Bella Vista Hills, Calahonda, Spain
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Bella Vista Hills Reviews
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The apartment is immaculate both in terms of decor and facilities, as well as impeccably clean. There is loads of hanging space; coat hangers, drawers etc and the laundry/towels are changed weekly. Baby and children’s cutlery and unbreakable cups/plates are provided which given the marble floor throughout – was a great idea!
There is so much to do nearby, particularly for families. Fuengirola & Benalmadena are a 10/15 minute drive one way, with Puerto Banus and <cityw:ston><placew:ston>Marbella a similar distance in the opposite direction. For those searching a more typical Spain, Mijas (with its donkey taxis and hose and carriage yours around the town not to mention the bullring) and Rhonda are a comparable drive inland - which make this a great base for anyone wanting to be close to a huge range of facilities and amenities, without being on top of them.
The location of the apartment itself was perfect for us. Quiet enough to be restful, without being isolated. “The strip” as its known locally or a street of restaurants (including Spanish, Mexican, Italian, Swiss, Chinese & Indian and of course British) and bars is a couple of minutes drive away, with lots more eateries scattered nearby. We can heartily recommend Millikins situated just before the autopista, which serves a large range of cuisine although you do need to book. There are no nightclubs in the immediate vicinity which suited us perfectly, a late night drink on the balcony should be enhanced only by the crickets! But for those seeking a lively night, Fuengerola or Marbella should hit the spot. There are lots of local shops and supermarkets, stocking a range of British brands in addition to local produce and if you want fresh bread in the morning – visit the shop next door to Papillion Italian restaurant; it sells not only croissants and baguettes but a great range of cheeses, hams and other delicacies.
For the sporting amongst you, golf is in abundance and a stones throw away as are superb tennis facilities (including; solarium, sauna, fitness suite etc)
The apartment provides a guide to local facilities which we found invaluable and anyone visiting with children has to visit Selwo Marina at Benalmadena – a brilliant day out where you can swim with sealions and stroke the dolphins! There is also an exotic bird display which was excellent and a very large play area for those aged 8-
Opposite the Marina is a beautiful park with a café, fountains, wild/tame rabbits and guinea pigs (they sit around the trees and love it if you sit with them) and even the odd chicken! There are also two excellent play areas within the park, catering for both older and younger children and a fantastic spot for a picnic. We called after nearly a full day at Selwo, but it’s definitely worth a visit in its own right.
The complex is particularly secure which we were extremely pleased about given recent news events! Each entrance serves a group of only 10 apartments and is fronted by both a locked gate and external door. An intercom system is linked to each apartment and the gate can be released from the kitchen to allow visitors to enter. Each block is only three storeys high (basement and floors 1 and 2) and a modern touch panel lift serves all three.
The door is double locking ensuring even someone with a key cannot obtain entry when you are in and all windows and patio doors are secured with shutters which are lowered easily from within - a safe has also been added which you can use during your stay.
Given the situation (on a hill!), design of the apartments and the location, it would be extremely unlikely that anyone would attempt to, not to mention virtually impossible to enter from outside, but none the less we liked the feeling of security provided.
The pool and toilet area offered by the apartments was immaculately clean if a tad awakening (read as cold) A baby pool of 0.4 metres suited our youngest perfectly and the apartment provides chairs and loungers you can take to the pool area (including 2 toddler/small child chairs). Small inflatables are permitted whilst games such as water polo and football are not. The pool area is accessed via the basement level and is within the securely gated perimeter.
There are loads of beaches nearby. For those seeking a quiet spot that still provides loungers, shades and restaurant facilities; Luna beach at the end of the strip is great. The beach is quite shaley though, so we invested in some beach shoes (several pounds from a local supermarket)
With children, La Carla around a ten minute drive is great; a huge wooden boat play area structure heads up the beach and both our children loved this. Fresh sardines cook on a boat transformed into a wood burning fire and the smell is completely divine! We also found the Calamari from the restaurant opposite yummy, although there are a host of quality fish restaurants and eateries if you stroll across the front and into La Carla. The sand is softer here although not perfectly golden
The most prized beach in the area is Calapino which is lovely golden sand, but as a favourite with the locals – don’t even attempt it at weekends. It’s so busy you can’t even park nearby! The loungers were slightly closer together here too compared to larger gaps at the others, so although pretty – not our favourite. Massages are available at all of the above – at Luna and La Carla in the for a few euros whilst you relax on your lounger, whilst at Callepino a local health establishment offer massages and reflexology on two massage tables. These are situated under shade at the rear of the beach and you book a time slot.
We only visited Fuengirola beach briefly to grab a bite to eat but it is much busier than the others with rows and rows of loungers and every imaginable water sport available both here and at Benalmadena.
Unless you are prepared to completely adopt Spanish time and use the local road train which shuttles around locally on a one hour timetable, a car is pretty much essential to make the most of the area. There is an extremely reliable and speedy local taxi service which for a few euros will run you down to local shops and the strip, but there are so many hidden gems to uncover whilst getting lost in your car, - it would almost be a shame to miss them. The road train (which my eldest begged us to use daily!) is a rather pleasant little vehicle which stops at the end of the road (on the quarter past the hour) and will run you right down to the “square” - a small pretty complex of cafe’s, newsagent, supermarkets, internet café plus other shops and back up again. From the square, Luna beach is just a two minute walk away and so you could certainly obtain all the supplies needed to survive (plus some rather yummy pastries from the supermarket) should you choose to remain carless.
The internet café is manned by a Spanish speaking English man, machines are new, very fast (the café also offers internet gaming etc) and extremely reasonably priced (1 euro per hour, around 69p with further discounts available for bulk buying time) in addition they offer printing, fax, phone booths and copying etc
The last thing worth a mention is the weather in this area. We visited last week of September/first week of October and daytime temperatures were 25-30 degrees with one afternoon of rain and one overcast morning. This means if your children are still pre-school age like ours, you can grab a bargain flight and rate to travel outside typical holidays, without sacrificing the sun.