Traditional 3 Storey Village House, Beautiful Views of Surrounding Countryside
Peaceful Village On Edge Of Sierra Nevada, Approx 1 Hour's Drive to Coast
Sleeps 6 (3 Bedrooms)
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Situated in a friendly yet peaceful barrio, it is less than 5 minutes walk to the nearest bar and shop. And, wherever you are in the village, it is a downhill walk back home - a definite bonus on a hot day or after an evening out! There is vehicle access, with parking usually available right outside the front door. The previous owner ran a bar on the ground floor, called La Regadera (Watering Can) and the house is comfortably furnished in a rustic style, with many original features. Like many village houses, it is fairly open-plan, which gives it a spacious, light and airy feel. The house can sleep as many as 8 (very friendly!) people, but is ideal for up to 4 or 5. Válor is a perfect location for hill walking, painting, photography, birdwatching, astronomy or just relaxing!
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| Rental Period | Per Night | Per Week | Per Month | Min. Stay (Nights) |
| 1 January 2012 - 29 April 2012 | £225 | 3 | ||
| 30 April 2012 - 30 September 2012 | £265 | 3 | ||
| 1 October 2012 - 30 April 2013 | £245 | 3 |
Changeover day
Changeover day can be flexible, to allow you to take advantage of cheap flights to Almería or Málaga, or if arriving overland. Arrival and departure times are very flexible, to suit you and your travel arrangements.
Accommodation
| Bedrooms: | Ground floor: 1 double bedroom, with a small lounge area. Middle floor: 1 tiny double bedroom (plus sofa that could sleep 1). Top floor: large open-plan bedroom with twin beds (screened off by a curtain) and ceiling fan, plus a folding single bed. |
| Bathrooms: | Main bathroom on middle floor has bath/shower over, WC and basin. Also another WC/basin next to bedroom on this floor. Top floor bedroom has its own small shower room with WC/basin |
| Kitchen: | New kitchen fitted July 2010 - small but well equipped (gas cooker with oven, microwave, fridge/freezer, coffee machine, toaster, kettle, electric slow cooker, etc), plenty of cupboard space, with a dining area to seat 4 in comfort, more at a push! |
| Utility Room: | Washing machine (with tumble dryer function), clothes airer, ironing board and iron. |
| Living Rooms: | Ground floor (former bar) has split level double bedroom, with small lounge area. It is the coolest part of the house, so perfect on hot summer nights, or for an afternoon siesta. Middle floor - big settee, TV/DVD, and dining area for 4 - 6. |
| Other: | Wide selection of books, walking guides and maps, CDs and DVDs, games - just make yourselves at home. If you need a travel cot, just let us know and we can borrow one for you. |
| Cleaning/towels/ linen/maid service: |
Rental price includes electricity and gas, bed linen and towels. House is cleaned and beds made up for your arrival - you are welcome to use washing machine for any laundry during your stay. Electric radiators and fans are supplied for your comfort. |
| Amenities/Facilities: | hob/stove oven fridge/freezer fridge microwave washing machine tumble dryer iron/ironing board tv room fans |
| Location Type: |
Notes on accommodation
We bought the house because we fell in love with it and hope to spend a lot more time there in the future. For now, we need to keep working in order to pay for it, and want it to be lived in as much as possible. Since we see it as our home, it is probably furnished differently from most holiday cottages, and you are very welcome to make use of everything. If something runs out it would be nice if you could replace it, but don't worry if you don't have chance.
Accidents happen, so if something gets broken or damaged don’t worry. If it's crockery, glasses etc, it would help if you could just buy some new ones. If it's something larger like the TV just let us know so we can get it fixed.
The house is looked after for us by Sylvi and Peter Cooper, who live a few minutes away in Nechite, and are on hand to offer help and advice if you should need it.
Accessibility
Due to the steep stairs, the house may not be suitable for people of restricted mobility, or with young children. Both our Mums (now 80+ but fit) visit with no problems, although they do generally behave themselves! If you have adventurous toddlers who love climbing, the roof terrace and top floor galleried landing could be a nightmare! If you're not sure whether the house is suitable for your party, just ring or email for advice.
Outside
Top floor leads to small terrace (best suited to 4, although we did fit 8 on for meals this summer!), with dining table and chairs, sun loungers and a wind out canopy for shade. There are spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and it is a great place for eating, relaxing or just watching the sun go down. There's a second fridge on this floor - handy for those terrace drinks! The village pool is just 10 mins walk from the house, has lovely views, and is open from around June to beginning of September. Entrance costs around €2 (€1 for children), and there is also a good bar serving refreshments, drinks and snacks.
Coast/Beach
Nearest (50 mins drive) is Adra - coarse sand, spacious, but with a backdrop of plastic greenhouses. A few minutes further on is Almerimar, a huge, modern resort, with ongoing development of villas, houses and apartments. Just along the coast is Roquetas de Mar (just over an hour), a well developed tourist resort with a very long, quiet beach, with good facilities (lifeguards, parasols and sunbeds, beach cafés, etc). Others worth a visit are Aguadulce, La Rábita, La Mamola - all approx 1 hour.
Skiing
Cross country skiing is possible, with various marked pistes, at Puerto de la Ragua, approximately 40 minutes drive. Ski equipment can be hired. Outside the ski season, the area is perfect for mountain biking and hill walking, and there is often a cool breeze even in summer (the car park is at 2000 metres).
Travel
Almería is nearest - approx 80 mins drive. Granada is approx 2 hours away. Malaga has biggest choice of flights and is approx 3 hours drive (but getting quicker due to extension of motorway). Car hire strongly recommended although there is a daily bus to Almeria and Granada. We have used Carjet for last 8 years with no problems.
Distances
Ugíjar is just a 10 min drive, with a lot more shops, banks, plus several bars and restaurants. Both villages also have fortnightly markets - for days, see signs as you enter village.
Nearest large town is Berja (30 mins) with a good range of shops, lots of bars, some interesting Roman ruins, plus a big supermarket (Mercadona) with pasteurised milk! For serious shopping, there are large indoor centres at El Ejido (a new Corte Inglés), Roquetas de Mar (Gran Plaza), and Almería (Mediterraneo).
Further details
Válor is a very pretty, peaceful village of some 900 inhabitants, situated at 900 metres above sea level. There is a beautiful church. a good range of bars and restaurants, several shops, bank (with cashpoint) plus a great village pool with fabulous mountain views. It was the birthplace of Aben Humeya, famous for leading the Morisco uprising against the Christians in 1569, and defeating 800 men. This event is celebrated every September, in the form of a wonderful and noisy 3 day fiesta, the highlight of which is a mock Christians versus Moriscos battle fought in the church square. Most things you need can be easily obtained in the village shops or from the mobile delivery vans. The bars serve free tapas with most drinks, so 2 or 3 beers can result in a very cheap and varied lunch. It is very easy to spend whole days (if not weeks!) just pottering around the village. However, there are plenty of places within easy reach for day trips - Granada (with the spectacular Alhambra Palace), Almeria (well worth seeing), Guadix (cave houses), Purullena (brilliant cave house museum), Tabernas (setting for many Cowboy films!), Cabo de Gata (stunning beaches) etc. For walkers, there are 3 excellent marked walks from the village (which is on the GR7), plus lots of possibilities for longer treks, including ascents of Spains highest peak, Mulhacén (3482m).
La Alpujarra is a captivating area, lying between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Mediterranean. The whitewashed villages offer a glimpse of rural life that has changed little over the years. Much of the Alpujarra lies within the National Park of the Sierra Nevada, and has a wealth of wildlife and more indigenous wildflowers than any other European region. The area is excellent for both winter and summer activities such as walking, mountain biking, crosscountry skiing (45 mins drive at Puerto de Ragua), trekking and horseriding.
Booking notes
For more information or to check availability, please contact us. We don't ask for a deposit, but would appreciate payment (by cheque, Paypal or bank transfer) 4 weeks before your holiday. If your circumstances change and you have to cancel your booking don't worry - just let us know as soon as possible so we can update our availability calendar. We don't ask for a breakages deposit neither do we charge you for cleaning - if you're trusting us for your holiday, we trust you with our house!
Guest comments
'We had a fantastic week and really relaxed. There's so much more to see and we hope to be back one day. The house is perfect - we are so glad we were able to come. Enjoy your holiday! Many thanks." James, Clare, Ella and Rosie Potter, Aug 07.
"Hi Paul and Janet, If there is a heaven on earth. We are having the time of our life exploring the neighbourhood, conquering mountains and enjoying the late afternoon sun on the terrace. What a lovely house and environment. Thanks again!" - Don and Erica Van Rompaey, Belgium, Jun 07.
"Just to say how much we enjoyed our stay at La Regadera in Valor. Lovely village and we had excellent weather-sunny and warm most days and the almond and cherry blossom was lovely. Went out for lots of walks and explored the area. Your house was most interesting, we enjoyed our breakfasts on the roof terrace each morning. Sylvi and Peter were most helpful and we enjoyed our evening out with them in the local bar on my birthday. Anne and Tim Ardill, Feb 09.
Owner profile
Janet and Paul Rundle in Válor
About the owner
We live and work in the UK (just outside Burton-on-Trent) but spend as much time in Spain as our jobs and other commitments allow. We both work in the education sector so we're very lucky to have good holidays!
Whilst not wanting to wish our lives away, we're very much looking forward to a time when we can spend longer periods in our house - let's hope we're both still fit enough to climb the stairs when that day comes!
For now however, we need to keep working in order to pay for it! We would like the house to be lived-in as often as possible, and so will be delighted if you wish to stay there - whether for just a few days or a longer holiday.
Year purchased: 2003
Why the owner chose a home in this location
We had visited the area many years before, and loved it, but thought no more of it until 2002, when we read about a new holiday development at Picena. We got a bit carried away, paid a deposit and in May 2003 came out for 2 days to look at the site (nothing more than a hillside) before signing the contract. As it turned out, we had serious misgivings about going ahead, but by a series of very happy coincidences, we met Ingrid, a lovely German lady whose house in Válor was on the market. Within half an hour we had looked round it and decided to buy it. We went to the cashpoint in Ugíjar, withdrew 300 euros, scribbled 'We would like to buy your house' on a piece of notepaper and that was it! We came back in July, signed the contract and have never regretted it for a second.
Unique benefits of the property
Válor remains our favourite village (although we are perhaps a bit biased). It's really pretty, with nearly everything you need in walking distance, and very friendly. It helps if you speak some Spanish, although a smile and a 'hola' goes a long way!
Ingrid used to run a bar on the ground floor, very popular with the locals and even now, if we get chatting to someone in the village who asks where we live, we only have to say "en la casa de Ingrid" and he'll come over all misty eyed and will regale us with tales of many happy hours spent in 'our house'. We've tried to preserve as much of the bar area as possible, just in case.
For booking and further information
Property Ref S15039
(UNITED KINGDOM) +44 7976642769
Owners Website: Click here
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Property Ref S15039
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