Casares del Sol Holiday in Costa del Sol, Spain

What is a villa? What is an apartment?
The definition of a villa varies from 'a larger than average up market house' to a 'single story dwelling' to a 'house rented to holiday makers'. Whilst an apartment is a 'set of rooms making up one dwelling' or ' a suite of rooms on a building housing several other sets of rooms'.Both terms are freely used for the holiday market - and given these definitions the Casares del Sol properties could be called apartments or villas. 

Casares del Sol are mostly 2 bedroom apartments with some 3 bedroom apartments. Bedrooms seperate to living areas is a big bonus with holiday accomodation, you don't have to pack away a pull out bed every morning or make up te bed every night. As well as the bedrooms there is an open plan living cum dining room, a good sized galley kitchen and seperate utility area with washing machine, plus a family bathroom, ensuite bathroom and, of course, a terrace. 

Many terraces in Southern Spain are built facing west because the Spanish prefer to be shielded from the heat of the day. And many Casares del Sol apartments have west facing terraces, but some are south facing to catch the late morning, afternoon and early evening sun. The terraces are a good size for dining alfresco or lounging in the sun.

An added bonus at the Casares villa apartments is the surroundings, spacious gardens totally surrounding the apartments, well looked after and well planted gardens with neatly cut lawns and trees to provide shady areas so you can enjoy your holiday outside and inside. Plus spacious sun bathing terrace surrounding the lgenerously sized swimming pool which is cleaned daily and crystal clear.  

One of the big problems with being in a hot country, is the cars getting roasting hot. At Casares villa apartments there is underground parking for a cool car plus stairs or lift to the apartment. All in all, a lovely holiday destination to stay in at Casares villa apartments.

A hotel holiday in Costa del Sol sounds like bliss, the thought of being waited on hand and foot for a whole week or even a fortnight. No cooking, no washing up, no cleaning. But you are restricted in your private space, normally to just one bedroom.

If you prefer more private space, you either have to hire a get a whole suite of rooms in a hotel, which tests the credit card. Or a less costly option is to rent an apartment so you all have your own space and a more relaxed holiday.

Of course the many people think the down side of renting an apartment is that there is no food 'on tap' and the holiday will end up as a none holiday because of cooking, washing up and cleaning. If you choose your location of apartment well, you can easily eat out every day, in a different resturant every day to sample lots of different styles of cooking and entertainment and hospitality.

My idea of a self catering holiday in Costa del Sol is an apartment that has these things:

• bedrooms that are not part of the lounge,
• full air conditioning in summer months (no a few fans do not count as air conditioning!),
• lots of hot water for baths and showers, 
• a clean big swimming pool close to the apartment,
• a terrace you can relax on,
• a lovely view from the terrace,
• close to lots of resturants and bars,
• close to clean beach,
• within 1hour of airport,
• close to lots of places of interest.

Just so happens I know just the place!
Casares del Sol apartment ticks all these boxes and more - they are an ideal location to enjoy the Costa del Sol area. 
So if you whether you want a beach holiday, a pool holiday, an activity holiday, a family holiday or even a golf holiday , take a look at the Casares del Sol apartments for Spain Holiday Rentals.

As a dog owner in the UK, I am used to my daily 'fix' of walking around the fields with our mad springer spaniel. And its always abit of a shock when we're on holiday and there is no dog to walk!

But of course there are lots of opportunities and places to walk in the

Costa del Sol apartment area, you just have to look abit harder.

One of my favourite walks is the walk along the beach from Casares beach bar to Sabinillas and on to Duquesa and Castillo. Its about 4 miles of golden sand and walking bare foot along the sand can be bliss. Of course in the peak of summer the sand gets really hot, hot enough to burn bare feet so you have to be careful and all the more reason to splash along bare foot in the wash on the beach edge. If a walk along the sand is difficult, you can walk part of the way on the esplanades at the edge of the beach.

Walking aroung the lovely white villages of Costa del Sol is another favourite, with Casares white village very close to Casares del Sol Apartments. Wander around the tiny streets, climb to the highest point, take in the view.

Inland, its not so easy to get footpath maps, and many of the roads are not really designed for walkers, maybe its because of the heat they assume people don't want to walk. But the Manilva Town Hall has a programme of guided walks designed to develop walking and hiking in Manilva

which not only improves fitness, but also raises awareness of the environment and provides an opportunity to improve your knowledge of the surrounding area. The activity also helps to maintain the rural roads and footpaths whilst providing an activity open to a wide range of people.

Transport is supplied for each walk and leaves at approximately 8.30 am. Pick up points are the Health Centre in Manilva (near the Las Viñas Sports Pavillion), the Castle in Castillo, and from the petrol station in Sabinillas. There is a charge of 4 euros per walk to cover accident insurance cover during the course of each activity. There is a maximum number of 50 places for each route. For more details and full calendar of events contact the Delegación de Medio Ambiente on (0034) 951 27 60 50.