Review rated by 5 Ciao members on average: helpful
I must say first that we don't ride horses but we were looking for something different, so we looked on the internet for a holiday in the REAL Spain. We found a couple, but none that really interested me as they were packages and generally on the coast. Then we went on the internet for the area around Granada, as it was winter we wanted to look in the south of the country. Granada seemed a little cold for the south but as it was up in the mountains, we looked for places on the coast. We didn't fancy Malaga so looked along the coast for the next airport which was Almeria. This pointed us to the web site for the region where we found desert riders Spain who also did B&B. The listing said that they also did riding in the mountains and desert, so on the chance they had a free week, we sent an e-mail not expecting to be accommodated as we didn't want to ride.
We received a very prompt and pleasing reply saying that it didn't matter that we weren't riders and that the week we wanted was free. We made the booking and went over there late November.
We arrived at Almeria airport in the evening so it was dark; we picked up the car and headed out of the airport on the road to Tabernas. As it was dark we were concerned that we may miss the villa so after a call to Rob for some directions, we arrive at the villa without ant trouble. After we put our things in the bedroom, we were treated to tapas and a drink, and while we chatted Rob and Carole told us about some of the attractions around the area, including a western theme park nearby which you can actually ride too along the dry river bed.
We decided to drive there, when we arrived it looked like we were the only ones there but as the show was about to start the saloon began to fill up. We were told that it was to be a scene from a well known western film, it was acted out by three local "cowboys" and was very entertaining even though it was in Spanish. We learned that many well known films were shot there including all the spaghetti westerns and quite a lot more.
The weather was very mild with lots of sunshine and some cloud, but generally warm. We had hired a car and intended to use the B&B as a base and travel around but as it turned out we didn't have to travel far because we were in the real Spain already. The town of Tabernas was about 1 Km away between to mountains, one with a Moorish castle on top this too was used in the film El Cid.
Rob and Carole were extremely helpful, especially as our Spanish was non existent, we were introduced to the local people. They told us of a local chap who was a gourmet chef but now lived in the desert hills and still cooked from guests. Laurence is an American Indian, we ate at his house which was a large canvas covered structure. The meal was served by candlelight and was indeed excellent and the company was great, it is definitely well worth the cost.
The accommodation was great with ceiling fans and air con/heating and a shared bathroom with the other double room. It was new, clean, neat and tidy with a view of the mountains. Breakfasts were continental style, which was enough for me and Vera. This is great B&B accommodation, their villa is in a great place and it was less than a mile to the village. There are loads of places to eat and drink in the village and nearby.
Within twelve hours of returning home we had booked to return in the spring, who knows we may even try horse riding. We would like to say a big thank you to the Rob and Carole for everything.
Book with confidence. Their site is www.desertridersspain.com Have a look at their website.
by (20%):
06.12.2006 18:06
I was confused by the category too! You can ask ciao to move it for you. alley x
06.12.2006 13:24
Sorry for the lower rate but as this category is for Horse Riding holidays, there was very little info on the actual riding.
06.12.2006 02:34
Sounded great...came back from the canaries in october...wish i was there instead of this cold place :)