Three Rural Houses in Mountain Village, Views Across the Mountains and Almond Slopes
Unspoilt Spanish Village, 3 km from Rock Climbs,18 km from Sea, Mountain Walking and Biking
Three x 2 Bedroom Houses (Sleeps 4 or 6)
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Our houses in the authentic mountain village of Sella offer comfort, spectacular views and access to an excellent walking, biking and climbing district. In the Sella valley the cultivation of almonds, medlars (nisperos), oranges and lemons is the business of most locals who also manage to support six bars and restaurants, a thriving town orchestra and a year-round schedule of fiestas and events. The houses are all recently restored and are located at the top of the village, on traffic free streets and far from the usual noise of a tourist resort. However, the excellent beaches of La Villajoiosa and the theme park of Terra Mitica are just half an hour away, as is the Aitana safari park. It´s a walkers, climbers and mountain bikers paradise. The proprietors oWeeks based in their houses and can advise on routes and trails along the mountain ridges and in the wooded valleys. There is a fascinating Mill in the valley which can be visited as a guided tour.
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| Rental periods | CasaRoc, Casita de las Nubes - per night, following minimum period |
CasaRoc, Casita de las Nubes - first 2 nights (minimum) |
Santa Ana, first two nights minimum | Santa Ana - per night following minimum period |
| 1 January - 31 December | 50 euros | 150 euros | 225 euros | 75 euros |
Notes on prices
Long stays are always open to negotiation - get in touch!
Changeover day
No particular changeover day. Minimum 2 days stay, 7 days at peak times, arrive after 14.00, leave before 11.00 but you can drop baggage with us at any time if flights or onward travel arrangements require it.
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La Casita de las Nubes (2 Bedrooms, Sleeps 4)
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| This beautiful single storey apartment has has been artistically restored with modernist, Gaudi-esque elements in the construction. It has two bedrooms and a kitchen / livingroom / dining room area as well as a small terrace with fantastic views. The main bedroom has twin beds and a built-in wardrobe and the second bedroom, off which the terrace opens, is smaller and equipped with a comfortable double sofa-bed. The kitchen has a full cooker and fridge-freezer, extractor and is well equipped for four people. The bathroom has a shower, WC, bidet and handbasin. The views, from the floor-to-ceiling living-room windows, are amazing - that´s why it´s called " the Little House in the Clouds"! This is so close to Casaroc you can almost jump from terrace to terrace - renting both properties for a large party is an excellent plan. | |
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La Casa Santa Ana (3 Bedrooms)
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| This is an outstandingly restored traditional three-story town house high in the village of Sella with three double bedrooms (Room1: two twins. Room2: Double bed. Room 3: Double bed in en-suite room) The ground floor has rooms 1 and 2, a spacious entrance hall with a wood-burning stove (good place to store your bikes, cyclists!) and a large shower with toilet and washbasin. Upstairs, the first floor has the extremely well-apponted kitchen, with its fridge, freezer, dishwasher, "island" work top, microwave and everything you tink a first-class kitchen ought to have. The dining area has a long table and seating for 6 and the en-suite bedroom is luxurious with an outsize bath and some lovely original wood in the doors and cupboards. The original wooden beams are largely conserved throughout the house. Up on the second floor the large living area has two lazy sofas, a TV, and a very large terrace with table, seating and a sunshade. A utility room here has a fridge, WC and washing machine. | |
Notes on accommodation
All fuel is provided for the gas heaters in all three houses and the wood burning stoves have logs for the first couple of days You can judge from the photos on the Internet if the houses are suitable for your toddler - we can provide a cot and (usually) a stair-gate. Pets are welcome.
Accessibility
Sella itself is really not a possibility if you have any mobility problems - the whole village is at an angle so even going down to the shops or bars involves steep climbs. All three houses have entrance steps. If you have limited mobility problems, we can advise on rental of "shopmobility" type transport and help with shopping and arrival / departure. But you´d need to be brave! La Casita has no stairs apart from at the entrance from the street so if you have a really busy toddler, it's OK.
Outside
CasaRoc and Santa Ana have huge terraces with a barbecue, easy chairs and sunshade. La Casita has a smaller terrace with table and chairs - not really ideal for a barbecue but we can provide one. The municipal swimming pool, 10 minutes walk away, is magnificent, overlooked by the Aitana and Puig Campana mountains and is open during local school holidays - usually end of June to first week in September. The real "garden" for all three houses is the Sella valley with its rivers and streams and irrigaed orchards. Down in the main square (the Plaza Mayor) the two bars welcome children and are ideal for sitting out in the winter or summer sun to enjoy that cold beer.
Coast/Beach
The beaches of La Villajoiosa are about 20 minutes drive away (16 km) and are easily as attractive and clean as equally nearby Benidorm but without the frantic summer crowds. There are secluded non-urban beaches, such as at Paraíso or Torre Roig, both stony, uncrowded and blessed with summer "chiringuitos" (temporary wooden bars) for the blessed consumption of long, cool gin and tonics while you listen to the waves...Magic! Further afield, Altea, Alicante and Campello have great sandy beaches.
Golf
On the way to Benidorm there are a couple of golf courses - we can supply details. About 15 minutes away.
Special interest holidays
We run successful fully catered and guided walking holidays based in the village ( see www.sellawalks.com) and Steve Green, the owner, is a language teacher and runs English language courses for Spanish students - he´d be happy to provide basic level tuition in Spanish to help you get by in Spain. We can arrange intensive or "taster" language courses with Carlos Antón, a local qualified teacher of Spanish. In collaboration with José Miguel García, a local climbing leader, we offer a range of climbing courses, from the half day "taster" course, through the one week basic skills course (aimed at beginners with perhaps some experience of climbing walls in the UK) up to the tougher challenges offered by the local crags. José Miguel was trained in the UK so you´ll learn all the correct terms and language for your skills. Next year, in collaboration with Jack Chesterman and his wife Jo, Leeds-base artists, we hope to launch our long-contemplated Sella Art Holiday: please enquire!
Travel
We can arrange airport pickup and run you around - at a price - while you are here, but Sella really needs a car to be fully enjoyed so we advise you to bring or hire one. Alicante airport is 50 minutes drive away, Murcia about one hour 50 minutes and Valencia a good two hours´ drive. There´s a tram system to La Villajoiosa from Alicante - the local railway line goes on through Altea to end at Denia from where there are ferries to the Balearics. Alicante airport has a good bus service into town.
Distances
Sella is 16 km from La Villajoiosa and 18km from Benidorm Locally, the mountains are a walkers´ delight with dozens of routes - most also suitable for mountain bikes. We have a Safari Park 10 km up the hill and we are on the Southern flanks of Alicante´s highest mountain, the Aitana, and in the shadow of its most spectacular peak, the Puig Campana. Terra Mítica theme park, Terra Natura Zoo and Mundomar water and dolphin park are all 20 minutes away as is Aqualandia - the best spot to cool off!
Further details
There are two shops, which incorporate a butcher, two (wood fired) bakers, two banks, one with ATM machine, and sixbars, 5 of which are restaurants and all of which do tapas. You can be self-sufficient using the Sella shops but most people go down to the big "Carrefour" supermarket 15 km away between Finestrat and Benidorm, to stock up. Local Fiestas are too numerous to list. In Sella - first Sunday in October is the "Fiesta Mayor" with a long weekend of dancing, drinking, fireworks and fun. The 2nd or 3rd week in August has the Cultural Fiesta, seven days of theatre and concerts late at night in the Plaza, culminating in the "Fiesta de Sella" with "turns" from the young children and teenagers, and satirical skits from the Fiesta organisers. There´s a "Firia" of local produce and "bygones" over an April weekend, this year (2007) it´s 28th and 29th and CasaRoc will have a market stall selling lemon marmalade, empanadillas and other home made kitchen produce.The Villajoiosa "Moors and Christians" festival, usually around the last week of July, features a dawn invasion from the sea and a midnight beach firework extravaganza, not to be missed! Alcoy has the biggest and best Moors and Christians festival, at the end of July. It´s about 40 minutes inland. And of course Santa arrives in Sella by horse and cart on Christmas Eve, guided by a (large, glittering, cardboard..) star, as do the three kings on January 6th. New Year´s Eve has a party from midnight to daylight in the main square and sometime in the summer there´s a water fight in the square. Sella is a quiet village - but there´s always something going on.
Booking notes
We ask for a 20% or 60 euros advance via PayPal (email and bank card) when you book and the rest in cash on arrival.
Guest comments
"This is the nicest house we have ever stayed in in Spain, and we are very fussy! We've been back 4 times now, both at Christmas and in summer and it is really wonderful." (John and Jenny, Sheffield, Santa Ana 2007)
Delightful house! and welcoming. We all admired and appreciated the artistic and colourful finishing touches and extras. We enjoyed instant access to home-made marmalade, local chocolate, natural creams etc etc + oranges + books + music, and what a treat eating breakfast outside on the terrace and gazing out at mountains, space and beauty. Thank you Steve for making us feel so welcome, it felt like we were visiting a friend. (Deborah, Bristol, Casaroc 2008)
This apartment made for a fantastically relaxing break. The views alone were enough to recharge flagging batteries! Good walking, climbing and weather. Hope to return.(Ann, Gill, Pete and Sue, Lancashire Casita de las Nubes, 2009)
House swap
We already swap CasaRoc with friends who have a French farmhouse. Liz and I would welcome a swap with any sort of accommodation in London, interesting parts of Europe, Yorkshire... Just get in touch. January would be good time for us, also May.
Owner profile
Steve Green - Santa Ana church in the background
About the owner
Liz and I came to live in Sella permanently some 4 years ago. We had the houses modernised and rebuilt ad set about building a small business renting houses in the village, arranging walking holidays for people like us and generally getting involved in Spanish life. I´ve always spoken pretty good Spanish but Liz has had to become a student and work hard at it - now she can easily hold her own with our Spanish friends.
It´s a very different way of life for us here - I was a teacher in Leeds for 25 years and Liz was a nurse, Health Visitor and, for many years, a lecturer in Public Health at a Leeds University.
We live an a small farm just outside the village where we try to keep up with the demands of the almond harvest and cultivate our own vegetables. Next step - our own chickens!
Year purchased: 1980's
Why the owner chose a guest house in this location
When you drive up from the coast, after about twenty minutes of winding mountain travel, there´s a bend in the road and there, laid out on the hillside in front of you, you get your first glimpse of Sella, the Aitana mountain rising four thousand feet behind it, the village a jumble of brown-tiled roofs, white painted walls, narrow streets and aleys, all nestling beneath the chapel of Santa Barbera (guardian of fortresses and fireworks!) on the little hill behind. Who would not fall in love with the place and want to come and live in Sella!
I´ve always wanted to live in the mountains but also hankered after a seaside life as well - Sella is over a thousand feet up, between the peaks of the Puig Campana (1,400m) and the Aitana (1,500m) but just 16 km from Villajoiosa´s wonderful beaches.
Unique benefits of the property
We have several houses here in Sella - they all have some things in common: a broad terrace with direct views of the mountains and the Sella valley; a quiet location in the highest part of the village - almost no traffic - cars can´t get closer that 200yards; wood burning stove for the winter evenings; well-equipped modern kitchens; style and good design in the decor.
If you require it we are on hand with advice, walking routes, local knowledge about the restaurants, bars and shops, but we´ll leave you to get on with your holiday the way you planned it - once a week we´ll change sheets and towels but otherwise the house is yours.
Sella isn´t a tourist town - it´s popular in the winter with walkers and climbers, is very friendly and welcoming to foreigners, and has a vibrant life of its o
For booking and further information
Property Ref S5897
Stephen Green
Tel: (UK) + 44 (0)20 719 329 49
Tel: (Spain) + 34 96 587 9281
Mobile: (Spain) + 34 699 266 041
Owners Website: Click here
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Property Ref S5897
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