“A guest is the most important visitor to our house.
He is not dependant on us – we are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption of our lives – he is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider in our business – he is part of it.
We are not doing him a favour by serving him –
He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
Mahatma Ghandi
Almuña built by Hugh and Jane is the home of the Arbuthnott family where everyone stays for most of the holidays in Spain. From the house fabulous views stretch to white hill-top villages and beyond over the Pillars of Hercules deep into the Rif Mountains of North Africa.
The cobbled courtyard, terracotta tiled roofs and sweet scented jasmine greet our guests before they are shown into one of eight spacious double bedrooms where their luggage awaits them. The beds are made for comfort with pure cotton sheets and plump duck-down pillows. The private bathrooms have baths and showers with large soft towels and Floris soap.
There is Wifi throughout the house, good mobile phone coverage, television (BBC & Sky sport), ping-pong, table football, mountain bikes, board games, bridge tables, tennis rackets, golf clubs.
By the pool there is a chilled drinks’ cabinet in the shade of a giant carob tree, just the place for a good book or a quiet snooze after a game of tennis on the Almuña court or a walk along tracks through the oak forested 500 acre estate of Almuña.
Almuña has its own organic kitchen garden from whence comes daily an abundance and variety of fresh vegetables. These are the ingredients for one of the best kitchens in Andalucía.
One of the great joys of staying at Almuña are the staff, most of whom have been with the Arbuthnott family for over 20 years. They come from the local villages and are always cheerful and serve guests with natural courtesy.