This villa appeared in Condé Nast Traveller in a previous feature (June 2001). Now managed by the owners, it is used as a base for art and cookery courses, as a location for photographic shoots and even as an upmarket B&B. The owner has recently built a two-bedroom villa in the grounds, with its own swimming pool and private drive. Fortunately, the new addition is invisible from the elegant main house and the much-photographed views from the swimming pool are unblemished. El Nobo stands on the top of a hill a little way outside Gaucín, visible from the village but with its back to it.
Although it was only built 18 years ago, it appears centuries-old, a rambling mix of traditional Andalucian cortijo and Home Counties manor house with a pretty courtyard-style garden and lawned-and-landscaped grounds. The grand drawing room provides the wow-factor with high, beamed ceilings and full-height French windows which frame that photogenic view. There are five roomy bedrooms and three outdoor terraces, ceiling fans for summer and underfloor heating for the winter months. Imposing but unpretentious and comfortingly battered about: nothing is too new or co-ordinated at El Nobo, which contributes to its down-to-earth appeal.
SLEEPS
12, including two in separate cottage
PRICE
€6,900 per week, including maid service and cook
CONTACT
El Nobo (0871 871 8545; www.elnobo.co.uk)
FLY
easyJet (0870 600 000; www.easyjet.com) to Málaga (120km away)
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