Hotel Los Castanos

Rooms

Extremely comfortable rooms come with the best beds (double or twin), the crispest linen and simple white-washed walls. There are comfy armchairs, terracotta-tiled floors and excellent halogen lighting. Rooms are kept fairly simple, but attractively so, with cast-iron mirror frames from Morocco and scatter cushions on the beds. Sylvia, who lives in the village and who helps in the house, brings roses from her garden to add a touch of colour.

All rooms have balconies. One at the back of the house looks over the courtyard and up at the next-door church. The 3 at the front have views that pour over village rooftops and out onto the valley. The ground-floor room is wheelchair friendly. Go for the rooms at the front; they are bigger, the view is entrancing, and you can crack open a bottle of wine and sit out on director’s chairs, glued to it. There are no TVs - you don't want them here - but all the essentials are on hand: bathrobes, fluffy towels, bowls of fruit and minibars. Books are left in bookshelves, there’s a kettle to make a cup of tea. Three rooms have bathtubs, as well as the showers that are present in every ensuite, and the soaps, gels and shampoos are made from olive oil.

Responding to guests' demands, there are now sketching materials in every room so guests can try their hand at capturing the inspirational views from their balconies.