Hotel Casona El Arral

The 1884 house and its Baroque chapel

El Arral is a manor house built in 1884 by the ancestors of those who run it today, with an older Baroque chapel, from 1727, and a garden beside the River Miera. It is on calle del Convento, within the historic ensemble of Liérganes, and the house is listed as a singular building of that ensemble. Restored as a three-star hotel, it keeps its original interior layout and high ceilings.

Liérganes is a river village, in the Miera valley, south of the bay of Santander. You can explore it on foot from the hotel door. The Cabárceno Park is a few kilometres away by car, and Santander a little further.

Ten rooms, none the same

There are nine doubles and a suite. The doubles can be booked with two beds or a double bed. All are spacious, with colourful décor, high ceilings and views of the garden or the mountain; you can hear the river from the window. The full bathroom is integrated into the room space; if that matters to you, ask what it is like in the one you are assigned.

Each room has heating, flat-screen television, telephone, hairdryer, toiletries and free wifi. The suite adds toiletries for him and for her and a flask for herbal teas.

The Pasiego breakfast

It is what the house takes most care over. It is made with products from the Valles Pasiegos and homemade baking: coffee, milk or tea, fresh orange juice, toast with artisan jams and honey, sobaos pasiegos, almond biscuits, croissants and homemade sponge cakes in several flavours. It is served in the dining room facing the garden or, in good weather, on the terrace. It is included if you book on the hotel's website.

Services of a great house

There is room service with local produce, laundry, books to read, board games and a croquet lawn. The website does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times, parking or rules on pets or children: ask when you book on 942 528 475 or 942 528 254, or at [email protected].

For the Cabárceno day

It is a quiet base for the night before or after the park. If you are going to do the drive around the enclosures, set out early: first thing there are fewer cars and more animals in sight. If you prefer to sleep by one of the entrances, the Posada Cabárceno is in the village of Cabárceno itself.