La Fuentona De Santillana

“Overnight stay after ferry”

Having taken the ferry from cork to Santander we stayed one night before driving to Marbella. It is a beautiful, almost boutique rural retreat. Slightly hard to find but well worth it. The grounds are really well kept. The room was modern, clean and perfect. We took breakfast which was typically S… lisää

Having taken the ferry from cork to Santander we stayed one night before driving to Marbella. It is a beautiful, almost boutique rural retreat. Slightly hard to find but well worth it. The grounds are really well kept. The room was modern, clean and perfect. We took breakfast which was typically Spanish and well worth it. It is in the countryside which was perfect for walking our dog. However the crowning glory was its proximity (2 kms) from the caves of Altamira which are only €3 to visit.

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“Modern boutique hotel in the middle of nature”

Newly renovated charming stonehouses spread out over a spacious estate with huge gardens, theme-decorated suites with kitchenette in a separate building, horses and sheep and chickens in the calm surrounding of the green countryside and the owners, a lovely young family, make this place one of a ki… lisää

Newly renovated charming stonehouses spread out over a spacious estate with huge gardens, theme-decorated suites with kitchenette in a separate building, horses and sheep and chickens in the calm surrounding of the green countryside and the owners, a lovely young family, make this place one of a kind! Very warm and Zen! We'd come back anytime!

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“Huge potential, yet mediocre delivery”

Beautiful retreat tucked away at a hard to find location outside of Santillana del Mar: no signage, road non existent on navigation. We opted for the suites and these were a disappointment and not worth the markup. There’s a coffeemachine, but it doesn’t work; there no glasses for a drink, there’s … lisää

Beautiful retreat tucked away at a hard to find location outside of Santillana del Mar: no signage, road non existent on navigation. We opted for the suites and these were a disappointment and not worth the markup. There’s a coffeemachine, but it doesn’t work; there no glasses for a drink, there’s a kitchen unit, but no water or anything else you would expect, there is no table and chairs to sit outside. Decoration is very impersonal. Communication is difficult, but staff is friendly and flexible. Lot’s of space for significant improvements!

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“Beautiful peaceful building and surroundings, communication and advertising could be improved”

It is unfortunate that we got off to a bad start as otherwise I would have given a very good review. We booked via booking.com a family room with kitchen and a double room with mountain views. The family room was really a double room with a z-bed and no kitchen and the double room looked across the… lisää

It is unfortunate that we got off to a bad start as otherwise I would have given a very good review. We booked via booking.com a family room with kitchen and a double room with mountain views. The family room was really a double room with a z-bed and no kitchen and the double room looked across the roof of the laundry to a hillside. Despite the website advertising 'we speak English' there were only two cleaners on the premises when we arrived with not a word of English between them. This made it impossible to communicate. Considering the webpage requests we let them know our arrival time and I had spoken to the owner two days earlier they were aware we were English speakers arriving approx 2.30 Sunday afternoon. I had to phone the owner again on arrival who fortunately speaks excellent english. He realised there had been a mistake with the allocation of the family room and the room we were moved to was very nicely decorated, clean, spacious... but only had a fridge and no facilities to self cater. This obviously put the cost of eating up for us as we had planned to make some meals in the hotel. The double room was not changed although we were offered an upgrade for 79 euros per night - as we had booked two rooms and were staying 6 nights this was not financially an option. It didn't show much good will either considering all that had preceded. I am not someone who expects something for nothing but I do expect to get what I have been told in the advertisement. Having said all that, the buildings are very clean and tastefully decorated, the landscaping is lovely, the swimming pool is sufficiently big and being slightly separate from the rest of the lawns was actually quite nice. Whilst there are some outdoor seats and the patio for the breakfast / bar there are a lack of tables and chairs outside the rooms. As there were no room facilities we ended up having the breakfasts provided and they were excellent. Expect Spanish not English - after all you are in Spain, it is a morning adventure for the taste buds and was very good. It is an easy 1km walk through quiet roads to Santillana Del Mar which is a small but gorgeous medieval village. Absolutely packed in August, but so many eating establishments there is something for everyone and we enjoyed many good meals there. Credit where it is due, when I did talk with the owner he was very apologetic regarding the rooms and the way they are advertised, although he was non-budging on offering any type of compromise. It appears that in the advertising where in spanish it says country view, in english it is translated into mountain view. The description of kitchen is rather more ambiguous. There are some new rooms recently built which have microwaves and kettles but no fridge or crockery / cutlery. The double room was clean but small and lacking atmosphere, view or even netflix which was available in other rooms. There is a common room where you can help yourself to coffee / microwave throughout the day, although there is not enough in there to prepare your own meal. Drinks are available from the bar in the evenings. Normally one of the joys of travelling in countries where I can't speak the language is learning as many of the pleasantries as I can and communicating with a variety of gestures and smiles. Whilst most of the Spanish speaking only staff were delightful there was one who seemed to have it in for us and on several occasions was unnecessarily officious. With the language barrier it came across as rude and very unwelcoming. We are not a noisy, messy, impolite or complaining family and this spoilt what would otherwise have been a delightful, peaceful, zen like country hotel. May I recommend do not select a mountain view room as you will be very disappointed. Rooms with garden views are much much nicer. The breakfasts are great value and delicious. Expect to eat all other meals out even if you think you have booked a room with kitchen facilities. Take time in your travel plans to enjoy the garden and pool as it is very restful.

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