We had a great stay at villa El Torcal, and importantly we had great communication with the owner Martyn, great recommendations of where to eat/shop places to go which were invaluable. The villa is large, spacious and has everything you need, the pool is a lovely size for swimming, it’s a lovely rustic villa in the andalucian hills.

We all had a really lovely time at Villa Jacqui. We really liked the simple, modern and uncluttered, decor (and the WiFi!) The pool and garden were beautiful, and not at all overlooked, with plenty of shade and sun. You do need a car but the supermarket 10min away is very well stocked. The views from just outside the villa of the mountains are gorgeous. The pizza restaurant across the driveway is very friendly and quiet, and only opens at weekends. We loved seeing bats and even a snake once. No mosquitoes hoorah! (But a few non-aggressive wasps.) Not at all touristy. Would recommend ‘Lobo Park’ close by but give the market in Villanueva de la Concepción a miss! - although the town itself nice for a little wander through pretty streets. The owner is very attentive and responsive to queries. Would definitely stay again.

We had an excellent time at this property. The place is awesome,has swimming pool and an amazing garden with fresh vegetables which we used to cook for meals. Very friendly and helpful people around.definitely go there again. Recommended!!!

There is plenty of room inside and outside. The little garden is nice. We loved to sit out. But the sun shines in to the garden late afternoon. Bedroom by streetside was noisy because of the gate. The situation is very good.

Dear fellow villa - renters We enjoyed our 2 week holiday in Spain over the Xmas and New Year very much. Our expectations were exceeded overall, the villa and area were excellent value for money and I will be recommending the holiday to friends. Martyn did all he could to make our stay comfortable even going so far as to buy an extra high chair and travel cot for our twin babies and leaving a decorated Christmas tree for us. He gave us great ideas of places to go and visit and coupled with the equally helpful Christabal in Spain (the maintenance man) we were very well looked after indeed. The villa itself was lovely, comfortable and homely, with all the modern appliances we needed and safely gated for our babies. Our elder daughter also loved feeding the chickens and rabbits in the garden and we all tucked into the fresh bread and cakes that were delivered daily. The villa is in a beautiful part of Spain, we really enjoyed the mountains, relaxed way of life and friendly people, and went for many walks around and about in the El Torcal Park and villages. We also explored a lot of Andalusia and got out to day trips to Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Ronda, Marbella, Malaga and more besides. We were lucky with the weather at this time of year too. After a rainy start, it was sunny every day and always at least 15 degrees. Thanks again Martyn for a great trip! Christine, Paul & Family.

We had a small problem with the house. The water supply was poor in general and the supply of gas for warm water broke regularly during shower. One had to be watching the gas when one was in shower. On one day there were no water and we washed ourselves with the water from the pool, which was luckily full. But, however, these little problems didn't disturb our holiday. Other remarks for other visitors, which didn't bother us: Location is distant from main roads, which make the surrounding very nice and quiet but makes the travelling and seeing other attractions in Andalucia difficult.

Pleasant, clean, big and convenient villa. Good kitchen equipment, beds are spanish sized (1,90 m is to small for my 1,85 m). The TV reciever (satelite reciever) and showerscreens need maintainance, but in general the villa is wel maintained. Very helpful owner and groundsman.

We had a 9 night stay in August 2009, overall we were very satisfied with the property. The pool was nice and well taken care of (a little work is needed around the edges of the pool). The jacuzzi is now a frog pond and the sauna is not operational but that did not bother us as it was too hot to use either. The staff were great but did not speak english but we managed to get by. The meals were good but and we did expect Thai food during our stay - however a pre-selec ted menu would have been great as we had a couple of people who did not like really spicy food and seafood. They cooked 3 different main courses so we got by but it was touch and go for a couple of meals. The mattresses need replacing in some of the rooms, they were like sleeping on concrete. The master bedroom was nice but it would be good if mosquito nets could somehow be added to avoid having to close up the front of the room and spray. That also applies to the annex rooms. The internet connection was not the greatest but we got by with a little patience. The usb cable were a little rusted but still worked. You have to bring your own lap top though as there is no computer in the house but we knew that and were prepared. Air conditioning is only in the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms but there was enough of a sea breeze to cool the living areas and master bedroom. It was easy to arrange day trips and the boats, drivers were all on time. When the tide was out the long boats were unable to dro p us off at the villa but dro pped us at the next beach over, we were most impressed when the 3 staff walked around the rocks (carrying our wave walker shoes) to meet us and help us carry our purchases back over the rocks to the villa. Overall, it was a good stay and I would stay there again but I would hesitate to say the stay was a "luxury" stay. The furniture is tired and frayed and some exterior painting is needed. The bathrooms were fine. Some boards games on site would have been good. Good value for money, great location and fantastic views, very friendly and helpful staff but not a 5 star standard.

We stayed here for two weeks in July 2005 and really enjoyed staying in rural Spain. The area in which the house is situated is beautiful countryside and the drives to the local towns and restaurants can be quite breathtaking. In the immediate vicinity, Villa Nueva de la Concepcion is a pretty little town with local vacilities like banks, small supermarkets, doctor, pharmacy etc as well as a few bars and restaurants. However, the real attraction is Antequera which is a beautiful, historic town full of attractions as well as facilities such as huge hypermarkets. The house itself was perfect for us as we have a 3 year-old who likes to explore and thinks that he can swim! The pool is fenced, as are the grounds and we felt that he was very safe to explore. He enjoyed the turkey / chickens kept at the back of the house! The house consists of one large living room / diner, good size kitchen, 3 bedrooms (one ensuite), large bathroom. The gardens and the swimming pool receive the sun all day round - some judicious moving of the garden furniture means that you can always find some shade, though. Even in the very hot recent temperatures, the house remained reasonably cool. The house is well looked after by one of the neighbours and the pool is kept clean. The house is situated amongst a few others but is very private. Everyone we met, whether neighbours, restauranteurs, bar tenders etc was extremely friendly and was very patient with our broken Spanish!

this was not so much a rental property as a home from home. so many thoughtful touches- the music selection was brilliant, a great range of books to browse, and the helpful tips and information on the area. if asked to give a score it would be eleven out of ten-- just cant recommend this place highly enough-- really lovely people who own and look after the property who couldnt have been more helpful in ensuring our stay was memorable and hassle free.. thanks for the great time ..