FOUNTAINHEAD
Rustic-chic chillout retreat in wildest Andalucia
FOUNTAINHEAD IS JUST THE PLACE to trade the crowds of the costas for the peace of the Andalucian mountains. Mixing rustic chic with splashes of bohemian glamour, this hillside hideaway is just made for us-time.
Fountainhead looks out onto wildest Andalucia. This is a weekend destination hotel made for away-from-it-all recharging and relaxation. Breathe in crisp mountain air and gaze out at utterly peaceful hillsides covered in almond and olive trees, with the craggy Sierra de Caramolos mountains rising behind.
Four very private suites and a terrific restaurant make up this little mountainside nirvana. Each casita-style suite has mile-wide mountain views, flamboyant decor, and a private plunge pool where you can skinny-dip or get an all-over tan in delicious privacy.
Hit the spot
40 minutes from Malaga, near the white village of Riogordo.
Bedtime
Choose one of four exotically themed suites: maybe plush scarlet and black in Oriental or Ottoman style silks and damasks in Sultan.
Be savvy
It’s a place to de-stress and chill. The last 2km of road is a rough and rustic track.
Be smitten
Away-from-it-all hillside nirvana.
The suite life
Eclectic interiors mix film set rustic charm and sleek colours. Each has its own private plunge pool, sun loungers and a terrace for eat-as-you-please alfresco dining.
Inside, you’ll find a kingsize bed, sofas for lounging, whirring Casablanca fans, a CD player – even binoculars for watching the wildlife – and mini kitchen. Exotic fabrics – silks, satins and voiles – add to the theatrical vibe, while mosaic tiled bathrooms with fluffy cotton robes are screened from the bedroom area. There’s even a log stove for nippy nights in the mountains.
Sultan luxuriates in Ottoman style silks and damasks with splashes of gold. Indian carries the Asian theme further with carved wooden furniture and piles of silken cushions. Oriental comes swathed in rampant scarlet and black with a huge canopied bed and chaise longue, while Arizona has its own jacuzzi bath.
Don’t expect TVs, mobile phones, techno-tricks and internet on tap here – Fountainhead is made for simple, escape-from-it-all weekends. You’ll be left alone with everything you need (so no maids to disturb your idyll), while your hosts are on hand if you need them. It’s a place to be at one with nature – and go au naturel if you like.
Rustle up eats as the fancy takes you. You’ll find a well-stocked fridge loaded with Cava, local hams and manchego cheese, home made jam and fruit, and a basket of warm bread and croissants arrives at your door each morning. Just brew the coffee, pour the juice or mix a sangria according to your whim.
For yet more unwinding, book a massage and float in the huge bath of the darkly embracing Bathhouse. Book a face treatment or have the rest of you scrubbed, seaweed-wrapped and buffed for the ultimate wind-down.
Fountainhead’s intimate restaurant has won plaudits galore, making it something of a gastro destination. Mediterranean inspired dishes use local organic produce and olive oil from the hotel’s own olive crop, and there’s an intimate little lounge bar for pre-dinner drinks. If you can’t be bothered to leave your quarters, in-suite dining can be arranged.
This is a place to wind down and do as little as possible. But if you’ve got itchy feet, you’re just half an hour from the sea and an hour from the historic city of Granada.
Fountainhead was reviewed by Room for Romance
Fountainhead looks out onto wildest Andalucia. This is a weekend destination hotel made for away-from-it-all recharging and relaxation. Breathe in crisp mountain air and gaze out at utterly peaceful hillsides covered in almond and olive trees, with the craggy Sierra de Caramolos mountains rising behind.
Four very private suites and a terrific restaurant make up this little mountainside nirvana. Each casita-style suite has mile-wide mountain views, flamboyant decor, and a private plunge pool where you can skinny-dip or get an all-over tan in delicious privacy.
Hit the spot
40 minutes from Malaga, near the white village of Riogordo.
Bedtime
Choose one of four exotically themed suites: maybe plush scarlet and black in Oriental or Ottoman style silks and damasks in Sultan.
Be savvy
It’s a place to de-stress and chill. The last 2km of road is a rough and rustic track.
Be smitten
Away-from-it-all hillside nirvana.
The suite life
Eclectic interiors mix film set rustic charm and sleek colours. Each has its own private plunge pool, sun loungers and a terrace for eat-as-you-please alfresco dining.
Inside, you’ll find a kingsize bed, sofas for lounging, whirring Casablanca fans, a CD player – even binoculars for watching the wildlife – and mini kitchen. Exotic fabrics – silks, satins and voiles – add to the theatrical vibe, while mosaic tiled bathrooms with fluffy cotton robes are screened from the bedroom area. There’s even a log stove for nippy nights in the mountains.
Sultan luxuriates in Ottoman style silks and damasks with splashes of gold. Indian carries the Asian theme further with carved wooden furniture and piles of silken cushions. Oriental comes swathed in rampant scarlet and black with a huge canopied bed and chaise longue, while Arizona has its own jacuzzi bath.
Don’t expect TVs, mobile phones, techno-tricks and internet on tap here – Fountainhead is made for simple, escape-from-it-all weekends. You’ll be left alone with everything you need (so no maids to disturb your idyll), while your hosts are on hand if you need them. It’s a place to be at one with nature – and go au naturel if you like.
Rustle up eats as the fancy takes you. You’ll find a well-stocked fridge loaded with Cava, local hams and manchego cheese, home made jam and fruit, and a basket of warm bread and croissants arrives at your door each morning. Just brew the coffee, pour the juice or mix a sangria according to your whim.
For yet more unwinding, book a massage and float in the huge bath of the darkly embracing Bathhouse. Book a face treatment or have the rest of you scrubbed, seaweed-wrapped and buffed for the ultimate wind-down.
Fountainhead’s intimate restaurant has won plaudits galore, making it something of a gastro destination. Mediterranean inspired dishes use local organic produce and olive oil from the hotel’s own olive crop, and there’s an intimate little lounge bar for pre-dinner drinks. If you can’t be bothered to leave your quarters, in-suite dining can be arranged.
This is a place to wind down and do as little as possible. But if you’ve got itchy feet, you’re just half an hour from the sea and an hour from the historic city of Granada.
Fountainhead was reviewed by Room for Romance
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Dining in
Urban chic mixes with rural Andalucia in Fountainhead’s contemporary-colourful restaurant, where almost everything on your plate is organic, local and seasonal. Olives, almonds and veggies are harvested in the hotel’s own gardens and menus reflect Andalucian tastes. Enjoy local game, lamb and fresh-landed fish cooked with olives, capers and lemon – all complemented by an impressive wine list.
There’s also a traiteur (deli) menu on offer, with warm crusty bread and local tapas.
Dining out
Try the tapas of Serrano ham and sherry at Andalucia’s oldest inn, a 30 minute drive into the mountains. A 20 minute drive takes you to Lake Vinuela, where you can tuck into local embutidos – sausages – and a cold beer, while 40 minutes gets you to the beach for fresh grilled sardines.
Where?
Fountainhead
What’s cooking?
Owner-chef Helen Bartlett’s puts her own inventive spin on Mediterranean cooking.
Top table?
A window table for the sunset vistas.
See & Do
You’ll probably opt to soak up the rays with a good book next to your plunge pool, but there’s plenty to do if you choose.
Wander through unspoilt Riogordo – on the old olive oil and grape trail – where village life is just as it used to be. Go mountain hiking in an area of outstanding natural beauty where eagles and wild orchids are commonplace, or explore the terrain on horseback.
Further afield, you’re an hour from the wonderful Alhambra palaces of Granada, and even less from the beaches near Malaga. The city has a castle and a Picasso museum if you don’t want to get sand in your shoes.
Shop
Pop into the deli overlooking Lake Vinuela for great local produce. Malaga has a great central food market as well as a Sunday morning flea market. Back at Fountainhead, you can buy some own-brand toiletries and olive oil to take home.
Spa
Wind down in Fountainheads intimate spa, where all products are 100% natural and organic. You can float in mineral-rich Dead Sea salts and essential oils, or book an aloe vera facial treatment, massage, seaweed body wrap, or a brown sugar body buff. The candlelit Dead Sea salt bath should float away those tensions.
After dark
Riogordo has some lively village bars, though for nightlife proper you’ll need to head for the costa and the swish clubs in Marbella. We suggest an early night instead.
Dates
Easter
Riogordo’s El Paso passion play is one of Andalucia’s most famous.
May
Count the castanets at the World Dance festival in Malaga.
August
Andalucia is alive with fiestas and Riogordo stages its own in mid August.
Urban chic mixes with rural Andalucia in Fountainhead’s contemporary-colourful restaurant, where almost everything on your plate is organic, local and seasonal. Olives, almonds and veggies are harvested in the hotel’s own gardens and menus reflect Andalucian tastes. Enjoy local game, lamb and fresh-landed fish cooked with olives, capers and lemon – all complemented by an impressive wine list.
There’s also a traiteur (deli) menu on offer, with warm crusty bread and local tapas.
Dining out
Try the tapas of Serrano ham and sherry at Andalucia’s oldest inn, a 30 minute drive into the mountains. A 20 minute drive takes you to Lake Vinuela, where you can tuck into local embutidos – sausages – and a cold beer, while 40 minutes gets you to the beach for fresh grilled sardines.
Where?
Fountainhead
What’s cooking?
Owner-chef Helen Bartlett’s puts her own inventive spin on Mediterranean cooking.
Top table?
A window table for the sunset vistas.
See & Do
You’ll probably opt to soak up the rays with a good book next to your plunge pool, but there’s plenty to do if you choose.
Wander through unspoilt Riogordo – on the old olive oil and grape trail – where village life is just as it used to be. Go mountain hiking in an area of outstanding natural beauty where eagles and wild orchids are commonplace, or explore the terrain on horseback.
Further afield, you’re an hour from the wonderful Alhambra palaces of Granada, and even less from the beaches near Malaga. The city has a castle and a Picasso museum if you don’t want to get sand in your shoes.
Shop
Pop into the deli overlooking Lake Vinuela for great local produce. Malaga has a great central food market as well as a Sunday morning flea market. Back at Fountainhead, you can buy some own-brand toiletries and olive oil to take home.
Spa
Wind down in Fountainheads intimate spa, where all products are 100% natural and organic. You can float in mineral-rich Dead Sea salts and essential oils, or book an aloe vera facial treatment, massage, seaweed body wrap, or a brown sugar body buff. The candlelit Dead Sea salt bath should float away those tensions.
After dark
Riogordo has some lively village bars, though for nightlife proper you’ll need to head for the costa and the swish clubs in Marbella. We suggest an early night instead.
Dates
Easter
Riogordo’s El Paso passion play is one of Andalucia’s most famous.
May
Count the castanets at the World Dance festival in Malaga.
August
Andalucia is alive with fiestas and Riogordo stages its own in mid August.
GETTING THERE
Location
Partido del Rio El Terral, Riogordo, Malaga 29180
Parking
There is free guest parking, and you’ll need a car if you plan to explore.
Trains
Malaga central – 40km
Taxis
Roughly EUR 70 from both the station and airport.
Airport
Malaga – 50km
Rooms and suites
Four individual suites
Special features
All have exotic decor, a private terrace garden with plunge pool and stunning views.
Also…
Look out for the well-stocked fridge, CDs, scented candles, fresh flowers and binoculars for watching wildlife.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
EUR 225
Open/closed
Generally closed mid November - mid February.
Check-in
16.00
Check-out
Midday
Minimum night stay?
2 nights at weekends
Breakfast
Have breakfast as late as you like. You’ll find a well stocked fridge and fresh bread and pastries are delivered to your door.
Room service
Available any time on request
Children
Welcome
Pets
No
Air conditioning
No – rooms are cooled by ceiling fans.
Languages
English and Spanish
Wedding license?
No – but you can hold a wedding party here for up to 120 guests
Eco conscience
The hotel uses organic and home grown produce as much as possible, solar panels for hot water, and eco low-energy heating panels in winter.
Your contacts
Helen Bartlett and Peter Jewkes – owners
Location
Partido del Rio El Terral, Riogordo, Malaga 29180
Parking
There is free guest parking, and you’ll need a car if you plan to explore.
Trains
Malaga central – 40km
Taxis
Roughly EUR 70 from both the station and airport.
Airport
Malaga – 50km
Rooms and suites
Four individual suites
Special features
All have exotic decor, a private terrace garden with plunge pool and stunning views.
Also…
Look out for the well-stocked fridge, CDs, scented candles, fresh flowers and binoculars for watching wildlife.
ESSENTIAL INFO
Rates guide
EUR 225
Open/closed
Generally closed mid November - mid February.
Check-in
16.00
Check-out
Midday
Minimum night stay?
2 nights at weekends
Breakfast
Have breakfast as late as you like. You’ll find a well stocked fridge and fresh bread and pastries are delivered to your door.
Room service
Available any time on request
Children
Welcome
Pets
No
Air conditioning
No – rooms are cooled by ceiling fans.
Languages
English and Spanish
Wedding license?
No – but you can hold a wedding party here for up to 120 guests
Eco conscience
The hotel uses organic and home grown produce as much as possible, solar panels for hot water, and eco low-energy heating panels in winter.
Your contacts
Helen Bartlett and Peter Jewkes – owners
