hotel recomendations potes?

Enginerelight said:

A word on the Hotel Del Oso, if I may. I stress that this is a personal opinion and it will depend on how you like to wind down after a day in the saddle. HDO is a lovely hotel - I have had the pleasure of staying there twice; once for a recce in June, then once on tour with my buddies last September - but the village it is in (Cosgaya) is dead in every way it's possible to be, even in summer.

It does have a pool which will likely be open.....
The staff are lovely.

but....

It's 14kms from Potes where you will have to ride to before you begin your day anyway.
The bar is soulless and very small but you will be able to sit outside and watch the babbling brook quaffing ale.
Whilst the food is top notch, it's top notch everywhere within a radius of 100 miles, but you will only be able to eat at the restaurant; there's no other choice.
Top Tip: Be fuelled up every night because the nearest petrol is 16kms the wrong way (towards the coast) from HDO incl of 14k to Potes

On reflection, I think I would rather have stayed in Potes itself which had riverside bars and restaurants and there was more "life" going on. It wasn't bustling, just busy enough. One night in HDO is all you really need but, as I say, it all depends on whether you just like to relax in complete peace and quiet and eat and drink in the same place every night for 7 days.

TBC.....

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JohnnyBoxer said:

I agree
Great hotel for a couple on a bike - elegant & romantic
Group of mates - not too bad, but as said it’s a tiny hamlet with just another hotel and some farms
Road is a dead end, so you have to go to Potes to get out and onto the road network
As mentioned earlier, we stayed in Panes last October and it was a great hotel in a quiet church square and there were 2 other bars on the square and a few more elsewhere in town
I preferred it to HDO as you could travel instantly in 4 directions to other parts of the Picos or the Asturias coastline

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Enginerelight said:

A word on the Hotel Del Oso, if I may. I stress that this is a personal opinion and it will depend on how you like to wind down after a day in the saddle. HDO is a lovely hotel - I have had the pleasure of staying there twice; once for a recce in June, then once on tour with my buddies last September - but the village it is in (Cosgaya) is dead in every way it's possible to be, even in summer.

It does have a pool which will likely be open.....
The staff are lovely.

but....

It's 14kms from Potes where you will have to ride to before you begin your day anyway.
The bar is soulless and very small but you will be able to sit outside and watch the babbling brook quaffing ale.
Whilst the food is top notch, it's top notch everywhere within a radius of 100 miles, but you will only be able to eat at the restaurant; there's no other choice.
Top Tip: Be fuelled up every night because the nearest petrol is 16kms the wrong way (towards the coast) from HDO incl of 14k to Potes

On reflection, I think I would rather have stayed in Potes itself which had riverside bars and restaurants and there was more "life" going on. It wasn't bustling, just busy enough. One night in HDO is all you really need but, as I say, it all depends on whether you just like to relax in complete peace and quiet and eat and drink in the same place every night for 7 days, because if you prefer a little more choice and some merryment, then you won't like it much after two nights.

TBC.....

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Easyrider5258 (Mark) said:

Actually all you two have said in a negative way about Hotel Del Oso is just what I look for in a hotel, I dont like to be in towns, a few miles to fuel up is fine, 8 mile into town if I want to is fine, good food and peace and quiet is fine also, so far I cant see anything bad about Hotel Del Oso and there seem to be no bad reviews online, looks great to me

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Easyrider5258 (Mark) said:

Actually all you two have said in a negative way about Hotel Del Oso is just what I look for in a hotel, I dont like to be in towns, a few miles to fuel up is fine, 8 mile into town if I want to is fine, good food and peace and quiet is fine also, so far I cant see anything bad about Hotel Del Oso and there seem to be no bad reviews online, looks great to me

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Easyrider5258 (Mark) said:

Actually all you two have said in a negative way about Hotel Del Oso is just what I look for in a hotel, I dont like to be in towns, a few miles to fuel up is fine, 8 mile into town if I want to is fine, good food and peace and quiet is fine also, so far I cant see anything bad about Hotel Del Oso and there seem to be no bad reviews online, looks great to me

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Enginerelight said:

A word on the Hotel Del Oso, if I may. I stress that this is a personal opinion and it will depend on how you like to wind down after a day in the saddle. HDO is a lovely hotel - I have had the pleasure of staying there twice; once for a recce in June, then once on tour with my buddies last September - but the village it is in (Cosgaya) is dead in every way it's possible to be, even in summer.

It does have a pool which will likely be open.....
The staff are lovely.

but....

It's 14kms from Potes where you will have to ride to before you begin your day anyway.
The bar is soulless and very small but you will be able to sit outside and watch the babbling brook quaffing ale.
Whilst the food is top notch, it's top notch everywhere within a radius of 100 miles, but you will only be able to eat at the restaurant; there's no other choice.
Top Tip: Be fuelled up every night because the nearest petrol is 16kms the wrong way (towards the coast) from HDO incl of 14k to Potes

On reflection, I think I would rather have stayed in Potes itself which had riverside bars and restaurants and there was more "life" going on. It wasn't bustling, just busy enough. One night in HDO is all you really need but, as I say, it all depends on whether you just like to relax in complete peace and quiet and eat and drink in the same place every night for 7 days, because if you prefer a little more choice and some merryment, then you won't like it much after two nights.

TBC.....

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Enginerelight said:

Horses for courses indeed. My intention was none other than to help you go with your eyes open, that is all. If it floats your boat, you won't get any criticism from me.

Personally I'm on Jersey's side.

Now, on a slightly different tack, what I think is a bit of a waste, is spending 7 days in the eastern Picos. Take it from someone who knows. I am mindful that, again, some people just prefer "spoking". I am also mindful, however - and absolutely no offence intended - that in the UK, when you go out for a ride, you will tend to go to the same rides because, perhaps, you happen to live in the Peak District so you go to to the Cat and Fiddle, or you're from Wales so you go up and down the A470 or any number of great rides that there are in the UK. But mostly it's Groundhog Day as far as day rides go in your local areas because there aren't that many great rides in the UK and even less close together.

The Picos and Asturias/Galicia are like all the great rides crammed into the size of the midlands say (actually bigger if you include Galicia), but by staying in the east (moreso in Potes), you are missing out on a great deal more, and, if I may say, better rides.

Off the top of my head, in Potes you have 4 possible (decent) rides:

N621 down to Cistierna via Riaño. This only gets good after an hour of a P.I.A. windey and narrow road which ends where Leon province begins. The only way back (to Potes) is the way you came.

N621 (LE2703/2711 link avoids Riaño and takes you past two mountain passes) - N625 - Cangas - Panes - Potes Loop. DO NOT DO THIS ON A WEEKEND you will regret it, and if it's a sunny one..... Incidentally you will do the first hour of the N621 (or the last if you do it anticlockwise) again . The link (2711/2703) is the best part. It's a long loop.

A coastal route from San Vicente De La Barquera towards Gijon (avoiding Gijon) on N roads.... and back again...

And possibly the most interesting (in that area, anyway) The N621 - N634 - N623 - N627 - Aguilar del Campo - Cervera de Pisuerga - Potes loop = 5:30 in the saddle avoiding dual carriageways.

After that you're into Groundhog day unless you are offroading on the many trails. Then that is a different story. See Simon 100 for tips.

The mid, and particularly the western part of the Picos and Asturias offer much more variety, less traffic (most routes on any day) and many more loops thus avoiding monotony. Not to mention, OF COURSE, the KING of biking roads in this part of the world, The Navia -Fonsagrada - Lugo road. On GM it's the AS12 - AS28 - LU701 - LU530. There is no road that merits the acolade of Biking Heaven more than this road in all of Spain. It was made for two wheeled fun.

The only fly in the ointment is the weather; if it's bad or terrible then it ain't no good. But to be honest, if it's that bad it knocks out two of the Potes routes anyway.

HTH

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team duvet said:

Pikeman

http://hoteltorrecerredo.com/

Other side of the Picos, my 8th visit this year English owner (Jim)

TD

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Wapping said:

So the moral of this story is: When choosing the location of a hotel, look at a map to see if the road (or roads) suit you for your journey (or journeys) onwards and outwards. As a rough rule of thumb:

1. Hotels at or in a blind or closed valley will usually only have one access road in or out. This limits your choice. Similarly, hotels that a just sat on the side of a single road

2. Hotels on or near a T-Junction may well have three reasonable alternative choices

3. Hotels on or near a crossroads, may well have four and sometimes more

It’s why places like Bastogne were strategically important and why armies go to considerable effort to cut roads, denying through passage to their enemy. The more roads you have available , the more choice you have.

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Wapping said:

So the moral of this story is: When choosing the location of a hotel, look at a map to see if the road (or roads) suit you for your journey (or journeys) onwards and outwards. As a rough rule of thumb:

1. Hotels at or in a blind or closed valley will usually only have one access road in or out. This limits your choice. Similarly, hotels that a just sat on the side of a single road

2. Hotels on or near a T-Junction may well have three reasonable alternative choices

3. Hotels on or near a crossroads, may well have four and sometimes more

It’s why places like Bastogne were strategically important and why armies go to considerable effort to cut roads, denying through passage to their enemy. The more roads you have available , the more choice you have.

Click to expand...

JohnnyBoxer said:

I cannot disagree with your analysis of the road networks in and around Potes as it is bit of a one trick pony and being stuck up a dead end road at HDO makes the whole Potes area more of a chore on a biking trip

For a walking holiday with your wife/partner the HDO would be an excellent base as there are a lot of walks and tracks from there, even up to the Bear & Ibex statues on the SAN Gloria pass (about 4 miles from HDO over the tops, but 20+ miles by roads)

This time, last October & staying at Panes we were able to explore more of the coastline and the more Western areas and they had a lot better options

Also we did more in the Palencia area and that has some cracking roads
So much so, we spent little time in Potes area at all - despite being 15 miles away

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Wapping said:

So the moral of this story is: When choosing the location of a hotel, look at a map to see if the road (or roads) suit you for your journey (or journeys) onwards and outwards. As a rough rule of thumb:

1. Hotels at or in a blind or closed valley will usually only have one access road in or out. This limits your choice. Similarly, hotels that a just sat on the side of a single road

2. Hotels on or near a T-Junction may well have three reasonable alternative choices

3. Hotels on or near a crossroads, may well have four and sometimes more

Click to expand...

Enginerelight said:

I'd widen/loosen that and say that of the 16 points of the compass, you need 8 of them as a minimum to enable loops to be planned. So, on most coastal areas there you will have all 9 east through west; Potes has.....2; North or....erm... South. End of!

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Wapping said:

So the moral of this story is: When choosing the location of a hotel, look at a map to see if the road (or roads) suit you for your journey (or journeys) onwards and outwards. As a rough rule of thumb:

1. Hotels at or in a blind or closed valley will usually only have one access road in or out. This limits your choice. Similarly, hotels that a just sat on the side of a single road

2. Hotels on or near a T-Junction may well have three reasonable alternative choices

3. Hotels on or near a crossroads, may well have four and sometimes more

It’s why places like Bastogne were strategically important and why armies go to considerable effort to cut roads, denying through passage to their enemy. The more roads you have available , the more choice you have.

Click to expand...

Enginerelight said:

Yes, although i'm not overly familiar with the Palencia area, I would add that I have been very pleasantly surprised in recent years by the roads on the northwesternern border of Leon on the foothills of The Picos as well.

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