The Hoopoe Yurt Hotel

One of Andalucia’s hippest places to stay: go nomad in style in a wooded valley south of Ronda

If you don’t fancy hopping on the trans-Siberian and heading for Mongolia, yet have a hankering to live the yurt experience, Ed and Henrietta’s camp could be the perfect place to get to grips with life beneath the stars. The setting could hardly be more beautiful: a gorgeous swathe of wooded hillside looking out across the Guadiaro valley to the limestone peaks of the Sierra. No noise of passing traffic here, just bird song and the occasional hoot of an owl at night, and the sound of the clunking bells of herds of sheep and goats across the valley.

The ethos of the camp is ‘eco’ to the core. All energy is provided by a state-of-the-art solar installation, all organic waste is composted and pretty much everything on the table has been organically grown, flavoured with herbs fresh from the garden. The best way to appreciate fully the beauty of a yurt is to live in; aesthetes and hedonists alike couldn’t fail to thrill to this amazing, and original, southern Spanish camp. And forget those childhood camping holidays - you’ll sleep as comfortably here as anywhere in Andalucia.

Highs

• The 5 guest yurts are airy and beautiful: inspirational living spaces
• The peace and beauty of the valley are a perfect escape from stressful city life
• Life is lived en famille with the owners and other guests, yet there is plenty of distance between the yurts, so you do feel you have your own patch of forest
• Great food, of the slow school, with the best ingredients
• Fabulous walking from the camp
• Turkish style pergola perfect for lounging by the pool

Lows

• The whole alfresco nature of the camp works best in fine weather; in rain and cold it can lose its charm or cause cabin fever
• Laundry can be done but not in very wet weather as the camp runs on solar power, sheets changed every 5-7 days (Although more often if requested)
• You have to be sociable here because of the communal nature of all meals