Andalucia accommodation
| country: | Spain |
| location: | Cartajima (near Ronda), AndaluciaSee map here |
| price: | From €116 per double room per night, including breakfast. Not including 7% tax. Minimum 2 nights stay. Single occupancy deduct €15 |
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description
Sixteen kilometers from the ancient settlement of Ronda is Cartajima. With a population of 120 it is one of the tiniest of Andalucia's famed "pueblos blancos", the white hillside towns.
This quiet village lies amongst lush chestnut trees and spectacular mountain scenery. It offers marvelous walks for the energetic, a convenient centre for cultural expeditions for the enthusiastic, peace and quiet for the world-weary in traditional Andalucia accommodation.
This romantic part of hidden Spain is only 45 km from the bright lights of the Costa del Sol, and only 1.5 hrs from Malaga airport.
The glories of the Andalucian hinterland await the discerning traveller: magnificent cities with their Arab mosques and Gothic cathedrals, quiet un-trampled villages where strangers are greeted with smiling curiosity, landscapes ranging from peaceful olive groves to forbidding mountains.
In the heart of Cartajima, next to the church and the Town Hall, is our hotel accommodation where we emphasize quality and comfort. Curl up by a roaring fire with a good book from the library. Sip a cocktail in the Moorish courtyard. Chat with the neighbours, always eager to meet a new face. Walk to the next village and indulge in a strong coffee or a cold beer before setting off to discover what other simple pleasures are on offer. Each of our five double rooms is a carefully designed sanctuary with sitting area, balcony, bathroom complete with hairdryer and bathrobe, minibar, AC and heating, fruit and cookies other special treats.
*Special departure*
September painting holiday in rural Andalucia: Enjoy the relaxed houseparty style of our luxurious Andalucia accommodation, Di´s delicious cooking, and Paddy´s expert watercolour guidance on an inclusive relaxing painting holiday in the September Andalucian sun.
Included: 7 nights full board, all transfers in Spain, painting tuition & basic equipment. Not included: flights, brushes and paint
Exploring the local culture (see below) Walking (see below) Biking (see below) Sketching, painting & writing poetry (see below) Birdwatching: eagles, migrating birds & threatened species Hot air ballooning Horseriding Visiting paleolithic cave sites ...and best of all, relaxing.
Cultural exploration:
Visit the romantic cities of Andalucia: Ronda (15 minutes drive away), Sevilla (1.5 hours), Jerez (1.5 hours) and Granada (2 hours or a tremendous train ride which will give you five hours in Granada and back in time for dinner).
Walking:
For walking holidays in Spain, the Alto Genal is unbeatable. This is a quiet, undiscovered valley with 7 tiny villages scattered around the higher reaches of the Genal river. One side of the valley has rough limestone crags which make for exciting mountain walking, the other side is covered with sweet chestnut trees. In spring there are a wide variety of wild flowers and migrating birds, in early summer the chestnuts flower and a musky scent fills the air, and in autumn the chestnut trees go through a spectacular palette of red and gold. Walks vary from one to three hours and from easy to moderate in difficulty.
Biking:
Our Andalucia accommodation is a perfect base for exploring the undiscovered pristine Alto Genal valley on a bike. There is nothing over 1000m, the weather is good, except in mid summer when it does get a bit hot for anything more energetic than refreshing one's beer. There is a myriad of unfrequented, good quality tracks linking the seven villages, and there are also even gradient tarmaced roads connecting the villages. Cartajima is centrally located in the Alto Genal thus affording access to the whole valley and its wonders. There is ample storage space for bikes inside the hotel.
This quiet village lies amongst lush chestnut trees and spectacular mountain scenery. It offers marvelous walks for the energetic, a convenient centre for cultural expeditions for the enthusiastic, peace and quiet for the world-weary in traditional Andalucia accommodation.
This romantic part of hidden Spain is only 45 km from the bright lights of the Costa del Sol, and only 1.5 hrs from Malaga airport.
The glories of the Andalucian hinterland await the discerning traveller: magnificent cities with their Arab mosques and Gothic cathedrals, quiet un-trampled villages where strangers are greeted with smiling curiosity, landscapes ranging from peaceful olive groves to forbidding mountains.
In the heart of Cartajima, next to the church and the Town Hall, is our hotel accommodation where we emphasize quality and comfort. Curl up by a roaring fire with a good book from the library. Sip a cocktail in the Moorish courtyard. Chat with the neighbours, always eager to meet a new face. Walk to the next village and indulge in a strong coffee or a cold beer before setting off to discover what other simple pleasures are on offer. Each of our five double rooms is a carefully designed sanctuary with sitting area, balcony, bathroom complete with hairdryer and bathrobe, minibar, AC and heating, fruit and cookies other special treats.
*Special departure*
September painting holiday in rural Andalucia: Enjoy the relaxed houseparty style of our luxurious Andalucia accommodation, Di´s delicious cooking, and Paddy´s expert watercolour guidance on an inclusive relaxing painting holiday in the September Andalucian sun.
Included: 7 nights full board, all transfers in Spain, painting tuition & basic equipment. Not included: flights, brushes and paint
Andalucia accommodation activities
Cultural exploration:
Visit the romantic cities of Andalucia: Ronda (15 minutes drive away), Sevilla (1.5 hours), Jerez (1.5 hours) and Granada (2 hours or a tremendous train ride which will give you five hours in Granada and back in time for dinner).
Walking:
For walking holidays in Spain, the Alto Genal is unbeatable. This is a quiet, undiscovered valley with 7 tiny villages scattered around the higher reaches of the Genal river. One side of the valley has rough limestone crags which make for exciting mountain walking, the other side is covered with sweet chestnut trees. In spring there are a wide variety of wild flowers and migrating birds, in early summer the chestnuts flower and a musky scent fills the air, and in autumn the chestnut trees go through a spectacular palette of red and gold. Walks vary from one to three hours and from easy to moderate in difficulty.
Biking:
Our Andalucia accommodation is a perfect base for exploring the undiscovered pristine Alto Genal valley on a bike. There is nothing over 1000m, the weather is good, except in mid summer when it does get a bit hot for anything more energetic than refreshing one's beer. There is a myriad of unfrequented, good quality tracks linking the seven villages, and there are also even gradient tarmaced roads connecting the villages. Cartajima is centrally located in the Alto Genal thus affording access to the whole valley and its wonders. There is ample storage space for bikes inside the hotel.
travellers' tales
We enjoyed every part of our holiday. The food was exceptional and the hotel could not be faulted in any way. We had two fantastic days out with Peter Jones a local bird expert who showed us all the wonderful birds and wildlife in the area. (more)
rooms, food and facilities
Disabled access:
The whole of the ground floor of our accommodation is designed to be wheelchair accessible, including the entrance, the salon, the dining room and the public lavatories.
how to find us
From Malaga airport: follow signs to Cadiz. Then E15 (toll freeway). Follow signs to A397/376 to Ronda. Between Kilometer markers 11 and 12 at the top of the mountain, turn left to Cartajima. Ignore turning to left to Parauta and continue 6 Km to Cartajima. When you enter the village, drive past swimming pool on right. After the recycling bins take your first hard right and park where the phone box is located. Avoiding the steps, walk up the alley past the phone box towards the church and you will see us on the right.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Cartajima is a dying village with an elderly population. The younger people leave as soon as possible to seek lucrative employment on the nearby Costa del Sol.
There is little or no employment in the village to hold them and we hope that by creating a small sustainable tourist industry we will help to create entrepreneurial opportunities.  At our Andalucia accommodation we employ only women from our village who traditionally do not have the opportunities available to their male counterparts. We encourage our 3 employees to take as active a role in the running of the accommodation as they can, and hope to offer them training in all aspects of hotel management. We buy as many Andalucian products and services as we can locally thereby spreading the wealth which is a large piece of our philosophy. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |