Category Archives: News

When was the birth of your Grandma and what you were saying the middle name of the paternal grandfather was? Are your children actually vaccinated against yellow fever?

These are not really the asked questions when you apply for a new water connection but they almost are, trust us. And sometimes it can be a waste of time. The business and the paperwork in Spain remains a challenge we can get used to… but with difficulty. There are new offices that want to have all of the information you can think of. Fortunately, Helga has more patience with everything related to paperwork than Ton. Eventually, you have to follow the flow.

Hotel

It is early July and the Summer has finally come to Ojen. Temperatures are around 30 degrees and that will not change for the next two months. Furthermore, La Posada del Angel has had a formidable Spring and we are happy for that. From Semana Santa in March we have been really busy with our hotel: always a lot of rooms occupied and many of our guests found our hotel via the familiar booking engines such as “Eliza was here” and, fortunately, via our website.  What a difference from last year when we were in the middle of remodelling!

Our guests come from nearly everywhere. About 40% are Dutch, followed by about 25% who are Spanish. The rest of the guests come from England, USA, France, Austria, Russia, China, etc., etc.

The pool appears to be a good attraction for our hotel, although it doesn’t seem to be the place to camp out all day lying on a bed next to it (we don’t have them). But it is a possibility to refresh after a nice day at the beach, hiking or golfing, with or without a cool drink afterwards.

The new patio next to the pool

Summer

The rest of the Summer looks very busy too, especially in August, when there are quite a few days “sold out”, while the phone starts to ring for September. The Summer occupation is fine thanks to the constant presence of “trainees” from the Netherlands. Currently, Chrissie and Charlotte help us with daily affairs. They also put together activities that our guests can take. For example, today they have gone for an extra hike of about 2 ½ hours (we hope so, otherwise we will send the dog handler off) from Ojen. And yesterday, they made a challenging kind of sport using a GPS (Geocaching), in which you can find scattered treasures everywhere. From now on we have a GPS and a basic explanation available for our guests. And those searching for days with more tension can visit El Camino del Rey, a more inland walking/climbing activity.

Juan

For quite some time we were looking for help throughout the year. Last month we found it. Juan, a 24-year-old Spaniard from Marbella. Not only is Juan very excited about it but he also finds the hotel very nice and he speaks fluent English too. Now, he helps us to communicate with the Spanish authorities, which makes everything a lot faster and more efficient.

The boys and us

The 11-week holiday has started. For a week, we went to Portugal, to Lisbon and to the coast to have some fun together (our hotel was in good hands). After our arrival, we received the final school reports. We are very happy and very proud but we were hardly surprised by the reports of Jochem. For the third time in a row, it was all purely SBs (“sobresaliente”, which means from 9 to 10). Next year, he is going to stay in the following group, but he is also going to take some lessons from the higher level.  Now he is taking English lessons every day during a month at an English language school in Marbella. The surprise this year came from Siebe: after a year of very hard work, lots of extra homework and daily attention, specially Helga, he ended the year with a stunning report: everything was satisfactory, including Spanish, and even four 8’s. Now Siebe visits a local summer school: together with friends, they swim, play and do crafts. A great program in our fight against the I-pads and TV.

On top of a dune in Bolonia (Tarifa)

With the arrival of Juan, we get some more air and it is sometimes possible to get away together to go play golf together or just to do something different. We also made a number of trips last Spring, and thanks to that we are able to share with our guests these experiences. We cycled in a beautiful nature on an old railway line (Via Verde) near Ronda and then we made a trip from Tarifa to Seville. That’s the nice thing about living here: we gradually get to know the area better. These discoveries and other news are posted regularly on Facebook by us. If you want to stay informed, sign up as a friend of La Posada del Angel. You can also find these news on our website: www.laposadadelangel.net

If you want to stay informed, you can “like” our page on Facebook called La Posada del Angel. Furthermore, you can find “news” also on our website www.laposadadelangel.net

After Summer, we will send you the new programmes we are now making with more day trips, overnight trips, walks, golf packages, winter activities, etc. Maybe this is a good reason to come and stay at our hotel or our Spanish finca.

Helga and Ton

Take advantage of green fee discounts or play along with one of the many competitions.

Sign in for a tourist membership of the Golf the Costa.

GOLF the COSTA is a golf network based on the Costa del Sol. With almost 2000 members, GtC members enjoy the best possible rates, professionally run events and have support from multiple corporate sponsors. If  you are visiting for just one holiday this year, you too can benefit from purchasing one of our ‘€20 Tourist – GTC’ cards. These will be valid for up to 1 month.  This way, they benefit from all the SEVA-GTC deals during their holiday stay without having to sign up for a whole year.

The End of the Traditional Golf Buggy?? Could this spell the death of the golf buggy as we know it? Well you decide. Check this out. Watch the video.

(Costa del Sol GOLF NEWS, May/June 2013)

One again we are delighted to announce that golf courses on the coast are offering a wide variety of offers during low summer season.

Summer golf seems to be getting earlier every year and this is the perfect time to take advantage of the fabulous range of offers available to the visiting golfer. The traditional offers of two players plus buggy are being supplemented with additional discounts for early bird, twilight, online, last minute, etc. In the latest edition of Golf News you will definitely find something to suit your pocket. Call your golf club of choice now and find out what special deals are currently available.

However remember to drink plenty of liquids and keep topping up with the sunscreen!

If you like to make a golftrip to the Costa del Sol region, you can stay at La Posada del Angel in Ojén, a small, very personal hotel. Don’t choose for one of the great golfhotels. We can help with everything you need for having an unforgettable experience, like information about the nicest courses suiting your level of play, booking teetimes, offering packed lunch, etc. The only thing we can’t help you with is……to get a great score.

At ClubstoHire.com you can rent your golfgear at the Malaga airport.

Autumn in Spain

Within a few days the long Andalusian summer has ended. Even last Monday we spend a good day on the beach at “Aqui Te Quiero Ver” (highly recommended beach bar), now it’s raining. Everyone here is very happy with this weather. The water tanks were emptied and the burned mountains can use some favorable water. At La Cañada (mall)  they already installed the Christmas tree and next Sunday is the 20^th chestnut festival in Ojén. It’s getting winter.

Busy Summer

We can look back on an eventful and successful first summer. From early April, it was pretty busy with guests from almost the entire world. From New Zealand to Canada. From Latvia to Southern Africa. And of course all European countries. The busiest month was August with many days completely sold out. So much so that we left with the kids to our Finca so that “our” rooms could be rented too. Fortunately supported by the two ‘interns’, Rik and Josefien it all went smoothly.

A fantastic asset is our golf cart with which we pick up guests, including luggage, from the central parking. No more struggling with too large cars in too narrow streets and no more searching.

We also enjoyed all the visits that we have received from our Dutch friends this summer. We had some great evenings and Bar Diego has done good business.

A setback this summer were the medical problems of Ton. However, after surgery, all treatments are behind us and all is well again. The Spanish sun does wonders for a recovery period. Too bad that this problem pushed the development of the new website and the attention to promotion a bit into the background.

Development

There has been a lot of building activity in recent months. Within the hotel of course the usual weekly improvements and the never ending list of the 100 little jobs  to do. Next to the hotel is the most accomplished. The pool is open now for two weeks and our house is nearing completion. From January we assume that everything is ready. The pool needs some further decoration with plants and the right lighting. The new bar area should be decorated and the patio and the new sun terrace must be filled with patio furniture.
The “kitchen” on the first floor, above the bar area has to be decorated and equipment installed. A place  where the cooking will be done while the guests can have a look and a glass of wine. Excellent meals will be prepared during the lazy summer evenings. Self-made Paella for example or Mediterranean fish “a la plancha”.

With great pleasure we will start to use our new house in January. Directly next to the hotel, right next to the pool. Living in three hotel rooms has its charm but after 8 months it’s a bit too much. We will be happy with our stuff, which has been stored for more than a year. The boys each get their own room, we ‘will have a nice room at the top (facing Morocco weather permitting) and a large kitchen to get some more private dinners .

Jochem and Siebe

Since  mid-September their second year on the Spanish school started. Only a 1 minute walk from the hotel. The previous school year has been completed successfully. Jochem with a fantastic report. We wonder if his school future here lies in Ojén. We’ll see. The football adventure has got a different turn. Since the group is extremely big and Jochem’s football abilities are a little bit poor he barely played during the matches. Now he took up  tennis.  Also with Siebe it’s great. At first he picked up the Spanish not too quickly, now he’s doing OK. At school he does it well and finished the last school year with a wonderful report although changes got to be made: fooling around and chatting fits him better. Siebe also follows the football training and started golf lessons. Now the hot summer is over  he took up climbing again with his friend / teacher Marcos.

We

We would like to combine work in the hotel a little bit better with some extra free time. Occasionally a free weekend or a day of golfing, hiking etc. This means that something got to change. We are looking for help to run the hotel. Someone who can do little repairs but also serve breakfast. Must have a driver’s license and speak English. Despite soaring unemployment we do not manage to find the right person. We keep searching. In the coming months we will get some more rest. Not always the hotel is busy, so we can spend nights in our Finca.

This weekend there is time to leave. We have booked a hotel in Granada and go from there to the immense “Parque de las Ciencias”, a science museum with a modern twist. The boys are looking forward to it already. Another advantage is that Granada is the city to buy Moroccan lamps for the new patio. Also, being there, we can see whether there is snow in the Sierra Nevada ….. we are preparing for the Spanish winter.

Recent information, photos and reports can always be found on Facebook. Both on the page of Ton as on the company page for La Posada del Angel. If you visit the La Posada del Angel-page, please also click “I like”.