This 18th-century building once housed the Asturian Royal Institute of Marine Life and Mineralogy, established here in 1794 by the author Jovellanos. It is a boxy structure, often renovated over the centuries, but hardly grand. When it was built, it stood on the site where Gijón still had fortifications against pirates. Rooms are small but attractive, and the hotel is within easy walking distance of the yacht harbor and the beach.