view from our corner room
Cangas de Onís
Casa Abego
No one met us in person here but everything was handled great through Whatsapp, including the codes to get into the building and options for parking since we were staying in a pedestrian only zone. We did attempt to find a closer parking spot on the second day to help with luggage transfer logistics but had to settle for the large free lot near the bus station both days.
The living space was great, we had a seating area, kitchen and spacious bathroom. The apartment was blissfully cool when we arrived and stayed that way with the shutters drawn as it was a warm two days! The windows offered good noise resistance – the apartment is located on a small park, and you generally couldn’t hear the street noise.
Small quibbles: I had to turn on the fridge when we arrived, but it cooled off quickly. There was also no soap in the kitchen area for washing dishes.
the view from our apartment onto a park and pedestrian zone