Official description for the Hotel Parador De Cangas de Onís

This luxury hotel is set in the monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva, in use between 12th to 18th centuries. Tradition has it that the monastery was founded by King Alfonso I, ‘The Catholic’, on 21 February 746 – a theory supported by excavations carried out before conversion work started on the Parador. The present monastery was founded on the site and run by the Order of San Benito until the 1835 sale of church lands. Two rooms displaying archaeological remains found during refurbishment work, notably ceramics, bear witness to the site’s distant past.

The monastery was declared a National Monument in 1907, with a new wing added using matching building materials to match the original. Set on the green banks of the River Sella, the beautiful building is reflected in the waters below.