Small house in the nature reserve with pool

Terrifying roads….. The roads up this Finca are steep. Even by the normal Spanish mountains standards, the last three sections of road were very dangerous and reduced me to tears. I have driven in the mountains many times before but this place is the most daunting I have ever encountered. It also spoilt our holiday as we couldn’t go out in the evening and trips out in the day time was quite unnerving. I did think I might be a coward until the cleaner nearly ran her car off the road on our last day and cursed the final road up to the place. I did contact the owner to ask her to strengthen the warnings of the road on her advert before I left this review as I don’t want to be critical but wished someone had told me before I had booked. It is a shame because the house is lovely and the letting agent in Spain was so helpful and kind. The views were good, though sadly shaded by the trees and bushes round the property when you were sitting on the terrace. The other negatives were that the pool was in the shade of the trees which meant the water was cold and collected the leaves and insects. For us, being English, the cable package is al in German which is fine if you speak German. All in all, Sayalonga was a picture. The area is great and the beaches nearby wonderful. It is an easy drive from Malaga and the couple looking after the place are wonderful. Nevertheless, I would find somewhere else in the area and find out before you book just how difficult the last few roads to the house is – its these roads which are narrow and have steep drops on one side and sheer rock faces on the other

So my partner and I wanted a lovely, private, romantic holiday in Spain - after days and days of intense searching I was lucky to find this 'little gem'. Great communication with the owners regarding booking and easy booking process- only negative point was booking was payment through BACs transfer which my bank charged £10 for. However- pretty simple and safe. We flew into Malaga airport - a really big modern airport with plenty of duty free and shops, I booked a hire car through inter-rent- I was quite nervous regarding this as I had read dreadful reviews. We did however have a great experience with them. We booked a little Fiat 500 and in hindsight really should have booked a larger engine as the drive to the casita was pretty scary- NOT for the faint hearted. Steep concrete/ windy roads to the property was not enjoyable. Over time we became more and more confident with it but I would advise a more powerful car for this. On arrival we were met by Gitte who was fab, really helpful and had tips for our holiday- she gave us her number and was happy for us to contact her if we had any problems. The property was absolutely beautiful, modern, and perfect for a couple. Great open space at the front of the house where the sun shines over from morning until evening- The waist high pool was great for cooling down. The view of the mountains down into sayalonga is spectacular and most nights we spent watching the sun set- very romantic and quiet. We spent most days out- Nerja was an easy 15 drive down the modern highway, amazing place for tourists with great restaurants, shopping, cafes, beaches etc - highly recommended. Mijas is also within approx 50 mins- a little hill top traditional Spanish town with breathtaking panoramic views down the mountain and quaint Spanish charm definitely worth a day out. During our holiday we found some 'off the beaten track' hidden beaches which had amazing snorkelling. Research these beaches before you go- if you like succluded quiet beaches for the locals rather than tourist filled commercialised ones then there are many out there. We walked into Sayalonga twice for an evening meal- this is pretty hard going unless you are quite fit- very steep hills but worth it as you'll find fig and avocado trees on your walk down. We had the most amazing holiday - if you are after out of the way, private and romantic definitely for you. Thanks to Brigitte and Juergen - we had an amazing holiday, hoping to return

Indoor accommodation is ideal modern and airy with a well equipped large open plan kitchen, dinning and living area and separate bedroom and shower room. The outdoor accommodation is very secluded with a bbq and a small adult waist deep plunge pool that's a perfect place to cool down in. We brought inflatable rings from Decathlon and it was great fun floating in the sun with a rum punch in hand. The location up in the hills is ideal to get away from the busy Costa del Sol seaside area and we found we preferred being by our pool than by the sea. Easier to get a drink, get some shade or go to the loo! And no worries about leaving your belongings on beach while you swim. And it was hot so we needed refreshing dips often. The drive up is exciting and really makes you feel your in a remote place but its still easy enough to go down to beach or town. Only 10 minutes walk down the hill to Sayalonga and really only 20 minutes to walk back up the at times quite steep roads. Sayalonga village was full of very helpful people. They even opened the supermarket for us when we arrived during the afternoon siesta! And the Bar - Restaurante Palustre felt like a authentic locals pub but we were welcomed by the friendly owner and we visited it everyday and not the other venues targeting the tourists. We only stayed six nights at this property in order to go on holiday at a convenient time to us and Juergen was very helpful enabling us to stay one night at his other villa Finca Solimar. As was the Uli their local contact who helps manage the properties and drove in-front of us to show the way Casita la Colina. The first night we stay at Finca Solimar property number 24607 to read my review of this one. It's just a good! So get on a plane, load up the hire car stock up on food and drink and ICE and relax!