Cases Noves

Cases Noves is a five-room rural hotel at 1 Calle Achova, inside El Castell de Guadalest, in the lower part of the village. It is run by Marcel and Carlos and is designed for adults. The reason to sleep here is the time of day: when the coast coaches leave, the village is almost empty, and in the morning you are a few minutes' walk from the San José tunnel before anyone arrives.

Five rooms, castle or sea

Each room is named after a mountain range or the village and looks one of two ways. Facing the castle are Bernia, the largest in the house, with a bath; El Castell, with a sloping attic ceiling; and Xorta. Facing the sea are Aitana, with a bath and balcony, and Guadalest, also with an attic ceiling. The house groups them by size: Bernia, Aitana and Guadalest are the Premium, and El Castell and Xorta the Superior. When you book, decide which view you want: it is what changes most from one to another.

The common areas are those of a home more than a hotel: a fireplace, a music room, a reading room, the dining room and a terrace. There is an honesty bar, teas and infusions, and wifi is free. The house also offers massages and sells maps of walking and mountain-bike routes through the Vall de Guadalest and Aitana; its website mentions dinners, but gives no days or prices, so ask.

Breakfast, included and until late

Breakfast is in the room price and is served from 8:30 to 11:30, a wide margin for those who want to set off early to walk or stay in. There is fresh juice, different each day, seasonal fruit already cut, pastries and yoghurt, sometimes with muesli; toast with butter, jam, oil and tomato, cold meats, cheese, and scrambled eggs or bacon, depending on the day. Coffee, tea, milk and cocoa.

Summer with a municipal pool

From mid-June to mid-September the Guadalest municipal pool opens, about 200 metres away, beneath the village's rocks. Cases Noves guests go in free. It has an Olympic-size pool, a children's pool, lawn and a bar, and on Tuesdays and Fridays it also opens at night.

Via Polop, better than via Altea

The house recommends arriving from the AP-7 by the Benidorm exit and the CV-70, through La Nucía and Polop, and climbing the last 12 km of mountain road; before entering Guadalest, go straight on at the roundabout and you will be about 500 metres away. It advises against the Altea route along the CV-755, because of the bends. You book on its website, with a discount for direct booking, or on 681 944 017.

For the next morning, the San José castle opens at 10:15; to eat up there, La Plaça, and if you want to walk, the climb to the Serra de Xortà starts from the same village.