Carlos Díaz and the designer Sofía Tejerina took a palace that had been occupied and partly burned during the War of Independence and chose to change as little as possible. The stone walls, beams, arched doorways and old floors stayed; an eighteenth-century carpenter's bench, still with its wooden dowels, is kept on show. Around them they placed linen sofas, esparto lamps, alabaster candelabras, art books and antiques from Europe and Asia. The eleven apartments come in three kinds, from the simpler Cozy rooms to the large Unique apartments with fireplaces, freestanding tubs and the widest views.

Meals happen at Solo x Monte, a bistro for house guests run with the team of Monte, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Asturias, with breakfast every morning and dinner from Thursday to Monday. Outside the walls the house looks over the forest: an infinity pool, a sauna facing Peña Ubiña, a heated outdoor jacuzzi, and massages on request.

The valley does the rest. The Senda del Oso, the old mining railway turned into a walking and cycling trail through bear country, starts five minutes on foot from the gate; the gorge of the Xanas and the Valdemurio reservoir, good for kayaking, are close by, and the house rents e-bikes. Solo Palacio is run as a not-for-profit, and a share of every euro goes to environmental projects in Quirós.