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This page will hopefully help you find that necessary accommodation. There are a few basic options, you can rent a villa or an apartment, stay at the climber's refuge or camp. If you organise your own flight and accommodation from one of the following you should be able to make a reasonable saving on booking a flight and self-catering holiday package from an English travel agent - unless you manage to get one of the excellent value last minute deals that are often available to the area. Most people tend to stay in the Benidorm and Calpe area primarily because this has lots of accommodation and is relatively convenient for a lot of the climbing, not to mention the beaches. Calpe has the added attraction of being directly below the spectacular Penon d'Ifach. If anyone can supply information on accommodation (places to recommend, places to condemn, supply phone numbers) can they please e-mail me at [email protected].
This exciting development has established itself as a central meeting point for climbers on the Costa Blanca. I visited Richard and Samantha at the Orange House when they first opened in 2003 and returned to stay in 2004. I thoroughly recommend staying as it definitely enhanced my holiday and I am planning a return trip in 2005. The guesthouse is all finished and looks great - 5 double rooms, a bar, a TV room with any number of climbing videos and great climbing pictures everywhere. There is one small chalet/bunkhouse in the grounds that will sleep up to 4 and one much larger bunkhouse that can take 8 at a push. They also have an area in which you can camp which shares the external facilities with the bunkhouses. If you want a climbing holiday that doesn't just have fantastic climbing days but also fantastic evenings full of climbing atmosphere and like minded people then you won't beat staying here. Richard cooked us a meal while we were there and I don't think I have ever tasted such a good curry so if you do stay here definitely try and convince him to cook for you - (sorry Rich, that'll teach you to cook so well) They can also offer transfers from Alicante airport, organise all sorts of outdoor experiences from mountain biking to canyoning and are setting up a local climbers database so if you go out there without a climbing partner they may be able to put you in touch with someone local. The list of their ideas just goes on so for further details check out their own website, www.theorangehouse.co.uk Villa & Apartment Hire I tried to find self-catering accommodation through the normal high street travel agents one year and generally found them totally useless. There was a very limited range, particularly around the Calpe area, and the prices were far higher than I was expecting to pay. Check out some of the following options to see if you can get a better deal. I managed it. A word of warning on apartments, they can be very noisy. They are often built very cheaply of concrete breeze blocks which means that every noise sounds as if it is in the same room as you. Because of the heat they also rarely have carpets or rugs which means that every piece of furniture moved screeches across the floor. My personal advice is to rent a villa if you can afford it or invest in ear plugs. The advantage of an apartment is that they tend to be in the centre of town. This means that you have plenty of night life, restaurants, bars, etc within easy reach without having to drive and thus curtailing some member of the parties drinking fun. - Thanks to Robin Symonds for this tip.
I booked a large villa for a party of 11 through these people in 1999:
The Villa was fantastically located up in the Altea hills with an amazing view down over Altea and Benidorm in the distance. They have other apartments and villas located near Calpe so maybe these would be worth a try.
Villa Pico
I have received word about a B&B in Sella, called Villa Pico. Our rooms all offer a view over Sella, to the mountains. In the morning we serve continental breakfast on our terrace with spectacular views over the surroundings. In 2003 Villa Pico has three rooms for rent. One room with shower and toilet ensuite and two rooms that share one bathroom. Its possible to put an extra bed in all the rooms. Villa Pico offers:A pool surrounded by orange trees Spectacular views Free (access to) internet Aqua Ventura has been set up as a bit of an adventure centre. They organise climbing, walking, mountain biking and sea kayaking trips as well as just accommodation. They offer two locations for accommodation, Hort de Gloria is on a working farm just minutes from Sella and El Mirador is a guest lodge in the centre of the village. Being based in or just outside Sella they are near the major climbing areas of Sella Valley and Puig Campana.
'Very friendly, great accommodations and superb ' - Thanks to Chris Moor for this recommendation 'We stayed here over half term. It was the mostly friendly place I have ever stayed, with the best people. Brilliant. I can't recommend them enough.' - Thanks to Tom Ripley for this recommendation.
More accommodation in Sella. This one offers both B&B or self-catering in a 2 bedroom house, Casa Roc. They also manage the house next door, la Casita de las Nubes, which also sleeps 4 and have an occasional option on a third house. They can accommodate parties of up to 14 using all three houses. Their website contains further details, prices and availability.
Villarama The Villarama web site runs a villa rental service for private owners. They have quite a reasonable range of villas on the Costa Blanca and may be worth a look. If anyone does try them could they let me know as I would be interested to hear how you got on. Interlet Calpe Property Services They have a range of apartments available throughout the year. Some close to the Peñon de Ifach and beaches. Starting at about 100 pounds per week (sleeps 2 or 4 depending on how good your friends are), in low season. Ask for Natasha, she is very helpful. Thanks to Mike Sealey for this recommendation. Website: Interlet rentals - Calpe E-mail: [email protected] Phone: Calpe. Int. Code + 96 583 9385, or Mobile 629 864 227.
There is a refuge at Sella. Although I have not stayed there I know people that have and they say it is very friendly if extremely basic. The refuge can also run a pick up service from Alicante airport. It can be contacted at: Casa-Refugio, Font de l'Arc, 03579 Sella, Alicante, Spain Tele: 00 34 96 594 1019 I have had many mixed reports about the refugio, some say it is too basic and grubby others say its a great place to meet people. Most of these opinions are nicely summed up in this thread on the Uk Climbing forums. 'You can always try the refugio which is very basic and very cheap but a good way to meet other climbers from all over the place, and it's walking distance from lots of climbing. Been twice and had a great time there' - Thanks to Mike Nuttall for the feedback Sella There is a new campsite on the other side of Sella village from the crags. This puts it over 4km from the crags so it is no use to anyone without a car. However 'it's very cheap and nice, with clean showers and flushing toilets'. The campsite is just in Font Mayor. Olta There is a really nice campsite at Olta which is just above Calpe, go past the railway station and follow the signs. It has showers and BBQ's and everything and is superbly positioned. In Feb' 05 it cost 3 euros per person per night. Thanks to Al Evans for this recommendation. Normally during the week there are no access control in Oltá or Sella and
probably you will find the WC closed. Thanks to David Mora Garcia for this info
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