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Official UK partner to the Paradors, Pousadas, Pestana Hotels & Resorts, Les Collectionneurs (Chateaux), and European Hotels Collection. Keytours International, formerly Keytel International, your agent in the UK.

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Parador de Santillana Del Mar

Cantabrian Style Manor House

Closing Information

This Parador is currently closed for refurbishment until October 2025 but its sister Parador Santillana Gil Blas across the little square remains open.

Please note this date is subject to change if renovations continue longer than expected.

Description

Parador de Santillana del Mar - Cantabrian-style manor house (3*)

The attractive Parador de Santillana del Mar, which originally served as an annexe to the nearby Parador de Santillana Gil Blas, beautifully maintains the traditional local style of architecture, with stone arches, pantiled roof, wooden balconies and beamed ceilings. The cosy building has the feel of a Cantabrian-style mansion house or coaching inn, such is the lovely traditional design of the building and its setting. 

Located conveniently close to Santander (15 miles away) and on the main square of one of the most attractive and well-preserved old villages in Spain, the Parador de Santillana is a good base for exploring both the northern coast of Cantabria with its superb beach-es and coves, and the magnificent mountains of the Picos de Europa. Also nearby are the world-famous Altamira Caves, with their prehistoric cave paintings.

The Parador de Santillana del Mar has just 28 bedrooms – making it one of the smallest and prettiest Paradors in the network – and although it may not share the same historical significance of the original Parador de Santillana Gil Blas, it certainly has charm aplenty. Guests often tell us that there is little to separate the two properties in their appeal (except for the location of the bar and restaurant in the original Parador and the difference in price between the two properties of about 10%). Bedrooms generally overlook the delightful gardens, with wooden furnishings and rustic décor.

The facilities available at Santillana’s Parador include gardens and a sauna, and the bar and restaurant – where you may sample traditional Cantabrian dishes – are located in the Parador de Santillana Gil Blas, just across the square.

There is garage parking at this Parador. The Parador is accessed through the entrance to the old town, which involves passing through security bollards which will be raised immediately when you identify yourselves as guests of the Parador.

Keytel tips
- This is a town to enjoy on foot. It is worth savouring the architecture and atmosphere from one of the terraces in the evening before or after dinner.
- The Altamira cave is 1.5 miles from Santillana del Mar, and well worth a visit to see the cave paintings shown in an excellent exhibition at the visitors centre. It is not possible to descend into the caves any longer to see the cave paintings that date back 15,000 years, but the exhibition portays an impressive depiction and superb imagery of what is down below.

Local Area

The town’s name is fascinating since it seems to imply that this is a seaside town, and although the town isn’t far from the coast, it is the place where ‘’Santa Iliana came from the sea’’. Described by Jean Paul Sartre as ‘’the loveliest town in Spain’’ and by Unamuno as ‘’a town enveloped in literary prestige’’, Santillana is a delightful stopover either on the Camino de Santiago (the Pilgrim’s way of St James) or along the northern coastline. In the 18th century the French author Lesage wrote his novel ‘Gil Blas de Santillana’ and the town was declared a national monument in 1889.

Many of Santillana’s original buildings and monuments have been maintained - generally houses of the nobility which still display their coats of arms today – and the town’s records reach back to the 9th century when the north of the peninsula was resisting the Moorish conquest. The monastery of Santa Juliana, later to be extended and converted into the Romanesque collegiate church in the 12th century, and it was the Church that controlled and oversaw the surrounding lands until the 16th century when the nobility finally governed.  

Much of the town’s architecture dates from the period of Spain’s good fortunes in the Americas and in the 19th century in southern Spain, and in the 1920s, the Count of Guell extolled the virtues of Santillana and helped to spread word of its appeal. He was the founder of the hotel in the 17th century building, set on the main square, which later became the original Parador de Santillana Gil Blas in 1944.  The town benefited from the importation of exotic plants and furnishings from far-flung lands and the influence of the colonies is still evident in the design of many gardens.

Lorna Roberts Expert View

Lorna Roberts' expert view on this Parador as she journeys through the region.

Restaurant meal times & typical dishes

Breakfast is served from 8.00 to 11.00 in the Parador. Dinner is served in neigbouring Parador de Santillana Gil Blas from 20.30 to 22.30. It may be possible to arrive up to 22.00 and still enjoy a meal. The restaurant – where you may sample traditional Cantabrian dishes – are located in the Parador de Santillana Gil Blas, just across the square.

Booking with Flexibility

Our conditions offer flexibility when booking with us - Read More

Location
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Facilities
  • air conditioning
  • elevator
  • bar
  • safe
  • heating
  • breakfast
  • garden
  • mini-bar
  • no animals
  • parking
  • hairdryer in guest rooms
  • accepts credit cards
  • telephone in guest rooms
  • TV in guest rooms
  • wi-fi
  • sauna
Parking

Exterior parking & garage parking (both with daily charges) shared with Parador de Santillana Gil Blas

How to get to the Hotel?

The Parador is located in Santillana del Mar's main plaza, in which the city's most characteristic buildings are also located: Torre de Don Borja, Casa del Águila y la Parra, Torre de Merino and the Town Hall. You can reach the Parador from the Travesía Santander-Comillas by way of a cobblestone street almost 100 metres long. Santillana is located 24 km from Santander.

Location
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CANTABRIA

As with the other neighbouring regions comprising ‘Green Spain,’ the principal attractions of Cantabria are essentially coastal and rural. The region’s rivers, beaches, cliffs, valleys, mountains and forests combine to create a mosaic of contrasting landscapes.

Cantabria’s climate is temperate. With relatively warm winters and summer temperatures rarely exceeding 25°C this is an ideal region of Spain to visit at any time of year, particularly for those wishing to avoid crowded cities and resorts. The entire population is only a little over half a million and getting on for half the population live in the region’s capital city, Santander.

Santander is a beautiful and elegant city with many public parks. Like San Sebastián further east along the coast, it has been a popular destination for many Spaniards since the mid 19th century when it became a fashionable bathing resort and the summer residence of the Spanish royal family. A particular feature of the city is the residencial area of El Sardinero with its stretch of lovely beaches with fine sand.

24 km to the west of Santander is the remarkable little town of Santillana del Mar which, despite its name, is not actually on the coast. The entire town is a national monument and a living museum of a medieval 9th century village, although most of the town displays a variety of architectural styles ranging from the 14th to the 18th centuries.

Another major attraction, just 3 km from Santillana, are the Altamira Caves. Discovered in 1879 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the caves are known throughout the world for their paintings made by early man during the late Paleolithic period some 14,000 years ago.

The cuisine of this region is of a high quality based on fresh products from its fertile farmland and, in the south of Cantabria, its excellent cattle-grazing land – not to mention boar and venison in the mountain villages during the hunting season. Particularly recommended are the traditional Cantabrian stews (cocido) – no additives, just fresh top-quality ingredients. Needless to say there is also a wide choice of sea food: clams and lobster figure prominently, while bass, hake, monkfish and red mullet are normally on most menus.

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