El Sombrero Azul
The sizeable garden slopes away down to the beach, all 8km of it and pretty empty for most of the year. The garden itself is “controlled wild”; protected juniper bushes break up the large lawn, and several tall palms rustle above, their thin trunks moving gracefully in the wind. Atlantic Spain? Atlantic Caribbean? It could be either actually. The waves crash rhythmically on the sand below, the breeze is nearly always warm or hot; and what it most certainly is is heaven!
As you step through the front door, you are met by the view and the spacious open-plan living area. It’s a single-storey building, like all beachfront properties in this area, so the ceilings are high, and this makes for a beautiful airy atmosphere throughout. A few carefully selected antiques combine with wicker sofas and sisal carpets to provide a simple but classic decor. The large glass doors open onto a covered terrace that runs the breadth of the building, the outdoor dining area at one end and the comfortable seating at the other. There are several sunbeds, to be enjoyed either on the terrace or on the bottom garden, as close to the beach as you can get!
The bedroom wings run down either side of the living area: one with the main bedroom and ensuite bathroom; the other with the two other bedrooms and their shared bathroom. Two of the bedrooms have sea views and sliding glass doors onto the terrace. The bathrooms are simple but high-quality: good fittings, excellent showers (one walk-in, the other with bath), and wall-to-wall marble. The kitchen was renewed in 2019 and has everything you will want, and probably more.
It is just 400m to the local shop, pharmacy, a couple of bars and restaurants, and childrens’ playground. Roche also has its own tennis and padel courts and five-a-side football pitches. In the summer months, there are several beach bars/restaurants to choose from within walking distance (the nearest is less than 100m from your garden gate), some of which stay open all year. A 5-minute drive will then provide you with a far larger selection of both bars and restaurants, and also with a choice of golf courses. The Costa de la Luz is less well known for its golf than the neighbouring Costa del Sol, but it has some first-class courses, such as Sancti Petri, Montecastillo, the beautiful Montenmedio, and many others. The area offers an endless list of other activities too, information on which you will find here on our website, our Instagram and on our Facebook page. And if you book with us, we provide you with detailed information on all our recommendations, details on local amenities, and our up-to-date guide to the best of everything! You could spend a wonderful holiday here without a car, and just hire bikes; but, assuming you will have a car, it’s 15 minutes to Conil, 20 minutes to the hill-top village of Vejer, 30 minutes to Cadiz, 40 minutes to Tarifa and Jerez, and 90 minutes to Seville, all of which are well worth visiting.