'An act of conservation'

Malaga, a place that has been described as the bridge between Africa and Europe; a city whose name is a legacy of the Phoenicians who came here to salt fish, has been a pleasure. We saw the Mediterranean today in all its splendor along with an 11th Century fortress/castle. We delighted in the garden at the Hotel Monte Victoria for much of the morning.

Accommodations can make or break a trip and the Hotel Monte Victoria is one of those rare places that lingers in your memory and becomes a defining point on the horizon. In short, we were seeking a place that would be kid-friendly, QUIET, clean, and possess charm to make one feel a part of Spain from out of the gate. The Hotel Monte Victoria has surpassed all in spades.

It's quiet as a tomb (except for our very loud party of seven). It's the ancestral home of four generations of 'Victorias'. We have seen three generations with regularity in the 30 some hours we've spent there. As Don Jose explained today, he and his wife were occupying one room in the incredibly spacious and beautiful home that lies perched on a hill across from the castle; they had two choices: sell it or convert it to a hotel.

Don Jose working in the garden.

It's the only hotel in a residential zone of Malaga where we literally have seen no tourists except when we left and drove the five minutes to see the castle. They converted the home in 2003 and instead of seeing the family on weekends his daughter manages the hotel and his beautiful granddaughters are a fixture. It really feels like you're visiting a family friend and are privy to what lies behind the gargantuan wooden doors of the villas that dot the hillside. Don Jose explained that turning the family home into a hotel was really an 'act of conservation', for the lucky traveler it's like getting invited into a Spanish family's home and feeling like it's your own.

 Here's what it looks like on the inside:

Here's J sending down a bottle of water:

This is the view of the Hotel Monte Victoria from the castle- it was sooo close! The balcony where J stood is on the far right.

We're back on wifi so many posts on the way including one on a castle we visited and the 17th Century sheep pen we're staying in now- yes, it's been converted.

Thank you so much for trying to recover J's 'device' from Horizon. No news yet but Cyndi thanks for the link, Susan thanks for anything you can do.

Thanks for your patience.
xo

As the Latin saying goes that we saw on a clock at the hotel:

Time flies!