The apartment itself was beautifully furnished with granite countertops in the kitchen, marble and tile floors throughout with area rugs, large bedrooms with comfortable beds, completely equipped kitchen with washer, and a large patio with table and seating for four where we ate most of our evening meals, as well as a balcony with two chairs off the living room.

The overall scheme of the resort was well suited to its Med location with stucco exteriors and tiled roofs. The buildings were situated on a hillside so most all units had a view of the sea from them. The grounds were well manicured and lushly landscaped to reflect the tropical location with palms, cacti, and succulents throughout.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

We entered the restaurant around 9:00 on a Friday night at their busiest time. We were seated immediately by a very business-like host. He seated us next to the band which was a little loud at first, but they adjusted the volume so we could talk with the others at our table.

The food choices were mostly local in flavor with quite a few international items on the menu for the less adventurous. We chose the local fare as we wanted to try something different. We ordered an exceptionally good bottle of wine for the price. It was a red table wine for under 10 euros produced especially for the resort. Our food was delivered promptly and it was piping hot. All of the members of our party enjoyed the various dishes we tried whether it was seafood, beef, or chicken.

The atmosphere of the place was festive and lively. The staff responded to requests promptly and in a friendly manner. The gentleman who seated us who we decided must be the manager, seemed to enjoy himself in his job. When the band took a break, he put on the rock band AC/DC and began singing and dancing while they cleaned up for the evening. That particular night the band was a jazz combo with a very nice sound. Each night a different type of band places including classical, local music, and others. We enjoyed this dining experience very much as it was joyful and relaxing.

We had lunch at a nice little cafe next door to the theater about three or four blocks from the bodega. We returned at the specified time and were escorted around the very exclusive Lustau Bodega de Arcos by a lovely British college student named Claire. She showed us around on a private tour for about an hour before she brought us to the tasting room where there were about 10 to 15 bottles of sherry displayed beginning with very dry and moving to sweet with brandy and the sherry vinegar at the end of the line. Another guide was taking a German couple through on their own private tour and they were in the tasting room at the same time.

We were able to taste at our leisure and visit with the others. The whole experience was wonderful with delightful commentary and Claire's willingness to answer our questions a big plus.

If you are willing to go off the beaten path and explore on your own, you can easily drive from Gibraltar in two hours or less. There are structured tours by bus that frequent Jerez from the coast, but we enjoyed being off on our own and "discovering" the area.

We then wound and twisted up the mountains above Malaga until we reached a high valley that was absolutely beautiful! It had just rained for a week before we got there, so the olive and almond groves were gorgeous! We stopped at Loja for a coffee break and shopping. This was the highest quality merchandise (olive oils, soaps, and sherry) that I saw the whole trip. It’s probably a tourist trap, but great Christmas shopping.

We then proceeded on to Grenada to a hill overlooking the Alhambra. This was a gorgeous overview of the Alhambra and Grenada, including, surprisingly, the snowcapped mountains of the Sierra Nevada range. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the mountains were fabulous to see in back of the Alhambra.

We then drove to the Alhambra, had lunch, and were entertained by local students, and moved to Alhambra where we were greeted by two tour guides. Margarita, our guide, did a great job of bringing life to what would have been a bunch of old mortar and bricks. We spent about 2.5 hours in the Alhambra. It is pretty hard walking because of all of the stone, brick and concrete, but well worth the money and effort! Bravo!

The lower level also had a small super market where we found very good wines, sherries, olice oils, and other items we purchased for gifts. Another shop on this level we enjoyed browsing through had candles, bath salts, dishes, handcarved wooden boxes, and other high end souvenirs. Everything was reasonably priced and of good quality.