Hotel del Oso, Cosgaya

Hotel Del Oso is an impressive hotel set in the heart of the Picos, alongside the Rio Deva in the village of Cosgaya, on the road from Potes to Fuente Dé.

There is ample car parking and the hotel has more rooms over the road in an annexe. The annexe was not in use in May, when we visited. Central to the hotel's character are their two sleepy St Bernards who seem to spend their entire lives guarding the hotel's main entrance.

The Hotel Del Oso a modern hotel constructed in a traditional style. It is very comfortable and clean. The hotel staff are extremely welcoming, pleasant and helpful - they wear local dress, some speak good English and offered encouragement when we tried out our Spanish. Our room had an en suite bath and shower, TV and a balcony overlooking the river and with views of the Andara (Eastern) Massif of the Picos to the North. Outside there is a swimming pool and tennis court for use from June to September, and the hotel is set in grounds that are well-maintained with floral displays.

There is a bar and lounge behind the reception area of the hotel and, in May, it was warm enough for us to enjoy a drink outside on the terrace. Next to the lounge, there is the hotel restaurant and this has a good reputation for traditional cuisine. It is customary for the Spanish to eat late in the evening, and here the restaurant starts serving dinner at 2100h (breakfast is at 0900h). The portions are enormous. At home we usually eat earlier, and found the meals overwhelmingly large because we're not used to having an enormous meal in the late evening. Nevertheless, we enjoyed evening meals in the restaurant and took advantage of regional specialities on the menu. Each meal set us up for the next day, if not the rest of the week.

Eating in and out

First night (Hotel Del Oso). We started with the local speciality Supa Cocida and the waitress presented us with a large tureen to share. One small bowl each was enough for us. There was certainly enough to feed everyone in the restaurant, with plenty to spare. It was rich and tasty, albeit a little salty to our taste. We both had steak for our main course; they were huge, generously salted, and served with roast red peppers and chips. The meat was tender and full of flavour. We finished with a delicious home-made honey ice cream.

Next night (Hotel Del Oso). Steve's Entremeses was a platter of asparagus, mayonnaise, squid, prawns, black pudding, cheese, chorizo and prunes rolled in bacon. This could have fed us both as a light lunch. Helen ordered Pimientos a la Padron and had a dish of tiny green peppers which had been salted and roasted. They were tasty but there were far too many. The waitress left them at our table for us to eat with our main course. Helen then had a milk-fed lamb with salad. The lamb had a pleasant sweet taste, and it was rich and filling. Steve had bass, salted and roasted and very tender. Desserts were good - home-made fig ice cream for him and a bitingly sharp lemon sorbet for her - just what she needed after the rich lamb.

Last night (Hotel Cosgaya). We had planned to eat in Potes but the weather became stormy towards the evening so we returned to the hotel. We tried the restaurant at the Hotel Cosgaya, opposite the Hotel Del Oso. They started serving dinner at 2000h. We were the only people there and we don't particularly like empty restaurants, but we can't complain because we had chosen to eat earlier than is the Spanish custom. Our starters of ham mixed with peas and eggs, and pasta with tomato sauce were tasty and filling. The main courses were salty. Helen found her pork loin too salty to eat; and Steve's local speciality of pork loin, black pudding, fried sausage and fried apple also contained his salt ration for the month. We were glad we were drinking beer and grateful for the ice cream on a stick that we ended the meal with.

Birds

We were able to bird watch from our balcony, seeing: Sparrowhawk (a single bird), Common Swift (numerous), Eurasian Crag Martin (numerous), Barn Swallow (numerous), House Martin (numerous), Grey Wagtail (in the stream below our balcony), Blackcap (singing in hotel grounds), Blue Tit and Raven. We also watched a Fox in a field opposite the hotel and there was a Peacock Moth moribund near the hotel entrance.

Final thoughts

It was off season and we found the hotel to be a pleasant base for a relaxing break in the Picos. Off-season visitors looking for a livelier atmosphere might consider staying in Potes in order to have a choice of restaurants and bars within a short walk of a hotel. This is not to detract from the Hotel Del Oso, which is a very special hotel.