Selecta Casa Esmerdo

We really enjoyed our stay at this wonderful villa. The property is accessed via quite a steep, windy road but we got used to the drive quite quickly and its elevated position ensures a very peaceful setting and lovely views over Estepona to the sea. Rhona, who showed us around the villa, was very helpful, both at the start of our stay, and afterwards when I realised I'd left something behind! The property itself is very comfortable and tastefully furnished. The air conditioning is very effective and the large bedroom in the basement is nice and cool to the point where we barely needed the air conditioning in that room. All the rooms including the kitchen are a good size and very well equipped, including plenty of storage. The outside area consists of well maintained gardens, a good size pool and a very nice gas BBQ area. There are plenty of sun loungers around the pool and also a good sized shaded area with a sofa and chairs to relax on, and a table for eating outside. Estepona is the nearest town and has a great selection of restaurants to choose from, and a really nice atmosphere on a night. We would definitely recommend this villa and would certainly use the property again.

The villa enjoys wonderful views to the sea and on a clear day North Africa can easily be seen. The pool area is charming and there is plenty of furniture even if some of it is a bit scruffy. The garden is quite well maintained. However on the second day when I lifted the lid of the barbecue, there was a live rat inside, between the grill tray and the lava rock. This was very shocking and rendered the barbecue unusable for the rest of the stay. The entire outdoor cooking area was not clean, and the surfaces were greasy and dirty. A drawer containing cleaning implements was filthy also. By day four the pool was beginning to show signs of algae and dirt on the tiles. Inside, the house while moderately comfortable is dated and has a wide range of uncoordinated and mismatched furnishings and ornaments. One of the bedrooms, which we did not use is in a basement and has the familiar musty smell usually associated with this type of room. The main bedroom on the top floor, has a large balcony with excellent views but the “double” bed looks like it was constructed as a school project and does not look strong. Other furniture is also dated and cheap looking. Bathrooms were cleaned to a high standard. The kitchen was well equipped but the cutlery and crockery and especially the glassware were not very clean. The reason for this became clear when we noticed there was no rinse aid for the dishwasher meaning it was not cleaning thoroughly. We were given only one tea towel.