Cortijo del Marqués

Style

Magical manor

Setting

Among the olives

In the middle of glorious Spanish nowhere, Andalucia’s Cortijo del Marqués is a beautifully restored 19th-century manor turned luxury boutique hotel. Lounge poolside, ramble hand-in-hand through fields of olive trees and sunflowers, then dine in a candlelit courtyard.

Facilities

Rooms

15, including four suites and three family suites.

Checkout

11am. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

More Details

Rates usually include a buffet breakfast of cold cuts, cheeses, cereals, breads and cakes.

Also

Staying in high summer? All of the Cortijo's rooms are blissfully air-conditioning cooled.

Hotel Closed

The hotel will be closed from November to mid-March over winter.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pet Friendly

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

At the Hotel

Gardens, free WiFi throughout, mountain bikes for hire (€10 each). In rooms: free bottled water and La Chinata toiletries.

Our Favourite Rooms

El Torreón, in the old tower, which boasts wraparound windows for all-angles surveying of the olive trees plus scrumptious red mosaic tiles. Up a flight of stairs in the tower is El Mirador, which has attractive high-beam ceiling and a roll-top bath from where you can peep out over the Cortijo’s rooftops to the surrounding hills via a wall-length window. All rooms have beautiful old tiling on the floors and many have wonderful views from oversized, old-fashioned windows. Rooms in the main house are lighter and a touch more luxurious, but if it’s quirks you’re after (like the old pigeon niches in the middle of the El Palomar Suite, say) then book one of the outhouses.

Poolside

A little door leads to the unheated outdoor pool, open from early May until late October. There’s a shaded seating area with loungers for crashing out with a paperback or iPod and beyond the low stone walls rolling hills are visible all around. At the other end of the garden, the chapel’s outer walls provide a striking backdrop.

Packing Tips

Laidback and lovely, the Cortijo is quite the perfect place for losing track of time in a paperback. Explore the Spanish theme with something old-school (Don Quixote perhaps) or something to make you laugh (Tim Moore’s Travels with my Donkey).

Also

A minimum stay of three nights applies for stays over Easter weekend.

Children

The minimum age for children joining parents is 12, so leave smaller Smiths at home. Extra beds (€39 a night) can be added to certain rooms on request.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Make for the wood-burning fire in colder months; in summer perched beside the arched glass doors, which are flung open to let in all that country air.

Dress Code

Floaty maxi dresses for lounging, crisp white cotton tees for showing off his sunkissed skin.

Hotel Restaurant

What the dining room lacks in visual splendour it makes up for with personable service and lovingly prepared food. It’s one three-course menu suits all. Wherever possible ingredients for the modern Mediterranean dishes (think stewed veal with greens) come straight from the Cortijo’s market garden and orchard and there’s an Arabic oven in the grounds that can be lit for larger groups (if you’re in luck and there are enough of you, you’ll get to enjoy slow-cooked lamb or suckling pig).

Hotel Bar

There’s no actual bar to sit at but you can always order a jug of sangria for lounging by the pool or sip a g&t in the courtyard at sundown. Drinks are available throughout the day and you can order plates of manchego, chorizo or Iberian jamón, too. The downstairs lobby is light and cool – perfect for morning coffee and a catch-up with the papers.

Last Orders

Breakfast's served between 8:30am and 10.30am, lunch between 1.30pm and a leisurely 4pm and dinner from 8pm till 10pm. Drinks can be ordered until 10.30pm.

Room Service

None.

Planes

Smallish Granada-Jaén Airport is 25km away – about 35 minutes by car – and receives visits from various domestic and European flights, with many connecting via Madrid or Barcelona. Malaga airport, a 90-minute drive, gets more and more frequent visits from international carriers.

Trains

Granada rail station is 30 minutes by car with connections to Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba, Madrid and all other major Spanish towns (via Antequera).

Automobiles

If you want to get about independently you’ll definitely need to hire a car: the access road alone is 4km long. The hotel is just off the A44 that runs between Granada and Jaén. From the main road, take the 108 exit (marked Deifontes), turn onto the service road at the roundabout and then follow the signs. On-site parking is free. The GPS coordinates for the roundabout, from where the service road starts, are N37°19.515 and W3°38.157.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Horse riding, mountain biking and walking tours can all be arranged by the hotel – as can skiing on the Sierra Nevada. There are cultural excursions on offer too, including flamenco shows. Andalucia is the soul of real Spain – drive for 30 minutes to Granada and your journey takes in distant rugged mountains and fragrant orange and almond trees – dismiss preconceptions of nasty neon and ugly overdevelopment. Granada houses the Alhambra – Spain’s number one tourist honeypot, which dates from the 9th century. Its intriguing history – in the 1300s, it was converted into a palace and gardens by the last Muslim rulers of Spain before ultimately being commandeered by conquering Catholics after the 1492 Reconquista – makes for a fascinating archi-tour and it stands today as one of Europe’s most important historic records of Moorish architecture. Support wolf conservation and learn a bit more about el lobo itself at Antequera’s Lobo Park, about 40 minutes away by car. All the animals that roam free here do so in an entirely natural environment – the difference being that they were probably reared within the park itself so they’re used to being around humans.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .