This delightful villa enjoys a rural and very peaceful location in the foothills of the mountains that rise up behind the attractive Mediterranean resort of Estepona. The views are fabulous, over Gibraltar and across the shimmering sea to Africa! It enjoys the best of both world's, a quiet, secluded countryside location, yet all the fun and frolics of the Costa del Sol are within easy reach (Estepona is just three kilometres away).
The villa is reached via a gravel drive (there's plenty of car parking and turning space) and one enters through a picturesque and very typical "andaluz" patio complete with a trickling fountain, plants and flowers.
The first impression one gets on entering the villa is the warmth and comfort of a real home (the English owners live here for much of the year). All the rooms are very comfortable with rustic and antique furnishings and terracotta tiled floors throughout, a very pleasing style that draws on the best of both English and Andalusian tradition.
The main house accommodation is on two levels with the living areas on the upper entrance level and the bedrooms below.
On the upper (entrance) level, the large sitting room is open-plan with the kitchen at one end, complete with hanging baskets, Spanish pottery and decorative tiles as well as all essential equipment (hob, grill, oven, fridge freezers, dishwasher, kettle, toaster, coffee machine, food processor/blender, juicer). A dining table which comfortably seats twelve divides the kitchen area from the living area where a sofa and armchairs are casually distributed around an open fireplace.
It's all very homely, comfy and pleasingly traditional, but with all mod-cons, satellite TV, video, stereo music system, broadband internet connection and telephone, too. French windows open to a spacious covered terrace with fantastic views of the coast, ideal for evening drinks and dining. This terrace can also be accessed from the small study alongside the sitting room which houses a huge collection of books and video tapes. A separate laundry room and a cloakroom/W.C. complete the distribution on this floor.
A wrought-iron spiral staircase takes you down to the three bedrooms. The master double bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, the other double and the twin bedded room share a bathroom between them. Each of bedrooms open to a terrace which leads to a small lawned area and on to the swimming pool, with its surrounding sun terrace with loungers, table and chairs and a barbecue.
Bright and sunny, a separate annex apartment, off the entrance patio, has a sitting room (with a small kitchenette and satellite TV), a double bedroom and a bathroom (accessed from the bedroom). This provides extra accommodation for teenagers or a nanny perhaps, or even grandparents seeking a little privacy! At a pinch, the annex can sleep four because the sofa converts to a double bed.
Although nowhere has completely escaped from development on the Costa del Sol, Estepona still has lots of delightful old-world Spain about it, not least the charming old quarter, the colourful Sunday market and the fishing harbour. It has an attractive seafront with a picturesque palm-studded promenade, a marina and a blue flag beach. There are excellent shellfish and tapas bars.
The highly fashionable resorts of Marbella and Puerto Banus are within an easy drive, together with a wide range of entertainment, including aquaparks and a go-cart circuit. There's a wealth of restaurants to choose from, something for everyone's taste and pocket from the lavish "Golden Mile" to simple but delicious food served all day (and often late into the night) by the beach-bars along the coast.
There are a number of championship golf courses close by, including Sotogrande, Valderrama, Las Brisas and the stunning mountain course of Monte Major, as well as excellent facilities for horse riding and tennis. The hills surrounding the finca provide wonderful walking countryside.
For those who want to explore the old Spain of inland Andalucia, the property is conveniently placed for visiting the white towns of Casares and Gaucín and the unspoilt, beautiful mountain countryside. A ferry trip across the Straits to Tangier in Morocco will take you to a completely different world!
A proper home, full of lived-in-character in peaceful, rural surroundings, and so many things to see and do just down the road … just the place for a perfect holiday!
