Capistrano Village Apartments

We had booked a one bed roomed apartment for our nine night stay and upon arrival were told we had been given a three bed roomed apartment for the same price - what a bonus!
Two bathrooms, one en suite and a huge private terrace with great views over the town and out to sea. The terrace included furniture, sunbeds, a clothes dryer/airer, and a very useful retractable sunshade, meaning we could choose to sit out there at any time of day or evening. In June we had no problems with mosquitoes, etc.
The apartment itself was clean and suitably furnished throughout, although perhaps the odd touch up here and there would have made it more pleasing to the more discerning eye. There was a bottle of cava waiting for us to greet us on arrival (which was nice) and we were also pleased to find quite a few British channels on the TV (including Sky Sports!).
Our apartment (No. 42) was just across the road from the swimming pool, cave bar, restaurant, and mini market. The bus stop was also just outside and was excellent value at just 1 euro to the town centre.
The complex is a good 20 min walk downhill into town which we did once – it’s not too taxing but after that we took the bus nonetheless. It is a steep walk back up the hill so we took a taxi which at just 6 Euros is a bargain.
There were two adult pools and a child pool in the area near us with a poolside snack bar. You’ll need a pool pass to use this area which requires a 20 euro returnable deposit. Sunbeds were 2.50 Euros per day but we tended to sit at the snack bar before and after swimming and saved the sunbathing for our private terrace where the four sunbeds were free! A small beer or soft drink was about 1.9 Euros and always served with a smile.
The restaurant had a limited menu but the food was served by two highly entertaining and pleasant waiters Jose and Eduardo – they always had a prank for the kids and certainly made the few times we ate there fun.
There is a snack menu available during the daytime (burgers, toasted sandwiches, etc) and a more formal menu during the evening. Neither menu is very wide ranging and it’s not five star dining but what they do they do well. We ate from both menus and always enjoyed our meals. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.
Underneath is the Cave Bar, cool and dark with a ‘club’ feel without the loud music. They also do snack food but we didn’t try it. There’s a dart board down there if you like your arrows, and also a TV which had English pictures on when we went in.
The Mini-Market was open Spanish hours – early till late with a break in the afternoon – and was pretty well stocked. Fresh bread, milk and the like, plus other useful things like swimming goggles and souvenirs. There’s also a cash machine just outside if you’re running short.
What you can’t get at the mini market you’ll be able to pick up at the Super Sol supermarket which is just five minutes stroll to the right of the complex’s main entrance (after the tennis club).
We’re pretty sure you can also do things such as hire cars and organise trips from the reception areas (next door to the mini market), although we’d already hired from the airport so we didn’t need this facility.
Nerja town itself has a wide variety of bars and restaurants, especially around the Balcon de Europe area. You’ll see hawkers with tat for sale but they’re not too pushy, and you can’t sit for 20 minutes at a pavement restaurant without a musician coming along with a tray to rattle.
But if you can put up with that then you’ll be fine. Some of them are actually quite good, but don’t give all your small change to the first one (like we did!).
Summary: We’d be happy to go back to Capistrano Village as we found it ideal for our kind of holiday. If you want a base to explore the Costa del Sol, Granada, the Sierra Nevada, etc, then this is the place. Perhaps a couple of nights of entertainment on the complex would have been a boost but we’re used to making our own so didn’t mind this too much.
All in all, we’d say 4 out of 5 and excellent value for money.