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at Apartamentos Olmares
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Guests1 room, 2 adults, 0 children
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Room review highlights
... 14 years. Previously we have stayed in the one and two bedroom apartments but this time as travelling with friends we...
... with the owner about how to get access after dark. The room was wonderful, with a superb view. I see that there has been...
Husband and I had the 2-bedroom apartment. Lovely hosts in Richard and Suzanne, outdoor eating space, an amazing and...
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Kitchenette
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Refrigerator in room
Internet
Electric Kettle
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Wifi
Microwave
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Non-smoking rooms
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Reviews that mention rooms
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This is our third visit to Olmares over the last 14 years. Previously we have stayed in the one and two bedroom apartments but this time as travelling with friends we decided to spoil ourselves with booking the manor house. It is very easy to find and located at the top of a winding road but be aware there is only limited parking at the site . The Manor House is a beautiful old building spread over three floors, it can accommodate 8+ people so we had a lot of room. It has been beautiful renovated and traditionally furnished. All of the windows have lovely shutters which when open allowed light to stream into the house and revealed beautiful views to the hills beyond. The kitchen is a little basic and you do have to go through all cupboards and drawers to find all the equipment you need. There is a lovely garden that is bathed in sunlight and a courtyard with a BBQ which catches the early evening sunlight. Eva the caretaker is lovely and friendly and was easily contactable for any questions you may have and we had a lovely chat with the owners son visiting from Hong Kong . Its a short drive to the lovely ramshackled village of Coloca with stunning views of vultures on the rockface. Just 15 minutes away is the village of Potes which has a wide choice of shops , walks and places to eat. It makes the perfect base for touring both around the Northern Picos and the North coast. If we had any niggles it would be that the information book sould be put in a more accessible area ( we only found it on our last night ) and be in English and maybe include instructions for the equipment. The beds were a little hard for our liking and some noise from local dogs caused some issues with sleeping on some nights but didn't spoil our enjoyment of staying in this stunning accommodation.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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I was very impressed with my nice-sized apartment for a three-night stay. I arrived very late and had good communication with the owner about how to get access after dark. The room was wonderful, with a superb view. I see that there has been some criticism about the lack of late afternoon sun, but as I was out all day exploring the area I have no complaint there. If that is what you want, perhaps consider checking to see if that is available before you book? I don't think the large hill to the south of the property (blocking the late sun) was put there by the property owners.
I very much appreciated the surprise goodies in the kitchen as it provided me breakfast for my first morning when I headed out well before the shops would have been open. Overall, I do not believe I could have chosen a better place to stay away from the main valley (around Potes).
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Response from Elingles1, Owner at Apartamentos Olmares
Responded 26 Mar 2018
Thank you so much. We have now created a little garden where you can catch the last of the afternoon sun and watch our hens!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Husband and I had the 2-bedroom apartment. Lovely hosts in Richard and Suzanne, outdoor eating space, an amazing and ever-changing view depending on the weather, friendly neighbours in the other apartments, peace and quiet, bird-song, cow bells, unspoilt area, close to Potes for shopping, walks, churches, Los Picos... I could wax lyrical about the charms of the area for walking and bird watching but you'll have to come here to appreciate it for yourselves.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Response from Elingles1, Owner at Apartamentos Olmares
Responded 28 Jun 2016
Thank you Siouxsie54 - we enjoyed having you here
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I'm a big fan of old character places and love the mountains; this place however was something of a disappointment. While full of character and with amazing views, little appears to have been altered in the owner's 25 years of ownership. The bathrooms and kitchen are very dated, and the bedrooms and lounge sparsely furnished. Although supposedly sleeping 14, some of the bedrooms are hardly viable and one of the bathrooms is simply not fit for purpose. With some serious investment the place could be wonderful, as it stands it feels very tired.
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Response from Elingles1, Propietario at Apartamentos Olmares
Responded 17 Sep 2015
Thank you for your comments and suggestions. We have always felt a duty to ‘alter’ as little as possible over the years so as to respect 300 years of history. In fact the house’s simplicity is its traditional beauty and our local friends often remark how it’s rare to find similarly preserved examples in the Valley. This un-spoilt charm is something we are proud to retain and, we are told, is part of the reason many of our guests and friends come back year after year. Maintaining and preserving the building and its patina of age is very time consuming and costly. Nonetheless we work hard to retain our competitive pricing. We always want our guests to have a great time and the old house may not be for everyone. If you are unhappy during your stay we are always around and will do our utmost to help. For example if you prefer accommodation with a more contemporary feel and mod-cons we could have explored the possibility of transferring your group to our apartments next door. To address some of your other points:- 1)The bathroom which you photographed is one that we treasure in its original form. What isn’t clear from your picture is the high cistern tank with its steel pull-chain. We have scheduled the bathroom itself for renovation this winter but intend to retain its original features as we rather treasure it as the only bathroom in the house when we bought it 25 years ago. 2) We never want to miss-sell so we are careful not to market the manor house for any more than “sleeping” 14. (We have had groups of 14 that reported having had a great time. For which please refer to other posts). Our website states “This large, spacious, self-catering, rental sleeps 6-8 people very comfortably - we prefer small groups - although it can sleep up to 14 people”. We also always ensure that we personally contact larger parties prior to taking any booking to make sure they are clear of the situation before confirmation. 3) The “bedroom” which you have photographed is in fact referred to as a “utility room with bed” on our website. This is an extra room which would only need to be used by groups of 14 and again they are always advised of this prior to booking. In fact it is actually a traditional sleeping alcove! 4) One of our great pleasures is to close the Olmares house over Christmas so that we can cook and have our Christmas dinner with our extended family, with everything cooked in the open plan kitchen there! While we have never felt anything amiss from the kitchen’s utility (nor received reports of anything being so) we take on board your comments, for which we thank you, and intend to refresh and replace some of the utensils for next year.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
+1
We spent a marvellous week here at the end of June. We had been originally attracted by the view up the valley on the Olmares website and the view from our ground floor apartment was almost as good!
The complex is made up of the original very large farmhouse which can host I believe up to 12 people, plus four apartments sleeping two each and one four.
Our apartment was well appointed with everything you would need, and nothing you didn't. There's a communal room full of comfy chairs etc and loads and loads of books on the local area, wildlife and walking, we used this the identify the numerous birds we came across including the magnificent Griffin Vultures.
There are a number of rules, but these ensure that everyone's visit is enjoyable, such as no smoking, no music or TV with patio doors open.
There's a large courtyard which also has a huge barbecue and a room upstairs in the old hay loft for washing, almost like a laundrette, very useful.
The apartment is some 15 minutes from Potes and is very secluded up the hillside, the only bar within walking distance is now closed, so no chance of a local drink, but that's no real hardship.
All your needs can be obtained from Potes, we used the Lupa as you enter the town which has a magnificent fresh fish counter and also the one opposite the Bus Station. There is a market on Monday's which sells a lot of local produce cheese, meats, veg, fruit etc and old antique type of stuff old tools and the like.
We drove from Bilbao but was unable to take advantage of the discounted ferry price provide by the owners of Olmares as we had already booked via a third party.
We spent our time walking, a bit of sight seeing and sitting on the veranda watching the lovely view and listening to cow bells, bird spotting and watching the hay making. I did not use the car much I think the furtherest I drove was to Espinama to walk to the cable car at Fuentes De and La Hermida.
The only downside was the parking, ok if you've got a hired car but when the apartments are fully booked it all becomes a bit tight, however during our stay most of the time we were the only ones there.
By the way you can walk up the zigzag path up to 'the old lady' Pena Ciquera by driving to Cueva.
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Room Tip: First floor apartment with balcony
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Response from Elingles1, Owner at Apartamentos Olmares
Responded 28 Jul 2015
Thank you very much (Graham?) Hope to see you again!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.