Our stay at Puebloastur Eco Resort Wellness in Asturias

We spent two nights at Puebloastur, a five-star hotel in Cofiño, a tiny village in the Asturian countryside. It sits in the Sueve valley, ringed by mountains, with the Picos de Europa off in the distance.

In this article we cover what the stay was like, from the room to the spa, what the food is like, how much it costs and whether it is worth the price.

The room is large and comfortable, but the window is the thing. It runs floor to ceiling across the whole wall. You can work, have a glass of wine or do nothing at all with the valley in front of you.

One thing worth knowing. A lot of websites sell the hotel as facing the Picos de Europa, and that isn't quite the case. The Picos sit off to one side, and you catch them from the restaurant terrace, looking out along the side of the hotel. From the room, the view is of the surrounding mountains, which is lovely enough on its own.

The bathroom was the other surprise. The floor has a soft texture to it, nothing like the usual cold tiles, and the shower is a square panel set into the ceiling that comes down like rain. You set the temperature on a digital panel on the wall before you get in, so the water is right from the first second.

There's a tablet in the room that handles everything, from wake-up calls to laundry. And that's how we found out that pillow menus exist. Several options, microfibre, cervical, feather, cotton and memory foam, each with a photo and a description, like a wine list. The way the rich live...

We stayed in the Panorámica Nature, one of eight categories. The other panorámicas (Terraza and Deluxe) add a terrace and a sitting area off the bedroom. Then come the suites, with a separate lounge, terrace and jacuzzi, up to the Gran Suite, which sleeps eight across four bedrooms and four bathrooms. For two people, the Panorámica Nature is plenty.

The circuit runs 90 minutes, though that's a guideline more than a rule. The day we went it was quiet, just us and one other family, and they told us to stay longer if we liked.

The hydrotherapy pool is large and covered, with windows onto the garden, and it has jets at different heights, for the lower back, the legs and the feet, plus a bubble bed. From inside, you swim straight out to the outdoor jacuzzi without leaving the water. That's the best moment of the lot, sitting there face to face with Dalí's Newton.

O circuito ainda tem sauna seca, sauna a vapor e uma área de duchas de sensações, com cabines individuais revestidas de mosaico e água fria, de contraste e com aromas.

In between there's a relaxation area with loungers. The service is the same as everywhere else in the hotel. Somebody comes round offering fruit, water and tea, and serves it there and then.

The water circuit is only part of the spa. There's a long list of massages, from a full relaxing one to a sports massage, along with foot reflexology, drainage and face and body treatments such as scrubs and couples' rituals. Outside the spa, the hotel also runs open-air yoga and forest bathing in the woodland on the estate, the Japanese shinrin-yoku. We did none of it and stuck to the circuit, but it's worth knowing there's far more on offer.

What to expect from the food at Puebloastur

Everything comes out of the same kitchen, run by chef Ramón Celorio, built around local sourcing and regional produce. What changes is the setting and the format.

We had lunch once at the restaurant, a tasting menu at €75 a head with wine included. You can also order à la carte.

It opens with a creamy Iberian ham croquette, then confit leeks, spider crab with smoked Pría cheese, catch of the day, and slow-cooked beef with wild mushrooms and potato cream, closing with banana panna cotta, salted caramel and biscuit ice cream.

The pick of it was the beef, which fell apart in the mouth. The panna cotta was very good too.

The quality is beyond argument, but the portions are on the tight side. Arrive properly hungry and you may leave the table wanting a bit more.

One thing worth flagging is how they handle coeliac guests. Anyone avoiding gluten gets exactly the same dish as everyone else, only in the gluten-free version. The croquette, for instance, came out the same, one with and one without. No separate menu, no improvised swap.

Breakfast

Breakfast also comes in courses, served at the table.

First the coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and a detox juice. Then the fruit, with yoghurt, chia and berries.

Next the bread basket, with croissants, pain au chocolat and artisan loaves. Then Iberian ham with tomato, butter and jam, all served on stone slabs.

And of course the eggs. They ask how you want them and cook them to order. We asked for poached, and they came exactly right, with smoked paprika on top that makes all the difference.

The terrace café

We had both dinners at the outdoor café, table facing the valley. We wanted something more relaxed. The menu is short, sandwiches, salads and a few other bits.

We ordered the same salad both nights, that's how good it was. What makes it is the quality of the ingredients and the dressing, a good olive oil and a Penedès Chardonnay vinegar, sweet and sharp, that lifts the whole plate.

On the second night we added a cheeseboard, and there was one on it we've never forgotten, the Tres Leches Rojo de Pría. It's an Asturian blue made with cow, sheep and goat milk, with hot paprika worked into the curd, which gives it the orange colour and a heat that creeps up on you. We liked it enough that on the way out we drove to Pría, where it's made, to buy a piece.

Across both nights, with a bottle of wine each evening, the salad twice and the cheeseboard on the second, the bill came to €60, paid at check-out. For a five-star hotel, that's a cheap dinner.