Notes from the host
Restored Luxury Andalusian Farmhouse Villa
Absolutely fabulous bed & breakfast!
Beautifully situated, this lovingly restored farmhouse has real style and creative flair. Traditional and contemporary are combined to radiant effect. The attention to detail, imaginative color schemes, subtle lighting, beautiful views, it all adds up to a b & b of nice quality which is both comfortable and compellingly romantic. It is delightfully situated too, just off a little country lane, a few kilometers from the lovely hilltop town of Jimena de la Frontera.
One enters to a splendid Andaluz patio, with the villa, gleaming white under its lovely, weathered old terracotta roof tiles, extending around it on three sides. Planted with fragrant lemon and palm trees, this is a lovely space with intricate tiling, a dining table and chairs, night lighting and a quietly trickling, mosaic glass fountain at its center. Ornately carved antique wooden doors welcome you into the villa. A cool, serene entrance hall under its traditional, beamed ceiling leads through to a practical and modern kitchen, boasting a complete set of appliances. Beyond the kitchen is the living / dining room… a huge and wonderful room full of interest under its splendid, high beamed ceiling. This room is big enough to be home to a full sized pool table! Here you will find sofas are gathered around a huge log fireplace and other armchairs are casually placed here and there, offering both color and contrast. This combined with the soft and subtle lighting, makes for a great spot to relax. At the far end of the living room a short corridor leads to two of the bedrooms. The first is a pretty double (the bed is queen-sized), with a lovely en-suite walk-in shower room which features handmade mosaic flooring and Moroccan-style polished plaster walls, all in delightful shades of turquoise. Next comes the master bedroom and this one is even bigger and just as delightful! White is the theme color here, offset by occasional splashes of bright color, augmented by romantic lighting. There's a fireplace in the corner and doors out to the garden but what will probably take your eye first is the hand carved, freestanding marble bath which sits in a corner by the fireplace. It's gorgeous!
Deep in the countryside, yet it's very easy to get around and about. The house is only 25 minutes by car to Sotogrande and the beaches of the Costa del Sol. Tarifa on the Costa de la Luz is less than an hour away. Inland, pretty Gaucín is a 20 minute drive with historic Ronda another 40 minutes beyond.
The other side of the b & b is all about out-door-living, carefully designed to enjoy the very best that rural Andalucía has to offer. A wide and comfortably covered terrace runs along the length of the property. This opens to the large area of lawn which winds all the way around the property, a perfect place for children to play. Views, of course, extend from here over the hills on the other side of the valley to the mountains. It's very pretty. Beyond the wide lawn, All there along the patio wall surrounding the house, there are chives, lemons, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme. Guests can help themselves. Bird watchers will enjoy seeing all sorts of migratory birds - hoopoes, swallows, eagles, vultures - and in spring the meadows are full of wild flowers.
And then there's the swimming pool… oh, what a beauty! It's massive, 10 m x 10 m, with steps in at the shallow end, 2.5 m deep at the other. It has a salt filtration system, there is a pool shower to the side and its cobalt blue waters are utterly irresistible! A wide sun terrace alongside is protected from any breeze by a high wall and is furnished with loungers. Lying under the Spanish sun is, as we all know, hard and thirsty work but just a few short steps will take you to the chiringuito (the pool bar and barbecue) which has the hard work covered with a dishwasher, and a fridge for those all important cool refreshments! There is night lighting and a music system (with iPod connection) for the terrace and barbecue area. The pool lights up at night too. The pool is fenced and gated on this, lower side. Behind, more lawns and lots of mature trees - olive, fig, almond, pomegranate, eucalyptus and citrus among them - climb up the estate grounds. Access to the pool from this side isn't gated and whilst it would be quite a trip for a youngster to get around to here, it is worth being aware that access is possible.
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Hosted by Daniel Fábrega
