We stayed at the Altamira for two nights on our trip round northern Spain. We had not booked in advance and were lucky to get a very nice room with a big bathroom facing the hotel's back yard which is used as an open air restaurant.
The staff at the front desk was very nice and extremely helpful.
The hotel is situated in the middle of the lovely village of Santillana del Mar, a romantic dream of an old Spanish village, right from the fairy tale book. This makes access a bit difficult, you cannot park your car inside the city walls but have to use a parking lot outside, just a short walk away.
The hotel dates back from the 16th century and is furnished accordingly. The only inconvenience were the rather thin walls, we heard our nearest room neighbour snoring half the night.
Breakfast is served in the breakfast room (entered from the yard)and offers a wide choice of food.

Santillana del Mar is a beautifull small village. I wouldn't call it a Spanish village because there are only foreign tourists. Every house is either a restaurant, souvenir shop or a hotel. It is best to wander around the place for a couple of hours and leave it to the (other) tourists. But if you insist and want to sleep in Santillana (like we foolishly did for two nights) one of the better hotels is Hotel Altamira. With lots of atmosphere, wooden floors, paintings on the wall etc. If you expect a modern kind of interior you should look for another hotel.
Avoid the restaurant although. It is too expensive and the quality of the food isn't that good. The worst was the staff of the restaurant. Although in a village with just tourists you can expect to be treated like one, it still isn't necessary to be rude. Unfortunatly we were treated very unfriendly, although it was a very quiet evening in the restaurant and we behaved like undemanding quiet guests.

The Hotel is lovely and lived up to our hopes and the descriptions we had read. We had a front room which was delightful in the evening as the day visitors left the town and the place was less bustly. However things changed at about 4.00am! As the area is predominantly pedestrianised the bin men arrived just after 4.00am followed by numerous delivery vans trundling up and down the narrow cobbled lane until about 9.00am. It was essential to have the windows open as it was so hot. Our children had a room at the back of the hotel,and whilst the aspect from their window was of the kitchen roof I think, they did say they heard nothing of the traffic!

I had so many questions regarding room information and simple travel questions before arriving to Santillana del Mar. The staff at Hotel Altamira always replied to my emails very quickly with useful information. Upon arriving, the hotel itself was like a maze with all kinds of neat turns, colorful paintings and beautiful furniture. Our room had an incredible view with a balcony. Overall, superior quality (just a shade under a parador) and I strongly recommend it. The location was wonderful as well.