The Costa del Sol is now 40% cheaper!

According to Euro Weekly News, Spain’s largest free local newspaper in English, the British are seeing an average 40% drop in Spanish holiday costs!  That’s fantastic news!

Research from Post Office Travel Money says that, compared to five years ago, the ‘Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer‘ shows a drop in the cost of every-day holiday items of 40%.

The ’Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer‘ is based on eight items that tourist budgets are based on:  a cup of coffee, a bottle of Heineken, a can of Coca Cola, a bottle of mineral water, a bottle of sun cream, some insect repellent, a packet of Marlboro Lights and a restaurant dinner for two people, with wine.

The average cost of these items on the Costa del Sol was shown to be just €46.00, compared to €87.00 on the Greek resort of Corfu!  ’Hooray’ for the Cost del Sol, ‘Booo’ to Greece.

We all know that many are suffering from the economic recession, but it’s great to learn that the folk of the Costa del Sol are rising to the challenge and dropping prices to realistic levels.

Read the full article on the Euro Weekly News web site.

A free bottle of Cava for each Valentine's Guest!

What better way to show how much you care, than a week in the sunshine?

Spring in one of the best times to see Andalucia, the flowers are bursting in to life, the orange sunrises and sunsets are absolutely spectacular and, perhaps best of all, no crowds!

And here at La Orquidea, it gets even better!  We’ll have a chilled bottle of Cava in your fridge if you’re staying at La Orquidea Holiday Resort over the Valentaine’s Day week.

Just email our Reservation Team with the words “Valentine’s Week” in the subject and let them book you in to your apartment – and that’s it!

Click here to email Reservations for this special Valentine’s Day offer!

Apartments for Couples and Small Families

One Bedroom Apartments

Our one bedroom holiday apartments are a great choice for couples and very small families (perhaps, a baby or small child).  In the lower gardens of our holiday resort, the one bedroom apartments all have either private terraces or balconies.

All south-facing, the apartments make the most of the Spanish sunshine all day and have incredible views over Calahonda and the Mediterranean Sea (particularly the upper floor apartments).

But remember, our one bedroom apartments are very popular, so get in touch soon to reserve yours!

Click to see the one bedroom holiday apartments.

Holiday Apartments for the Family

Family Holiday Apartments

La Orqudiea two bedroom holiday apartments on the Costa del Sol are the perfect choice for your family holiday in 2012.

Bright, clean and spacious, our family holiday apartments have one master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and one twin bedroom, great for the kids.  The two bedroom apartments overlook the main resort garden and swimming pools.

Click to see our family holiday apartments.

A Little More Holiday Luxury

Luxury Penthouse Apartments

The Penthouse holiday apartments at La Orquidea offer some of the best views in the resort.  The higher penthouse apartments on the third and fourth floor have amazing views over the Mediterranean Sea and on clear days, you can easily see Gibraltar and the North African coast.

The penthouses are furnished to a higher standard than the family apartments, with ceiling fans, dish-washers and more.

Click to see the Penthouse Holiday Apartments.

Significant Holidays in 2012

Easter, 31st March to 15th April, 2012*

The first real holiday of the year, Easter is always very popular at La Orquidea.  Bookings are coming in right now, so get in touch to reserve your holiday apartment.  With two bedroom, family apartments from as little as just £195 – that’s a £20 saving on our normal rates, you and your family can enjoy the holiday in the warm sunshine of Spain!

Summer Half Term, 2nd June to 10th June, 2012*

With prices from just £215 for a week’s holiday apartment rental (the weekly rate for a one bedroom apartment), the Summer Half Term is a great time to catch a week in the sun, before the high season kicks in.  Contact La Orquidea now to reserve your apartment in the sun!

Summer Holidays, 24th July to 30th August, 2012*

It’s the high season and you won’t believe the heat!  Obviously, the most popular time of the year, July and August are a great time to holiday on the Costa del Sol.

With so much to do for both adults and kids alike, the summer season on the Costa del Sol is not to be missed!

Get in touch with La Orquidea and book your apartment now! 

* Approximate dates.  School holidays are different throughout Europe.  Check Google for your country’s exact dates.

Wi-Fi Internet at La Orquidea

By popular demand, we are now improving the Wi-Fi coverage at the resort and are installing FREE connections in the Penthouse apartments.

Supplied by our friendly local ISP, Y-Internet, we’re currently installing 1Mb download connections (upgradable to 3Mb) in the Penthouse apartments.

And the best part is, it’s FREE!*

These connections will be dedicated to each apartment, so you don’t share with other users on the resort, providing a much better service.

At present, only Apartment 44a has the free connection, but more are coming very soon.

Visit our friends at Y-Internet here.  Tell them we sent you!

Y-Internet, your WiFi experts on the Costa del Sol.

* The dedicated connections in the Penthouse apartments are included, free of extra charge.  The standard, temporary Wi-Fi accounts are subject to a fee.

Spend an afternoon in Cabopino Marina.

A short drive from La Orquidea Holiday Resort, is the beautiful marina at Cabopino.

A popular beach and restaurant-laden marina, Cabopino is a great place for an afternoon or evening’s visit, to enjoy food and drink, overlooking the incredible boats.

Albert’s Restaurant has a great – and well-deserved – reputation, serving English and continental dishes, either inside with the eclectic decoration, or on the restaurant terrace, right next to the boats in the harbour.

Cool drinks and cocktails are on hand in Julie’s Bar, with its contemporary terrace area and relaxed atmosphere.  Perhaps a little pricey, but a Mojito or a Daiquiri on the side of the marina is something not to be missed.

For the beach-lovers, Cabopino has a number of chiringuitos, with beach-loungers and parasols, available for rent.  The beach is clean, quiet (depending on the time of year) and most importantly, safe.

Behind the marina, you’ll find a number of plazas, with many more bars and restaurants.

We definitely recommend Cabopino, we go there a lot.  It’s a great place to while away the afternoon in the sunshine, watching the boats come and go.

Book a week at La Orquidea Holiday Resort during November, December and January and SAVE £££ on our holiday apartments!

Winter Sun Bargains on the Costa del Sol. Holiday Apartments from just £99!

1 Bedroom Holiday Apartments, just £99 per week.  SAVE £76!
2 Bedroom Holiday Apartment, just £119 per week.  SAVE £71!
Penthouse Holiday Apartments, just £139 per week.  SAVE £61!

We know the ‘credit crunch’ is still biting hard, so we’re doing our bit to help.  You won’t find cheaper prices on the Costa del Sol for holiday apartment rentals!

1 Bedroom Holiday Apartments just £99 – SAVE £76!

1 Bedroom Holiday Apartments just £99!

Our 1 bedroom apartments are a great choice for couples.

Choose from ground floor apartments in the gardens, or first floor apartments with amazing views over the Mediterranean.

During November, December and January, enjoy the tranquillity of the La Orquidea gardens and the sunshine of the Costa del Sol for this amazing, one-time-only, price!

See the list of 1 bedroom apartments here.

2 Bedroom Holiday Apartments, just £119 – SAVE £71!

2 Bedroom Holiday Apartments just £119!

For those who just like a little extra space, our 2 bedroom holiday apartments are an incredible bargain.

These large, bright and extremely well equipped, two bedroom, two bathroom apartments sleep 4 as standard but up to 6 if you use the sofa bed.

Reserve your winter holiday during November, December and January and SAVE with our amazing winter holiday deals!

See the list of 2 bedroom apartments here.

Penthouse Holiday Apartments just £139 – SAVE £61!

Penthouse Holiday apartments just £139!

The luxury penthouse apartments are incredible value!

Top quality holiday apartments with lots of added extras – dishwashers, ceiling fans, DVD players and more!

The penthouse apartments all have spectacular views over Calahonda and the Mediterranean Sea beyond. On a clear day, you can easily see to Gibraltar and the North African coast.

See the list of 2 bedroom, penthouse apartments here.

Get in touch to reserve your holiday apartment.

La Orquidea Holiday Resort Swimming Pools

Even during Winter, the Costa del Sol is warm enough to enjoy outdoor swimming. La Orquidea Holiday Resort has four swimming pools for you to use.

The beautiful town of Mijas Pueblo.

One Sunday, late in the summer, we took a trip up to Mijas Pueblo for a few photographs of this beautiful, Andalucian village.

Mijas really is a jewel, not to be missed on your holiday.

Narrow, winding streets of white houses and colourful flower pots, the aptly named “Villa Blanca”, or White Town, despite its popularity, has kept its true charm.

Nestled on the mountainside, the views from Mijas Pueblo of Andalucia on one side and the Mediterranean on the other are outstanding, particularly from “los miradores”, the viewing points.

Colourful pottery in Mijas Pueblo.

The small shops lining the village streets are crammed with local wares, including leather work, ceramics and local art.  You’ll also be spoiled for choice with the many cafes and restaurants, including “La Bodega” Wine Museum, a charming blend of cafe/restaurant and wine museum.

In our tireless efforts to keep you informed about Mijas, we spent the afternoon sampling some local wines and a selection of meats, cheeses and salads in La Bodega.  We certainly recommend it.

Other than on foot, the best way to see the village is by horse-drawn carriage.  €12 (as of Summer 2011) buys a gentle trip around the sloping streets – a great way to while away the afternoon in the Andalcian sunshine.

Other attractions in the village include the Shrine of the Calvario, dating from 1710, the 100 year-old bull ring and bull fighting museum and the many stunning gardens, with plants, trees and flowers from all over the world, designed to keep the village in bloom, all year round.

Donkey-drawn rides in Mijas Pueblo.

We can’t recommend Mijas enough, it really is a true taste of old Andalucia.

Getting there is easy, too.

From the resort, head down the motorway for about ten minutes, towards Fuengirola, then turn north up in to the hills.

The road to Mijas takes about 20 minutes, winding up the hillside.

Ask at reception about getting to Mijas, you won’t be disappointed.

Mijas Pueblo Gallery

A quiet bay at Calahonda Beach.

Summer really is here!  And today, Saturday the 13th of August, we took a stroll from Calahonda beach over to La Cala de Mijas to bring you the latest on beach holidays on the Costa del Sol.

We walked down Calle Jose de Orbaneja, it took about 25 minutes.

We got to the beach via the entrance in front of El Zoco, and immediately, the place was jumping!  Little marquee tents, barbecues, kids playing in the shallow bay.

We wandered down on to the sand and headed left, towards La Cala.  Within just a few hundred yards, we turned the corner of a rock outcrop and the next bay was almost empty.

The beaches of the Costa del Sol, just near La Orquidea

La Cala Beach, near La Orquidea.

That, just about, sums up the beaches of the Costa del Sol.  Party in one bay, absolute peace and quiet, just a few hundred yards away.

We must have passed more than ten chiringuitos, or beach bars, serving up this morning’s catch on wood barbecues along the shoreline.

In La Cala, an open-air spinning class was going on with fifty, or so, people being sprayed with water.

So, come and join us on the Sunny Coast!  We’ve got the perfect apartment for you to get some late-summer sunshine!

The Safe Beaches near La Orquidea Holiday Resort

Safe, family beach holidays.

And it’s safe, too.  The shallow bays of the Calahonda coast are great for family holidays in the sun.

With watchtowers over the busier beaches (as you can see here, flying the Green Flag – Safe) and natural rock break-waters, it’s great for the kids to sit in the rock pools, catching… whatever it is they catch in rock pools, while you sit on the warm sand.

Remember your sun block, though!  We were out for about 3 hours and only half of us thought about sun block.  When the cool breezes come off the sea, it feels deceptively less hot, but the sun is still doing what it does here… shining.

Seriously though, if you are lucky enough to be coming down to the Costa del Sol – or anywhere else the sun shines a lot – make sure you have enough sun creams.  Particularly for the kids.  When you’re not used to it, it can burn quite quickly.

With the new, second TV in the bar, they’ll be showing all the Premiership matches – or, at least, the ones you ask for.  There’s BBC and Sky Sports, amongst others, and it’s not just football.  We’re looking forward to the rest of the NatWest One Day Series and the Rugby World Cup.

If there’s something you want to watch, just ask.  If it’s not already on, it probably can be.

More about Bar La Orquidea Sports.

Sunday Summer BBQ at La Orquidea.

The weather has done us proud for this Sunday’s Summer BBQ!

It’s well in to the mid 30s, the sky is a deep, azure blue and the gentle, warm breeze is most welcome.

It’s coming up to 5pm and the BBQ’s going well, as always.  Families are gathering and the smell of summer barbecue is wafting over the gardens.

And, it’s a great food, too!  From a very reasonably priced Burger and Bottle of Beer for just €4, to a true taste of Andalucia, a rack of four Mediterranean sardines (a local speciality) for just €3.50!  Or the outstanding King Prawn Kebab for just €7!

The bar is also pretty packed, with the UK football season starting yesterday.  As I type, Manchester City are two-all with Manchester City.

So, what are you waiting for?!  Come and join in!