Casa La Siesta Review: Rustic Charm At Vejer de la Frontera, Spain

Long, leisurely evenings dining al fresco amongst lemon trees teeming with flocks of busy birds, black against the pink-streaked sky, follow active days of surfing, kite surfing, hiking or window shopping in the nearby Vejer de la Frontera. This is life at Casa La Siesta, a chic boutique country house hotel hidden in the countryside behind the Costa de la Luz, Cadiz. Rebecca Cox reviews. 

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Review: Casa La Siesta, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain 

STAY

This stunning boutique country home hotel seamlessly blends rustic charm with modern elegance. Set up by the founder of Bert & May interiors, Lee Thornley’s love of interiors began here, building with reclaimed materials and all the gorgeous tiles he could get his hands on. There are seven spacious and comfortable rooms, plus two secluded self-catering hideaways. Our room, room three, is arguably the pick of the lot, with a terrace on each side of the room to overlook the gorgeous front or back gardens and chase the sun as it switches from front to back, plus a huge freestanding bath on one side of the room, overlooking the front lawns. Pretty geraniums in pinks and reds brighten the stonewashed balconies, with pops of colour and sweet aromas from the lemon trees and lavender drifting up from the courtyard below. Yes, this is a room you can really relax in.

You might think that being in the middle of nowhere would mean some peace and quiet. But the air is alive with the sounds of the wildlife and farm animals inhabiting the land around pretty much around the clock, and the dawn chorus from the thousands of tiny birds that flit (noisily) from tree to tree in enormous flocks rises to a crescendo so loud and buzzy that it permeated my dreams and transported me to a rave on the nearby island of Ibiza. When I awoke, I realised my fellow ravers were the birds. Once their dawn excitement passes, however, a return to dozing is possible, broken only by the occasional cockerel crow or soft bleet. If you’re heading here from London, the background hum may be an easier adjustment than a switch to total silence, and a reminder that there’s a far more soothing alternative to the honking horns and sirens you’re used to waking up to.

The Casa is adults-only (and a romantic’s dream) most of the year, with exceptions in a few school holiday weeks, where the pools come alive with the sounds of laughter and splashing, and visiting families make fast friends as their children play from dawn to dusk. 

EAT

The food at Casa la Siesta is as soothing as the ambiance. Locally-sourced ingredients and home cooked meals are the order of the day, from the breakfast of fresh fruits, yoghurt and honey and eggs from the farm next door to lunches of seasonal salads and roasted veg with fruit skewers plus freshly-baked bread dipped in local olive oil and salt. Each day a lunch and dinner menu is displayed in the lounge and you can decide whether you’ll dine in or venture out to explore. Weather permitting, dinners are served in the gallery overlooking the back gardens, the perfect spot to watch the sunsetting behind the nearby hills, turning the sky from blue to orange to pink and then inky black behind the arches and set against the twinkling festoon lighting strung across the courtyard. The dinners sampled included sea bream in a lemon garlic butter, and the most indulgent pudding, a strawberry and chocolate ‘cake’ served on a buttery biscuit base with ice cream. Too rich to eat it all, but too delicious not to, following it with a local sherry and rolling upstairs for a lie down is the only option.

SUSTAINABILITY

Casa la Siesta relies on solar power for its hot water and heating, and uses a filtered septic tank for its waste water. Air conditioning is available but not really needed in any but the hottest months, since the rooms can be aired and shaded as needed.

DO

Activities

The team at Casa la Siesta will organise a host of activities for you to enjoy during your visit, from kite surfing, surfing, horse riding, golf or cycling. The beachside horse riding is a popular choice, with the area’s long, white sandy beaches providing the perfect backdrop for a ride.

Beaches

The area’s beaches are long and plentiful, from the closest beach of El Palmar (15km) to Bolonia (50km), a long beach with a beautiful sand dune to hike up, and clear shallow water. The latter is home to Roman ruins and has a fair few decent beach bars and restaurants, so is a popular spot in the summer months. This area of the coast is windy, so the beaches are hives of activity for surfers and kite surfers. The winding mountain roads that lead to the coast are lined by many of Spain’s 21.5K wind turbines. 

Bolonia beach (photo from visit)

Vejer de la Frontera

If you sit still for too long in Vejer de la Frontera, you will be painted white. There is a constant stream of workers painting and retouching the white-washed buildings on the steep and winding cobbled streets of this beautiful Spanish town (11km from Casa La Siesta), a hidden gem in the lush southern Spanish countryside. Frequently voted amongst the top towns in Spain to visit, if you’ve visited the white-washed towns on Italy’s Eastern coast it will feel familiar: roads so steep they require strong calves and fearless drivers, narrow cobbed lanes and a stunning church marking the highest point in the town. This is the perfect destination for aimless rambling, tapas snacking, beer sipping and shopping. The town’s boutiques sell chic beachwear, pretty silver jewellery and rustic homewares all too appealing to pass by, leave space in your case for at least a couple of souvenirs.

THE FINAL WORD

The ultimate boutique retreat for when you want to experience the simple things in life, done beautifully. The rugged and beautiful Andalusian coastline is yours to explore…but you may just want to hole up and enjoy the most relaxing (Casa La) Siesta of your life. 

BOOK 

Rooms from 224 euros a night B&B  | casalasiesta.com