Arriving from New Zealand for a few days in Barcelona, we then flew down and enjoyed the sights of beautiful Seville and Cordoba before hiring our car and driving to Las Piletas. We stopped at the lovely village of Olvera for lunch before arriving late afternoon at Las Piletas. We knew the moment we drove into the drive that we had found a most amazingly peaceful place for our 6 days in this part of Andalucia. Elisenda immediately made us feel 'at home'. Our room was just as beautiful as it looked on their website. With an exquisite view over the surrounding countryside.

We looked forward to our breakfasts here every morning, either in their spacious homely breakfast room or, if you wanted, you could sit outside in a lovely patio area. There was an amazing selection available at breakfast, as other reviewers have mentioned. We especially loved the local melons and figs.

Each day we went to see different Pueblos Blancos, all very Spanish with their whitewashed houses and coloured flowers. Setenil with its houses built into the overhanging cliffs was very unique. We had wonderful weather for our 6 days and our drive to Zahara de la Sierra with the amazing turquoise waters of its reservoir made for beautiful photos. There are amazing cave paintings in the caves (Cueva de la Piletas) just above Benaojan, but the climb up to the entrance was steep.

We had a couple of evening meals in Ronda. However, to return home to Las Piletas of an afternoon to relax by the pool and then not have to think about driving anywhere else, but rather just walk over to the outside patio at night where the tables were set up with candles etc. and where we could enjoy Pablo's lovingly prepared and delicious food, for us, was the most relaxing way to end the day. Dinner was always finished with a nice liquor from the region and a chocolate or two.

Elisenda and Pablo are true professionals in everything they do. Nothing is too much trouble. We recognised Elisenda's love for nature and we later commented that Las Piletas was one of the few places of our travels where you could hear the birds sing! Our time here was the best!

Jacqui & Mike
New Zealand

I have never felt so welcome in any other hotel in the world! Very clean, friendly, truly a one in a million place to stay. My partner and I were made to feel like one of the family. Beautiful scenery around the cortijo with plenty of lovely walks to take. Food was perfect with a brilliant selection at breakfast, Pablo is a fab chef!!....and only a 10-15minute drive from Ronda. The swimming pool was lovely too :-) Perfect to get away from it all.

We booked Cortijo Las Pilates for 2 nights during our trip through Andalucia to visit Ronda. We were surprised in a very positive way : warm and friendly hosts, nice rooms and great surroundngs, very nice food prepared by our hosts. Besides Ronda, the surroundings are also worth the visit. We regretted that we didn't book for a few days longer...

My partner and I are from the UK but have been living in Granada, Spain for 2 years, and sadly we have had to become accustomed to average food and service in many places in Andalusia or pay a premium for good food and service, but our experience of Cortijo (country house) Las Piletas was an exception.
Cortijos are large country residences, some converted to hotels and offer an alternative to hotels. Las Piletas is a superb example of a cortijo with beautiful rooms and surroundings, but the hosts make your stay even more special as they are the most friendly, knowledgeable welcoming people you could wish to meet in hospitality. Elisenda and Pablo make a great team, and provide you with an embracing, efficient and delightful welcome. Elisenda speaks Spanish, Catalan, French and English and at the time of staying she also had a lovely Austrian girl on the team (Katharina) who spoke German, Spanish and English, so an excellent range of languages in which to inform guests. The house, grounds, rooms and pools are well maintained and offer a high standard alternative to hotels. The honesty bar is well stocked and there is free WiFi in the house itself. There is a TV room with satellite although for most the surrounding beauty of Ronda will keep you entertained and a good range of books for guests. We were provided with maps, and advised of the best areas. Ronda is approximately 20 mins away by car and there is ample to see there. Our room was large, comfortable and quite cool with the provided fan switched on ( there was no air con). The pool was fresh and clean with plenty of sunbeds, breakfast was buffet style but with a good mixture of breads, cheese, honey, jam, teas and coffee. Sadly we did not experience Pablo's cooking but other reviews say it is well worth giving up one evening to dine at the cortijo and Pablo stocks good Spanish wines. I would whole heartedly recommend Las Piletas and plan to return with friends to share the experience again. If you need any information do ask Elisenda by email as I am certain her warmth and knowledge would even be tangible by email.