My wife and I stayed at The Halcon Palace in September 2007 and we rated it so highly that we returned in September 2008. We had read the comment written by an earlier reviewer in June 2008 referring to the poor quality of the food and we hoped it was just an isolated example, and that the chef had merely 'thrown his toys out of the pram' and walked out temporarily. Sadly no. Three months later the food for the hotel is being brought in from some distant source. It is far below the quality of last year. One night the once deep frozen fish had not been left long enough in the deep fryer and was cooked on the outside but raw for the most part in the middle. The food was sent back and a replacement offered. Breakfasts, by the way, were excellent
It saddens me to write this comment for this is a super hoel in all other respects. You will not find a more stunning location nor a more friendly and helpful staff.
There is a nice garden with pool and in the cave there two large ice buckets stocked with drinks and an 'honesty tab'. On being presented with my bar bill after four nights I thought I was being undercharged so queried the bill. It was correct and it was very,very reasonable.
Would we go back? No, because we have been twice. Would I recommend the hotel. For location,price,friendliness and tranquility....yes. If you like a gamble, have a go but just book the room with its accompanying excellent breakfast. Check out the situation regarding the food when you get there and if necessary the TableD'hote with wine and water was only 22 euros!!

a pleasant hotel with great views from the garden and pool.
the only thing that spoils this hotel is the standard of evening meals. we ate the 1st 2 nights but discovered there was no hotel chef and that meals were being brought in from a neighbouring hotel several kms away. As there are no other restaraunts nearby this was a problem and the stay was not as enjoyable as it could have been.
Acrea is supposedly a quality hotel chain, with a good reputation for food (one main reason why I booked this hotel)
I do hope they get this this problem sorted for future guests , but in future I will be booking small family run hotels where pride and a personal service is paramount.

We had a marvellous stay in the Halcon Palace this summer. It is ideal if you want relaxation and an away from it all holiday. The rooms were excellent, and the pool really wonderful. We hired a car and did some exploration of the local area (the great new dinosaur museum, canoeing down the River Sella, visiting the market in Ribadesella, but mostly we were happy to just sit next to the pool and read.
I can imagine that if you get bored easily this isn't the best holiday location but we really did have a dream holiday here. The Betz family no longer run the hotel but the staff couldn't have been more helpful and despite eating and drinking in the hotel every night, we still didn't manage to run up much of a bill at the end of the stay.

Just superb!!
Imagine a great house placed on an incredible green valley, surrounded by wild horses and cows, with an spectacular view of the Picos de Europa, and 10 minutes away from the nicest asturian beaches. Don't expect luxury!! This is a country house rebuilted over an XVIII th Century ruin and furnished with some antiques and confortable beds.
The food is superb!!
I spent one week there with my family and can't wait to go back.