El Gran Sueño B&B

Picture a dream getaway to the Spanish countryside. Your vision probably includes a few key elements: freshly baked bread and wine on the table, views of the mountains in the distance, peace and quiet. You might take the reverie a step further to include a private balcony overlooking the gardens or a deep soaking tub. But you probably wouldn’t think to include an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, or artisanal olive oil-based bath products, or an entirely organic Slow Food dinner menu, in your fantasy scene. Luckily the owners of El Gran Sueño, a quiet B&B in rural Asturias, did think of it. They also thought of instating a no-kids-allowed policy. Fitting that the name means “the great dream” in Spanish.

El Gran Sueño looks and feels like a labor of love. The building is an old farmhouse, still surrounded by gardens and apple orchards, but thoroughly restored inside and transformed into a modern guesthouse. There are just five rooms, all individually and exquisitely decorated with a mix of local antiques and modern design pieces by the likes of Louis Poulssen, Achille Castiglioni, Charles Eames, and Eero Saarinen. One room has a spacious private terrace, another a lofted lounge space in the eaves of the original barn, another a huge bathroom with a skylight and a cast iron bathtub. Across categories, in-room amenities are plentiful. They didn’t skimp on the details: the floors are poured resin with underfloor heating, the sound systems are by Bose, the smart HDTVs by Samsung, the bath products by the Spanish olive oil producer La Chinata.

Perhaps needless to say, the breakfast won’t be a standard coffee and croissant situation: the food, including the picturesque morning spread of homemade cakes, breads, jams, local cheeses and just-picked fruits, is all organic. There’s also a prix fixe dinner in the dining room each evening. The owners will happily make you a lunch box, too, to take along on the hiking, cycling, canoeing or horseback riding excursion they helped you plan. Go ahead, let them pack the basket with some extra desserts and a bottle of wine — this is a great dream, remember?