Nestled in a green valley, this spacious house has gardens as perfect as its surroundings.
The early morning valley mist burns off to reveal a perfect day. To the south is the shimmering sea.
Off the main coast road, past Casares, is a lush valley where you’ll find this little piece of paradise. Head on down for 1.5 kms into this valley, on a well maintained dirt track, and marvel at the woodland surroundings.
The owner of this villa bought all three properties on the estate to guarantee privacy for themselves and their guests. The villa is therefore very secluded and quiet, it encompasses 50,000 m2 (28,000 m2 of which is lawned grounds). The house was completely rebuilt in 2009 to superior standards. From the main entrance is a concrete drive through the immaculately lawned grounds, past the guest cottage (sleeps 4) to the main house. There is plenty of car parking space on the forecourt outside the house. On arrival, guests are given a remote control for the entrance gates.
The living room has tall, double glazed windows, filling the room with sunshine and views of the majestic gardens.
When you step inside the house, into the entrance hall, you instantly feel the quality of this holiday villa. The decor is warm, all in gentle reds, rusts, golds and ochres, the tones are of African earth and sunshine.
Pass through double doors into the house proper, to the left is a cloakroom with a wc and a marble- topped hand-basin under a large mirror.
The living area is a vast space with chunky, exposed ceiling beams supporting a high, sloping ceiling. The room is still spacious even with the eight Chesterfield-style sofas arranged around three coffee tables, small occasional tables and two big footstools. A large flatscreen TV sits in one corner. The style of the tables is Moroccan and the artwork complements the furniture, all in Saharan colours and shades of desert sand.
A lot of little birds grace the garden with their presence. Birdsong is a constant charm.
The pool terrace looks out onto the top aspect of the spectacular gardens. It’s encircled by eight small eucalytus trees on one side and floral borders on the other. There are four sail-type shades and no less than 14 sunbeds! But the terrace is so big, even with all the loungers, it’s uncluttered.
Behind the terrace is a decorative pool which hosts a display of dragonflies. The reflection off this water feature fans out on the wall behind and the whole scene is so pretty you could watch it all afternoon. The chlorinated swimming pool is turquoise, sparkly and inviting with the water being accessed by four shallow steps. The pool terrace has iron gates making it and the garden lakes inaccessible to unsupervised children.
Along with the gentle sounds of the stream and water feature nearby, birdsong adds a special dimension to this peaceful oasis.
Inside or out, there are lots of places to eat, rest and play.
An open wood burner takes up and warms the centre of the living area, its iron hood divides the living room from the dining room. The house has the benefit of central heating, so the wood burner would be on hand to provide additional cheery ambience in winter. The dining area follows on from the living room and has two dining tables.
One table is an antique refectory table with two long benches on either side and two carved chairs at each end. The other dining table is a beautifully carved Moroccan piece, perhaps originally a door. Both tables combined can seat 20 people.
From the dining area through a brick built archway is the kitchen. (Just outside the kitchen leading into the living area is a secondary, large fridge freezer.) The kitchen is spick and span with granite work surfaces, twin sinks, microwave, kettle, toaster and coffee-making facilities.
Matching crockery and glassware is provided in abundance (for 20 settings in case friends come over, or book the guest cottage) as well as plastic utensils for outdoors. All the modern conveniences that you would expect are here: Bosch washing machine and tumble dryer, an electric oven, 4-ring ceramic hob, fridge freezer. The kitchen has direct access to an informal, outdoor dining patio with a barbecue.
The patio has a picnic table (seats 10) and circular table (seats six) in close proximity. Conveniently at hand is a large, brick-built barbecue. The whole patio is shaded by trees and bordered by shrubs and flowers. There is direct access to double bedroom 1 from this terrace.
There is another dining area in the garden with four rustic benches and a swing seat. The area is lit at night for evening al fresco dinner parties. Just up from here, is a lawn with a volley-ball/badminton net for more sporty fun.
Every bedroom in this house is appealing, with crisp white bedlinen and airy ambience, a good night's sleep is coming your way.
The main house has six bedrooms, all with air conditioning and central heating. All the beds are 2m long. Two bedrooms (1 and 2) are situated on the ground floor off the living room, four are downstairs from the living room (3 to 6). Bedrooms 1 and 2 share a bathroom which has a spacious walk-in shower, granite-topped washstand with a brass bowl hand basin, and a separate wc and bidet.
Bedroom 1 is a double bedded room with direct access to the barbecue patio and garden. Bedroom 2 (shown here) is also a double and has an ornate headboard with matching bedside cabinets. Its view is to the outside canna lily border. Both bedrooms have white walls and African artwork, all in warm sandy and orangey tones.
A cold beer from the fridge, your favourite music and a relaxing session in the jacuzzi ... what a holiday!
The bar patio is outside the lower floor of the main house and has a jacuzzi and cabaña style beach bar with a fridge freezer, sink and kettle. There’s a music iPod system behind the bar, a stone table and four chairs.
There is direct access through French windows from the bar patio, to two downstairs bedrooms 3 and 4. If you walk around the house from this patio, there is another, more formal outdoor dining terrace with seating for 14.
The dining terrace overlooks the pool which, especially when lit at night, provides a beautiful backdrop for any al fresco dining. From the bar patio, 16 steps take you up to the main entrance of the house with its vivid red bougainvillea around the front door.
All four of the lower floor bedrooms have their own bathroom facilities. All bedrooms and bathrooms are superb.
From the living room, go downstairs eight steps, turn on a landing and down another eight steps to the rest of the bedrooms, the outdoor dining terrace and the bar patio at the end of the corridor.
To the right of the corridor are bedrooms 3 and 4, both twin bedded en suite rooms. Full of light and very inviting, their bathrooms are identical, having a bath tub with a shower over, wc, bidet and basin. Bedroom 3 has direct access to the bar patio through French windows. Bedroom 4 is built on the corner of the house so has access to both the bar patio and the dining terrace. Bedrooms 5 and 6 are on the left of the corridor and both are double en suite rooms. Bedroom 6 has direct access to the dining terrace and garden. Their bathrooms are very similar, both having full bathtubs with shower over, wc, bidet and marble topped washbasins.
A walk in the delightful garden will amaze you. There's all sorts of wildlife to enchant and entertain
The most stunning feature of this villa has to be its beautiful gardens, complete with a stream running down its length in a series of lakes. These lakes are lit at night, perfect for romantic walks. The water is kept healthy and supports an ecosystem of terrapins, fish and frogs. At the bottom of the garden, the river feeds a wilder sanctuary before flowing out into the valley. The garden is fenced to keep out the wild boar, the jabali, who live in the woods. They are very shy and won’t be seen by day.
Let’s start at the pool at the bottom of the garden then, and work our way up to the house. From this pool you hear the water coming down from the garden stream coupled with the natural river as it leaves the property. It feels like you’re actually in the woods, just listen to the sound of the birds, all surrounded by large bushes: pomegranate, oleander, almond. Sit still, the branches move gently as birds hop from twig to twig. The pool is shaded by cane and papyrus and is a gloriously secret hidey-hole.
Walk out of the ‘wild bit’ back into the perfect grounds and continue your stroll up along the paved riverside and over a small wooden bridge. The water is dappled with pond skaters, tadpoles and little fish, damselflies hover and frogs plop into the water as you approach. The water lilies give way to a series of large ponds with a fountain in the middle one. Cross over six stepping stones to join the path back to the house or continue along this path shaded by eucalyptus trees and banana plants, all very semi-tropical.
The final part of this delightful garden walk is on the well kept lawn. Here butterflies flitter in the sunshine, and the green valley is all around. The lawned area has numerous beds containing small trees: lemon, vines, canna lilies, nispora all beautifully maintained. The stone path turns into a gravel path which takes you back up to the house.
The gardens (and swimming pool) are entered by gates from the house so children cannot access these areas by themselves.
The top floor of the house is for chilling out, extra guests or just for looking out over the valley.
From the living room take eight stairs up to a landing and then a further eight stairs to the top of the house, shown here. This is the highest room and has a good quality sofa bed for emergency guests. The sofa faces a big Sony TV and DVD player. As well as being a sleeping area when necessary, this is a sunny and very pleasant chill out zone. It’s perfect for some time out from other people, or maybe you want to watch a different film from the rest of the family downstairs.
Continuing with the decor of the other floors, the room has white walls throughout, cupola style ceiling and exposed wooden beams. A high window above lets sunlight flood in, but it has blackout curtains for a good sleep, or optimal film watching.
Ideal as accommodation for larger groups, the cottage sleeps four in two double-bedded rooms.
The self-contained cottage, a short walk from the main house, sleeps four and is ideal as sleeping accommodation for guests as part of a larger group, perhaps for a wedding or special party.
The cottage, while of the same high standard as the main house, is in close proximity to the caretaker’s house and shares a small swimming pool with it. Therefore it is only offered as overflow accommodation. One of the bedrooms is on the ground floor, the other is upstairs. There is air conditioning in all rooms, wifi and internet access.
The cottage comprises:
Living room: two two-seater sofas, flatscreen TV with English satellite channels and DVD player. Dining table for 6.
Upstairs bedroom: double bedded (en suite bathroom has shower)
Downstairs bedroom: double bedded (en suite bathroom has shower and twin hand basins)
Kitchen: fridge freezer, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, electric oven and hob, iron and board
For little ones: 2 high chairs, 3 cots, 4 security gates for the stairs
For children and adults alike, this villa is the perfect ingredient for that very special holiday.
It’s worth taking a look down into the valley from the heights of the main road, before turning off down the track to your villa. The Venta Victoria is close by the turn off, and is a recommended road-side restaurant serving local food done very well. It’s also a good vantage point where the houses in the valley look like toy models set in a gentle green bowl.
The owners live two months on the estate, two months off, in a separate house hidden from the main house. The friendly and welcoming estate manager, Graham, lives out of sight but on site next to the guest cottage. Graham will meet you and is on call pretty much 24/7 to assist with anything you may need. The villa has hosted weddings and can assist with outside catering if requested. The estate has two gardeners who work when and where, depending on what is most convenient for the guests.
Given the comfort and luxury of this villa, it won’t be easy to leave it to go exploring. But if you do venture out, you’ll be hard pressed to decide which excursions to make.
The beaches and golf courses of the Costa del Sol are only 15 minutes’ drive away and the pretty white village of Casares 10 minutes. A little further on is the arty enclave of Gaucín perched on it’s eagle’s crag and Jimena de la Frontera as traditional Spanish as you could find. But if it’s iconic Spain you’re after, Ronda ‘The City of Dreams’ is close enough for a day trip and it’ll be a visit worth making.
This villa is an absolute paradise for children to run around and play, the lawns are green and soft and the grounds are gated and safe. The house is ideal for large groups of family and friends either holidaying or coming together for a special occasion.
All the facts and features about these villas
The swimming pool will be open throughout the year, but will not be heated from November through to April inclusive. At other times, the pool can be heated on demand at 30€ per day approx, paid locally as part of the final electricity cost.
Pets may be accepted, please ask.
Please, no smoking in the house.
The electricity meter is read on arrival and on departure, electricity is charged at 27 Cents pkW, paid in cash locally. (This works out at an average of 140-160€). The meter is inside the house so guests can look at it anytime.
As the house is built on terraces, it is not suitable for wheelchair access.
Rentals for this property normally run from Saturday to Saturday in high season, arrivals after 4pm.
Additional maid/babysitting and cooking service are available on request in advance, paid locally.
Prices are inclusive of central heating and a reasonable amount of firewood.
Linen is changed and a full cleaning service is provided every seven days.
A welcome pack is provided.
A pre arrival shopping service can be provided at a cost of 30€ per trolley load on top of the grocery bill (paid locally on arrival).
A 600 Euro security deposit is required on each booking. This is held against your credit or debit card and will be cancelled one week after your holiday, subject to any reductions for breakages or damage. See Terms and Conditions for full details.
For larger parties, the additional guest cottage can be rented (when available) along with the main house at an additional cost. Please see prices above.
Electricity meter is read on arrival and on departure and electricity is charged at 27 Cents per kW (on average 140-160 Euros paid in cash)
For weddings and other large events the owner of this property charges an additional 1,400 Euros. This is payable directly to the owner subsequent to booking confirmation.
Heated pool available (on request at least 2 days before the arrival day) price: 30 Euros per day.
Firewood: 100 kilos are included. After this, the client can purchase wood at 20 € per 100 kilos. We can only sell it, in 100 kilo lots due to the measuring system.
RB/CTC/201654165
| 2024 Season Dates | Main house sleeping up to 15 | Main house Sleeping up to 20 |
|---|---|---|
| 7th January to 23rd March | 1,995 € | 2,490 € |
| 24th March to 22nd June | 3,495 € | 4,290 € |
| 23rd June to 7th September | 4,995 € | 5,990 € |
| 8th September to 26th October | 3,495 € | 4,290 € |
| 27th October to 14th December | 1,995 € | 2,490 € |
| 16th December to 8th January 2025 | 3,495 € | 4,290 € |
| 2024 Season Dates | Main house sleeping up to 15 | Main house Sleeping up to 20 |
|---|---|---|
| 7th January to 23rd March | 1,995 € | 2,490 € |
| 24th March to 22nd June | 3,675 € | 4,470 € |
| 23rd June to 7th September | 5,250 € | 6,245 € |
| 8th September to 26th October | 3,675 € | 4,470 € |
| 27th October to 14th December | 1,995 € | 2,490 € |
| 16th December to 8th January 2025 | 3,675 € | 4,470 € |
In open countryside, accessed by a 2 km track (in decent condition and easily negotiated in an ordinary car), 5 km from Casares (most facilities) in the Western Costa del Sol region (Province of Málaga).
