A Night Away

We have had a love affair with this area for many years, which resulted in us coming to live here. We like to take a break once a month, and explore the different parts of Andalucía by staying a night in a hotel, usually within driving distance.

In the summer, we have more time, and go further afield in Spain and have even dropped into Portugal. So here are the places that we have stayed in. Hopefully you will look them up and if possible, go and stay!

I regular use www.booking.com as they seem to provide good prices without having to send a deposit.

These articles are printed in the “Soltalk” magazine each month.

Anne Fleming tried the Hotel La Fuente del Sol at La Joya near Antequera.

You cannot stay in Spain without visiting a ‘Parador’. This hotel chain is run by the Spanish government, using high ecological standards, and staffed by local people.

For years, we have loved driving to the Alpujarras and, from Nerja, it usually takes a couple of hours. Now for the good news, we took an hour and fifteen minutes to get to our hotel due to the opening of parts of the new motorway.

For those who live on the costa, it is essential to visit Ronda. We have stayed more than once in the busy tourist town but to celebrate my sister’s birthday, we decided we would look out in the countryside nearby.

Málaga is one of my favourite cities in the world. Most tourists arrive at Málaga airport and go on to other places but it is so worth while driving to the centre and staying overnight, as we have done on many occasions.

In last month’s article, I did warn you that I love the city of Málaga. So this particular trip was associated with shopping, and I would say this hotel is the most convenient as it is within walking distance of the large El Corte Ingles department store as well as the Calle Larios pedestrian shopping precinct.

Driving up through Spain towards holidays in France, we decided to stay in Cuenca, east of Madrid. We stayed for two nights, and really enjoyed the hotel, town, and scenery in the area.

A bank holiday weekend and time to go away again. We chose to drive south for a couple of hours and ended up near Gibraltar. Set in Algeciras bay, this hotel is surrounded by 18,000 sq m of beautiful, mature gardens and only 15 minutes drive to Gibraltar.

Do you want to find a special hotel driving through Barcelona to France? Here it is! Just leave the motorway at Girona and make your way east to the coast through the lovely country landscape until you reach Aiguablava, a town nestled in pine forests.

You must not live in this area without spending a night in Málaga over the Christmas and New Year period! Once you have seen the impressive Christmas decorations, you will return year after year.

If you are travelling through Madrid, why not take time out and stay in Chinchón, which is about 50 kilometres south east of the city.

On a beautiful sunny spring day, we decided to visit the Iznajar area, knowing that after so much rain, the reservoirs would be full. We took the Granada road from Málaga and turned off at Villanueva de la Tapia.

Map of the Area