Calle Sancho IV el Bravo 511150 Vejer de la Frontera - Cádiz, España
Tel. 0034 956 45 50 29
Em. info@hotelcasacinco.com
Retiro de charme
Classificação |
| |
Preço | €€ | 80 a 125 Euros |
Nº Quartos | 5 | |
| Caracteristicas | Terraço, Peq. Almoço, Hi-Fi | |
| Extras | ||
A 1750 house, an 11th-century well, 21st-century lipstick and pearls. Colette and Glen spent a couple of years renovating their home and they’ve done it with flair: it’s funky, cosy and lived-in, making it a very relaxing B&B in which to stay.
You get whitewashed walls, fanned-brick arches, ancient terracotta-tiled floors and mind-your-head doorways. Candles flicker around the well in the central courtyard, flamenco music drifts through the house. Beamed ceilings and old shutters come in a smart blue grey. Light falls in through a courtyard open to the sky and nicely uncluttered interiors bring a sense of calm. The six rooms are a feast for the senses. Two are huge, one has a small balcony, all are furnished with colour and style. Head up to the roof terrace and chill in the shade on Moroccan rugs or gaze over town and look down to the coast (the beach is a fifteen-minute drive). Leather armchairs, a wood-burner and loads of books wait in the sitting room. As for Vejer, it’s a beautifully-preserved ancient hilltop town, one of the loveliest you’ll find.
Localização:
+ | Decoração e Quartos Terraço Pequeno-Almoço Terraço |
- | Casas de banho abertas aos quartos Estacionamento perto impossível |
Crítica:
Casa Cinco's big, airy rooms are named after the senses. Lattice beamed ceilings and old shutters are smartly painted in a greyish blue and well-dressed beds have woollen blankets and plumped-up pillows. All rooms have CD players and a collection of CDs.
‘See’ is at the front of the house and has two sets of French windows that open on to the alleyway (fling them open and you can lie in bed and listen to gossiping locals strolling past below). It’s one of the big rooms and has a couple of old leather armchairs, a vintage leather trunk for a coffee table and an old kaleidoscope on the dresser. The rather chic bathroom is concealed behind a partition; there is no door and some people don’t like this. If you don’t mind, you’ll find crackle-effect plastered walls, a power shower, a good bath and fluffy towels. There are also relaxing pictures of the sea and the beach on the wall.
‘Aroma’ is up in the eaves with a cathedral roof open to the original beams. It is simply furnished - the natural architecture is more than enough to elate - and comes with a very pretty, art-deco-style chrome bed, scented candles, incense sticks and an old icon on the wall. The roof terrace is a couple of paces across the landing. 'Taste' is on the ground floor and has an en-suite bath and shower.
‘Touch is another big room. A feather boa is wrapped around a mannequin which stands against a wall. Ambient lighting is embedded in alcoves. A glittering Moroccan wedding cape covers the bed, there’s an antique dresser and a 50s armchair covered in Hessian. It’s a very pretty room and it also has a bathroom behind a partition.
'Hear' comes in yellow, with Moroccan blue in the alcoves, sandy beams, Indian cushions and wind chimes for a little music. The dining room is off the inner courtyard. There’s a CD player in the corner and the first man down gets to choose the tunes. It's a good start to the morning: freshly-squeezed OJ, local goats cheese and salami, toast and rolls, a bowl of fruit, all sorts of teas and coffee. There are also rotating breakfast menus, one day perhaps fruit pancakes with natural yoghurt and hot honey, another morning, traditional scrambled eggs...
Colette loves food and likes to cook. If you eat supper up on the roof terrace you might get an orange and cinnamon couscous salad, then marinated prawns and monkfish grilled on the barbeque. Three-course meals down in the courtyard may offer chilled cucumber and ginger soup, wild mushroom risotto, lemon and lime soufflé cake. This meal is charged at €30 per person but doesn’t include wine, and is once a week in high season only.
If you want to eat out, Vejer has loads of places, some better than others. The Pizzeria up at the top of the hill is good. Vera Cruz does good French close by and is one of the fancier places in town. El Jardin de La Califa offers simple Moroccan nosh down in Plaza Espana (a three-minute stroll). You get tasty kebabs and in summer you can eat out in the garden surrounded by fruit trees and lanterns. It’s very pretty, so go for the setting as much as the food. If you want tapas, head to Pepe Julian, again, a short walk.
There are lots of traditional old Spanish restaurants which serve grilled fish and meat with a salad, simple stuff well done. You can also pop into lots of bars. Some are for the old boys who pop down each night for a glass of wine and watch the football; others are trendier and might have gardens. In summer, the bars open late.
Colette is planning to bring food appreciation weekends to CasaCinco. Guest chefs will come to give demonstrations, there will be tours of the markets, a meal out at San Lucar for a little langoustine or majana (air-dried tuna, a local delicacy), then back to the house for a slap-up evening meal. Plans are still taking shape, but if you’re keen, get in touch. The beach at El Palmar is ten kilometres away. It’s twelve kilometres long, backed by sand dunes and in summer, bars, cafés and restaurants spring up all over the place. At night, the DJs move in, spin a few tunes and you dance on the sand all night. The beaches here are known for surfing, kite surfing and wind surfing.
Vejer is an ancient hill-top community. The old town is exceptionally pretty, wonderfully preserved in a state of simple 18th-century wonder. Wander round its cobbled alleyways and you’ll think you’ve found a wormhole into the past. It is one of the loveliest small towns in Andalucia.
Easter is celebrated in style. Expect processions through the streets during the day and dancing in the streets during the night. Beer tents go up, men dressed in local costumes come through on horseback and on Easter Sunday a couple of bulls run in the streets; you have been warned. The town’s feria takes place at the end of August and is just as much fun (and loud).
If you want some culture, head to Seville (a couple of hours’ drive). You’ll find one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, the Giralda (a Moorish tower), and the Alcazar, a palace in a walled city, much like the Alhambra in Granada. Head to Plaza de Espana and see where they filmed bits of Star Wars, or check out the tacas bars, where you get live flamenco, tapas, dancing and wine.
Cadiz is thirty kilometres away. It’s a great day out, terrifically pretty. On your way back, you can head to Cape Trafalgar, as in the battle; just don’t ask the Spanish for directions.
You can go hiking in the Alconacales National park. The spring and autumn migrations bring vultures, kestrels and eagles. You can ride, too.
Paragliding, micro-lighting, and scenic flights in small aircraft can all be arranged locally.
There's good golf in the area, too. Bring your clubs.
The sitting room is nice and cosy; if you want a bit of quiet, you’ll find it here. French windows open onto the courtyard, piles of fashion magazines lie about. There are shelves stuffed with maps and books, a small wood-burner, incense to burn on the antique range that stands in an alcove. There’s a honesty bar, too.
The roof terrace looks over the town and down to the coast. Hit the sun loungers and top up your tan, grab a chair and read a book or collapse on Moroccan rugs and fall asleep. In clear weather you can see Morocco across the water.
Wander around the house and you come across old black and white photos, whitewashed walls, deep red alcoves, seemingly ancient wooden doors, wall-hangings, candles, potted palms and the odd arch. It’s simple, uncluttered, elegant and warm.
Shiatsu massage can be arranged at the house.
por i-Escape
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