Conjunto Entre Acebos

Sotillo de Sanabria is a small village and the Sotillo waterfall route starts there. Luckily, the fire didn’t reach it, so the lovely forest is still there. Sanabria Lake and Puebla are about 15 minutes away, and Puente is around five minutes away, with shops, bakeries and butchers. The owner was easy to communicate with, and even said we could stay for lunch and leave in the afternoon after our 12 o’clock checkout if we wanted. We were in house 3, one of three units that can be rented separately or together. The kitchen equipment was amazingly complete, with all the basics and plenty of extras, including wine glasses and knives in every size. Outside there was a small barbecue and a table with four chairs, though the house is for six. The bedrooms felt cramped, with barely 50 cm around the beds. Our mattress seemed past its best, and we could feel the slats. The living and dining room was also set up for only four, despite the six-person capacity. The bathrooms were spacious but badly maintained. I’ll post a photo of some of the wildlife there. The towels were very worn, some had an unattractive pattern, and they smelled smoky, possibly because of the fires in the area. All three houses share the same entrance. We were the only guests, so it wasn’t an issue for us, but I wouldn’t want to be having lunch in the garden while another family walked past. You also have to cross the garden to reach the house, so wet grass means wet feet.

The place is meant for six, but there were only four proper seats at the garden and dining tables, plus two uncomfortable chairs. If you’re over 1.80 m, there isn’t a bed for you. The beds are hard, there were no towels or mosquito nets, and the walls are so thin that partying in the other houses means no sleep.

There’s just one bar in the village, and you have to reserve if you want to eat there. No shops either, so bring your own groceries. For shops, an ATM, restaurants and other services, you need to go to the Sanabria bridge. We were a group of friends with kids and stayed in houses 1 and 2 for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The houses had more equipment than we expected, among the best equipped we’ve stayed in. The beds were really comfortable, and the location was peaceful and good for relaxing. Cleanliness could have been better. It was cold, so we had to ask for the heating to be left on longer.

The rooms were cozy, and the mattress was wonderfully comfortable. The bed was quite large, and the location worked well. The restaurant was affordable and good value. Breakfast was the one letdown: there was no fresh orange juice, and the tomato on the toast wasn’t fresh. Apart from that, very good.