Parador Fuente De
This modern mountain Parador is located in the foothills of the Picos de Europa and opens on to the fertile Liebana valley where nature is seen in all its glory. It is surrounded by the towering Picos de Europa, 
forests and hillsides, in a county dotted with attractive mountain villages.
The building is located next to the base of the cableway going up to the Aliva vantage point, in a privileged meeting point for nature activity lovers. The classic mountain style and warm wooden and leather furniture recreate the much loved warmth of home, accompanied by the traditional Cantabrian cuisine such as Liebana stew and sirloin steak in Tresviso cheese sauce.
We stayed for a single night at the end of June. Hotel was up to the usual high standard that one expects from the hotel chain. Given the remote location, allow plenty of time to get there and be prepared for some mountain rains! Room was lovely and we particularly liked the internal balcony arrangement – the creaky floors were a nuisance, however and need some refurbishing. Great views of the mountains. Breakfast and dinner was plentiful and to a good standard. To improve our knowledge of Spanish cuisine, we would prefer a menu with an English translation alongside the Spanish description, rather than a separate English version.
We intend to return for a longer stay to enable us to take advantage of the walking opportunities.
Stayed one night after leaving the ferry at Santander.
Hotel location, room etc quite stunning.Reception staff perfectly ok.
Food in the restaurant disappointing.
Restaurant staff appeared completely untrained.All middle-aged ladies ,smartly dressed, but not much idea of how to seve food.Took away my plate while my wife still eating, brought her main course to the table before she’d finished her starter, leaned in front of us to remove plates. All after a long wait to place our order.
Disappointing because the hotel itself and its position is magnificent.
We have been to many of the Paradors across Spain and have walked the Camino in 2004 but have never been to Fuente De until this May. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in this lovely Parador. At first look I was a bit disappointed but as soon as we entered and were shown to our room we discovered the lure of the place. The room was lovely with a seating area for the fantastic view. The hotel was decorated beautifully…extremely unique art as well. Yes, the bar service was a bit slow but then what is the rush. We came for the views, food and hiking and all were very satisfactory. The staff very accommodating. We never had a bad meal there. A warning on the hiking. There are poles behind door to room. If you are going to the top in the cable car TAKE them. Also water, snack, etc. We ended up walking from the top to Espinima — 6 hours with none of these. We did not realize how long or dangerous the last part was — 90 degrees down and gravel paths. I had a bad fall and there was no one out there to help had we needed it. Walk to the Refugio and back — a better bet. You’d think we would have known better but the beautiful day and fabulous surroundings tricked us.
Unfortunately we stayed only one night. We loved the beautiful location and setting, the fresh and the large and comfortable room. We had a fantastic room, complete with an indoor balcony! The breakfast buffet was an unusual surprise for us. The staff was very friendly and very helpful.
Hope we shall go back for another visit and spend more time exploring the Picos.
Fuente De was the first of 6 Paradors where my wife and I stayed in September 09. It wasn’t the best, nor was it the worst. The location is fantastic. The room was good. The restaurant food was disappointing. My wife is vegitarian and credit to the hotel for having a veggie choice, but it was just a pile of green beans covered in oil. The bar service, when anyone was serving, was very poor. That said we would stay there again because of the location but would look to eat elsewhere – although there is only one other place nearby. We left feedback and the hotel management were good enough to write to us after we got home.
Myself, husband and son stayed for 2 nights at the begining of August. We had a fantastic room, complete with an indoor balcony! We actually stayed in several Paradores during our stay in Spain and out of all of them, this had by far the best room for 3 people. The staff were very friendly however, the resturant was awful. The service was terrible as was the food, we actually used the hotel opposite to eat on the second evening, which was far nicer. Having said that we would love to stay again, we just wouldn’t use the resturant.
We stayed 2 nights at the start of a Motorcycle tour across Northern Spain then through France.
There were 8 of us in four rooms and we all had a good time.
Wonderful Hotel in great location with some wonderful roads.
Potes is well worth a visit, and of course the cable car to the top of the mountain.
We thought the resturant was very good.
We stayed one night here on the way back to the Santander ferry after four weeks in Spain, mainly in Galicia. We loved the fresh air, the friendly staff and the beautiful setting and enjoyed hiking above the snow line after taking the cable car up the cliffs behind the hotel. We had the best meal of our stay in Spain!! We chose the 80th Paradores Anniversary menu for July and loved the many, small ,tasty portions of different kinds of Spanish delicacies that we were given. Excellent flavour, texture, freshness and value. We had the same meal the next night in another Parador,where the chef managed to ruin every portion. Hard to believe! Three cheers for the chef at Fuente De on the night of Monday 20th July! The breakfast buffet for us was also up to the usual high standard of the Paradores. We shall go back for another visit and spend more time exploring in the Picos.
Stayed 2 nights in July. Beautiful location, friendly staff and large comfortable rooms but badly let down by the dreadful food. Nowhere near the standard of the other Paradors we stayed at on this trip. Breakfast buffet choice was very limited and the hot food was cold. The steak we had for dinner was thin and very tough. The kitchen at this establishment definitely needs a shake-up.
Go for the location but avoid the restaurant.