Penthouse with spectacular sea views

This is NOT an anonymous holiday apartment, it is a true holiday HOME. It has been decorated, furnished, and prepared with great care, resulting in a home full of character, in many ways relecting the beach-side sea-side location in the way of nautical features !

The apartments of the Dona Lola resort are set right beside the sea, amid heavily scented gardens with manicured borders, swaying palms, swimming pools, streams & waterfalls.

Dona Lola is ideally situated at Calahonda, between Malaga Airport (25 minutes drive) and Marbella (ten minute drive).

This spacious 3-bedroom penthouse is air-conditioned, and there are superb unobstructed ocean views from its balcony, lounge, master bedroom, and both showers ! You can see the African Coast on a clear day. Diving birds such as bright white gannets and cormorants can be seen fishing in the sea, and dolphins occasionally come close in. Boats of all sizes, from the locals' fishing boats right up to the very biggest cruise liners regularly pass by, the latter often so large you can read their names ! The balcony has a dining table, 6 chairs, and 2 loungers.... ample space to dine "Al Fresco" whilst watching the ever-changing scenery right in front of you.

Facilities on this prestigeous Gold-Crown complex include three pools, tennis courts, and an indoor leisure centre.

The light and airy lounge and dining area is characterfully decorated befitting the location ...my collection of sea-shells from all over the world adorn the walls, and a fair few lighthouses too.

The spacious lounge allows plenty of room for the dining area, with an elegant glass-topped dining table and 6 comfortable chairs. Subtle lighting effects add ambience to this area.

The extremely effective air-conditioning system (for which I have a maintenance contract) doubles up in the cooler months as an efficient heating system. Set the temperature to your comfortable level in all seasons.

With 3 individually designed bedrooms, all with twin beds, this apartment is suitable for both families, and single-sex holiday groups.

The large en-suite master bedroom has beautiful sea views, and its own glass door to the balcony. It has a colour TV and floor-safe. All 3 bedrooms have spacious fitted wardrobes, big enough for all your clothes & cases ! Clothes hangers, hair-dryer, fan, and English sockets are all provided. WiFi provided throughout the apartment at no additional charge. Towels and bed-linen provided. We ask guests to provide their own beach towels. Both bathrooms are fully tiled,and lovely views ! The en-suite is a wetroom and the second is a full bathroom, both are provided with ample cabinets, towel-rails and mirrors.

The kitchen is fully equipped with integral dishwasher, full-size cooker / hob, extractor, microwave, coffee-makers, AEG washing machine, and giant fridge/freezer. Just everything is provided, right down to, garlic press, and a boiled-egg making machine !

A cot & high-chair & buggy are provided for our younger guests. There is a children's club where activities are organised for all ages, and a playground.

The facilities on Dona Lola are extensive. The giant outdoor pool starts at a shallow end safe for youngsters, and then meanders alongside the sea for 270 feet and under 3 bridges, before reaching the deep end.

A wide range of reasonably priced food and drink is available from the pool-side terrace bar. There are several more bars and restaurants within a three minute walk. The beach is just a few steps down from the loungers around the pool.

You can walk along the beach for as long as you want, in both directions. Walking right for 30 minutes will take you to Cabopino, a lovely harbour with beautiful beaches & really nice restaurants. To the left is La Cala, a more typical Spanish village with loads of bars and restaurants, and another nice beach.

In addition to the giant outside pool, we have a sheltered over 18s pool, which is heated by solar-panels. There is also a fully heated indoor pool in the leisure complex, along with steam-rooms, sauna, jacuzzi, snooker-room, and a well-equipped gym. My guests are given 6 membership cards providing unlimited access to all these facilities.

On the nearby beaches of Cabopino you can try water-skiing, jet-biking, wind-surfing etc, or partake of a dolphin-trip aboard a trimaran yacht. Ten minutes drive away at "Funny-Beach", there's an aquatic version of bumper-cars, along with go-karts, mini-bikes, trampolines, bungy-jumping etc.

There's a diving-school and casino at Torreblanca, a superb fantasy-world theme-park and cable-car at Benalmadena, horse-riding and water-park at nearby Fuengirola, and quad-biking and bowling at very nearby Miraflores.

But if you want to stay put on Dona Lola, no problem. There are two flood-lit tennis courts, snooker table, and pool-tables. Free activities are arranged including 5-a-side football and "French Boules" competitions, Spanish lessons, aqua-aerobics lessons, Paella-making demonstrations, and wine-tasting sessions ! Coach trips can be booked at reception to such places as Mijas, Gibraltar, and stunning Ronda, all extremely worthy of a day-trip.

Entertainment such as discos are arranged for the youngsters, and free and regular evening entertainment is provided to suit all ages. There are many night-clubs in nearby Fuengirola, La Cala, and Marbella, all just a taxi-ride away.

There are no shortage of bars & restaurants on Dona Lola. Within a 3-minute walk of my apartment there are 8 bars and 7 restaurants, including Chinese, Indian, Spanish, and English. Within a further 5 minutes walk there is a traditional Spanish "tapas" bar, an incredibly good value Hong-kong restaurant, & another Indian restaurant. And a further 5-minute walk, a McDonalds! If thats not enough, there are local theme-bars, karaoke bars, and late-bars just across the footbridge in Calahonda (5 minutes walk).

There is a small but comprehensively stocked mini-market just a minutes walk from my apartment, and a large supermarket just across the main road. Near that there are two banks, a medical centre, bars & cafes of many types, a beach-accessory shop, and even a Cornish-pasty shop ! There is a weekly market just across the road, and a bigger one on a Saturday in nearby La Cala.

There is a good bus service along the coast, providing easy access to Cabopino, Marbella and Puerta Banus in one direction or La Cala and Fuengirola in the other. Once at Fuengirola a train will whisk you along the coast to Malaga, via Benalmadena and Terremolinos.

Free WiFi internet access is available throughout the apartment, and there are two computers available to use in the reception area for a reasonable charge.

We do try to be flexible with arrival and departure days.

We normally ask that our guests arrive after 1500 hours, and vacate by 1000 hours on departure day, though we try to be flexible about this whenever possible.

Discounts can be arranged for extended bookings or low-occupancy at non-peak times.

30% deposit is requested on booking, and the balance is due 8 weeks before your holiday. Payments normally made by direct bank-to-bank transfer.

£150.00 returnable deposit charged, which is fully refunded when the apartment is left in good order.