Rooms

The overall feel of the bedrooms, like the communal areas of the hotel, is light, spacious and uplifting. The predominance of white on wood-planked floors, walls and cotton bedspreads provides a perfect backdrop for the dark, hardwood furniture from Indonesia. Mosquito nets and Casablanca fans impart a colonial feel: Graham Greene meets Raffles in contemporary Andalucia.

The Junior Suite has a sitting area and its terrace overlooks the pool and valley beyond, while the Superior Double Room is similar, but it has its own entrance at the side of the hotel. The grander suites have lots of space and separate sitting rooms. The largest is the Duplex Suite, which has a rooftop Jacuzzi and a second bedroom accessed via a spiral staircase into the tower. Our Deluxe Suite was huge, with a deep copper bathtub and stunning valley views from the private terrace.

Bathrooms are big and have attractive yellow limestone floors, which were also shipped in from the Far East. There are top-of-the-range toiletries and fluffy bathrobes. This is the sort of place where you’ll find it hard to drag yourself out of your bathtub.

All rooms have private terraces overlooking the gardens, valley or olive grove, and most have open fires (as well as central heating), ensuring that it's equally romantic in winter. And the distance between rooms means that privacy is total. Most rooms don't have TVs but all rooms have CD players (the owners have a huge CD library which you can dip into). You’ll be tempted to grab a bottle of wine from the cooler, slip back to your room and enjoy your gorgeous space to the full.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Fan
• In-room treatments available
• Mosquito net
• WiFi

Eating

Dinner is a culinary treat to remember. The daily changing menu features two starters (soup or salad), three mains (fish, meat, veggie), a dessert, and a cheese selection. Choose three courses, or if you're too indecisive (or very hungry) go the whole shebang and opt for a seven-course feast.

The culinary philosophy is that less is more, and the reduced menu means that everything is prepared with fresh ingredients, many of them from the organic garden. Starters for us were a crunchy green apple salad and a creamy zucchini soup with perfectly crisp payoyo cheese on top. My veggie main was a scrummy savoury take on mille-feuille, filled with sweet potato and topped with pine nuts and white asparagus. And any dessert of the chocolate fondant variety is always a winner in my book. There’s an interesting selection of wines, both local and imported, all reasonably priced. Wine is one of Pom’s passions and you should heed his recommendations.

The lunchtime menu is a la carte - with light options like gazpacho and salads, or heartier mains like homemade burgers or paprika pulpo (octopus). And breakfast is a buffet affair. Freshly squeezed orange juice is de rigueur, as are delicious local cheeses, croissants, cold meats and really good wholemeal breads - a real blessing in this part of Andalucia. Cooked options are extra. Just ask if you’d like it all brought up to your room.

For the nights when you’re not indulging in Hotel La Fuente’s exquisite cuisine, Los Caireles in the nearby village of Arriate comes highly recommended. Or, if you want somewhere even closer, El Polvorilla or El Pelistre are walkable (2km) from the hotel. In Ronda, don't miss the tapas at Tragata (pre-booking advised).

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Restaurant
• Room service

Activities

• You’re just 10 minutes from Ronda. Don’t miss the bridge, the Arab baths and Mondragón Place
  
• Hike in the Grazalema park. Fuente can arrange a guided walk
  
• Visit the nearby Pileta cave, home to some of Europe’s most fascinating troglodyte art
  
• Head off to the Roman settlement of Acinipo and marvel at the acoustics of its theatre, sculpted into a limestone hillside
  
• Drive just an hour down to the coast and San Pedro to feast on sardines, John Dory and chilled sangria by the glittering Med
  
• Grab your binoculars and head for the mountains. You’ll see eagles, vultures and a whole many more feathered things
  
• Adrenaline junkies can try paragliding, mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, caving and 4x4 eco-routes which Fuente organises through a local company; participants will be collected at the hotel
  
• There are horse riding stables just 5 minutes from the hotel or you can rent bicycles and jaunt around the area
  
• Back at the hotel, lie in the sun or the shade of the acacia tree at the pool with a good book, or have a massage in your room (yoga can also be arranged)

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Hot air ballooning
• Mountain biking
• Plantlife / flora
• Private guided tours
• Tennis
• Wine tasting
• Yoga

Kids

We feel the hotel is best suited to older children, due to the high-end furnishings, precious antiques and quiet atmosphere.

Best for:

Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

The Duplex Suite with two bedrooms is good for older children but not toddlers because of the spiral staircase. All suites can hold at least one extra bed or baby cot.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Hotel La Fuente de la Higuera is near Ronda in Andalucia, southern Spain. It's about 90 minutes from Seville and 2 hours from Granada and Cordoba.

By Air
Fly into Malaga (113km), Gibraltar (113km), Jerez (114km) or Seville (123km).

From the Airport
The hotel is about 90 minutes' drive from the nearest airports. Transfers are available on request (Malaga and Seville), but we recommend hiring a car so that you can explore the local area.

Detailed directions will be sent once your booking is confirmed.