Hotel El Patio

Rooms

Rooms are nicely simple. So are their prices. If you want glitzy hotel luxury, you want to look elsewhere, but if you’re happy with simple country comforts, you’ll get more than you bargained for. Bathrooms tend to be small – most are shower only – but they’re pretty, not basic at all. None have phones or TVs, a deliberate ploy to let you shake the city from your shoulders. The estate is centuries old and there’s a bit of ramble to it. Rooms are split between the manor house, the bodega (winery), the stables and the annex rooms up the lane.

Manor House rooms are as you’d expect; comfortable and authentic, with a touch of style. You get sofas, heavy beams, perhaps an old armoire. All rooms have lovely views. Some look north over the banana plantation and out to sea; others look up at the mountain or across to the ridges of San Marcos ten kilometres away. Beds are prettily dressed in colourful linen, a daily maid service blitzes the hotel from top to toe. Bowls of fruit are left in the rooms and you can fling windows open and let in the breeze. All rooms at the hotel have a small terrace or balcony, with wicker chairs, a small table and candle-lit lanterns for the evenings. A couple of rooms here interconnect and are, thus, good for families or groups.

Rooms at the bodega are popular as they have small balconies that over look the lush courtyard, where old palm trees take to the skies. Rooms here come in warm yellows and pinks, with smart cast-iron beds, terracotta-tiled floors and beamed ceilings. They are well-sized, bright and airy, with shutters windows to bring in the breeze at night. You are above the bar here and tables and chairs are scattered about in the courtyard, so if you want an early night, you may get a little noise from outside. However, the pace of life here is slow and most people come for the peace, so don’t expect a party out there.

Stable rooms are to the side of the house. A sheltered terrace stretches along the front, while windows at the back look onto the courtyard. These rooms typically have high cathedral ceilings open to the rafters and cast-iron beds. The terrace outside is open-plan (you can chat with your neighbours), with each room having a table and chairs outside their front door. Room No. 1 is entered from the courtyard, Room No. 2 is quite small and doesn’t have much of a view. Fresh bananas come straight from the tree.

Rooms up at the annex come with a knock-down price as they’re half a mile down a lane that leads deep into the plantation. This is a private road for the estate and cars pass at the rate of two an hour. You either walk up to the hotel (five minutes) or drive up (one minute), so don’t forget your sun cream when you head to the pool. These rooms are pretty good value if you don’t mind the inconvenience of being away from the hotel, you’ll love them. We thought they were rather attractive. There are six; they share a long terrace, with each room getting a table and chairs outside its front door. Rooms are light and airy, with ceilings open to the rafters, pretty floral bedcovers, cast-iron beds and terracotta-tiled floors. They have windows on both sides and flood with light, and you wrapped up in the middle of the plantation, so expect real peace. As you’re away from the main house, you get a private sitting room. It’s furnished in traditional style with old sofas and armchairs and views back to the hotel. There’s a fridge with a small selection of drinks, too.