{Travel Edition} An American Girl in Casares, Spain. Part Dos.

Ahhhh. Finally home. Feeling sunburned but very relaxed…. 

As you know, Hubby is on “gardening leave.” Sounds great, right? Except he is sans-passport. Long story. So I opted for a girly holiday with my Mom who flew over from LA. 

Don’t feel sorry for the Husband, he is going golfing with his Dad in Scotland in a week. 

I booked the Finca Cortesin hotel on the Mr and Mrs Smith website very last minute. I am so glad I found this incredible place!!! It is located just 45 minutes from Malaga, and it’s really simple to grab an Easy Jet flight from Gatwick. 

The Finca Cortesin just opened in 2009. The hotel’s fresh but grand design is inspired by traditional Andalucian architecture. It is big, bright, and really spacious. There are beautiful gardens and lovely shaded courtyards throughout the property. 

Finca Cortesin has three restaurants. El Jardin de Victor serves Andalucian dishes made with local ingredients including Spanish jamón, olives, and oils. There is also an Italian restaurant at the hotel, and a formal dining room called “Schilo” which serves Asian and Arabic cuisine. 

For lunch, we ate at the Beach Club (see below, amazing gazpacho!) everyday. For dinner, we had the most delicious seafood paella at El Jardin one evening, and went into Puerto Banus (the main hot spot of Marbella) another night. The rest of the evenings it was all about room service on our terrace. After all there were no husbands to get dressed up for! 

There are two pools at the Finca Cortesin. One for just adults, and one for families. If you prefer the beach, like we did, there is also a Beach Club (which also has a pool). It is a 5 minute drive away but there is a complimentary shuttle that will take you from the hotel lobby to the beach. Easy peasy! 

And then there’s the Spa! Golden Tip; book a massage with Arlett. She gave me a life-changing therapeutic massage, which included reflexology and a cranio-massage. It was heaven!