Rusticae Casona D'Alevia — Hotel in Peñamellera Baja

The previous review in English made good points about there being nowhere nearby to eat and about the parking difficulties. We thought that review pretty accurate. I translated the review in Spanish with the aid of a software translator and think I understand the points it makes too, though we found no problems with service or the welcome we received. As for the TV, the room was so romantic we never got to switch it on! So I guess it all depends on your reasons for staying here.||||The biggest drawback with the Casona d'Alevia is that getting dinner involves a drive at least the 5Km or so down a twisting though well-made mountain road, and worse still, back again after you have eaten. The situation wasn't improved by the fact that we found the restaurants in Panes (at the bottom of the hill) uninspiring and had to drive even further to find somewhere better on both nights of our stay. The owners of the Casona were not especially helpful and didn't recommend anywhere. To be fair we did know when we booked that the hotel had no restaurant but we hadn't fully appreciated the impact of its remote location. It was even more galling on the second evening when a party booked by a well-known tour operator arrived and were duly provided with dinner, specially cooked for such guests while those like us who booked independently had to take to their cars! By the way this seems to be common practice at small hotels in Spain.||||As a place to stay the Casona had some good features that some may feel outweigh the disadvantage of the lack of a restaurant in a remote location. The house is beautiful and of traditional style - there is a real feeing of being a guest in someone's home. It is full of fascinating old furniture, other antiques and interesting artefacts. Our room was quite small but lovely with a magnificent antique bed with romantic white drapes and superb bed linen. Although the bed was antique it was very comfortable and the hotel's location could not have been more peaceful. Bedroom lighting matched the mood and the compact en-suite bathroom had all necessities; everything was spotlessly clean. I think there was a TV but we never got to try it!||||Breakfast was excellent with good variety and delicious fresh fruit. The lady of the house fortunately spoke quite good French (as I do). Neither she nor her husband spoke any English) but we managed just fine in French! Might be more of a problem if you speak neither Spanish nor French though.||||The village is charming and very prettty; there are some fine mountain walks of varying length and difficulty straight from the village and the hotel can offer suggestions and directions for these.||||It's a particularly good place for a romantic break as long as you're prepared to drive through the hills for dinner. Or I guess you could book through that tour operator (Google will help there)!||||All the same, we wouldn't go back again. We enjoyed our stay but driving so far to find somewhere to eat was just too much of a...

We were looking for a comfortable hotel in the mountains and that's what we got! Situated about 3km from Panes at the top of a steep, winding road (looks recently resurfaced and not narrow by mountain standards) the village of Alevia is small, rural and generally quiet. There is a bar in the square, "Bar bolera", although we only went in the once when we were in need of water after our ascent of the nearby Picu Paisanu. The bar also doubles as the village shop but has a very limited supply of provisions. The room was very typical, large enough for us but not big. The bathroom was small but had all we needed. The breakfasts were a delight and featured many local delicacies although Brits with British tastes may have to take a few risks. The owner was extremely attentive and gave us excellent recommendations for dinner. Admittedly, for anything resembling "normality" you have to drive down the hill to Panes or beyond but if you are after peace and quiet and some good walking, it could be the place for you. One last observation: parking is very difficult in the tiny village but the owner has just about worked out where to put the maximum of 6 or 7 cars that can stay at one time; just be prepared for some...

What a surprising and charming small countryside hotel we found on the way back from Picos de Europa. Traveling by car in Europe we mostly don't book hotels prior departure; we have our Michelin's restaurant and hotel guide from each country we plan to visit and we mostly call a hotel early the day when still on the road. It was a very nice experience to overnight at this 15th century restored house in the small village of Alevia, on the Asturian mountains. The accommodation they provided us was roomy and cosy , nicely rustic refurbished but also with modern 3 stars room facilities. The reception is warm and helpful but at the time we visited there, the staff had difficulties understanding English (which in our case it was quite difficult getting a proper information and making reservation via phone call, proving afterwards to be a drawback due differences of price estimated for the check in and of what was charged in...