I have been going to Capistrano for 26+ years and have never tired of going back. The village is close to the town of Nerja and is within a 10-15 minute walk. There is a good efficient and cheap bus service to and from Capistrano to the town, 1 Euro per journey.
The village itself is built in the style of Spanish Pueblo with narrow lanes and only one traffic road around the complex. It is a very relaxing and safe place to stay especially for families. There is a mixture of residents living there permanently and rental places for holidays. The village has 2 main swimming pools which are exceptionally well maintained and are supervised by pool attendants for safety of the holidaymakers. The gardens which are all around the village are immaculate and have lovely colourful displays of varied tropical plants during the day and lovely perfumes at night.
There is a small supermarket within the village which is handy for the ongoing daily needs and a large one on the outskirts the latter being comparable to any one in ones home town.
There is also a restaurant in the village with good selection of meals catering for palates of all kind. There are also other restaurants on the outskirts of the village within a couple of minutes walk.
The accommodation is based on local Spanish way of life with a mixture of villas and pueblo style houses some with gardens an others with tiled patios or balconies. There are studios and up to 2-3 bedroom houses all well provided with the needs of any normal household.
There is a team of security guards who constantly patrol the area and they are all friendly and helpful if approached.
El Capistrano is perhaps not for the people who enjoy the hustle and bustle of other style of Costa holidays with night clubs and bars being abundant but, if one does wish to enjoy these option it can be found in the town. There are copious numbers of taxis for the late night revellers and charge reasonable rates for the short journey back to the village.
El Capistrano is a place where one can visit and chill out if they so wish, with the climate of the costa and the peace and quiet of the environment it has all the capabilities to provide a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

Having stayed at El Capistrano Village in Nerja a number of times my wife and I never tire of it. Beautifully maintained with fabulous gardens, 3 immaculate swimming pools, a little supermarket, a restaurant and a cave bar, what more could you ask for. Well for starters the properties which vary in size are very pretty and nearly all have their own outside terrace or garden. There is a tennis club next door to the complex which is open to visitors and the vibrant town of Nerja is only a 20 minute walk away with it's numerous bars and restaurants. The weather is generally fantastic even in the winter and because of the mountain range just behind Nerja the temperature rarely drops below 55 degrees during the day and generally is in the mid to high 60s even in winter months. It is great for families who like a mix of swimming pool and beach ( only 1 km away) and for couples out of season wanting sophistication without the glitz of other more touristy Spanish resorts.

Stayed here during the Feria in Nerja in October (as it can be busy/noisy staying in the town during this time). Had booked a one bed apartment through Bookings.com. On arrival was allocated Villa Natacha which was a lovely one bed villa with a nice garden. It was at the lower end of el Capistrano -Pueblo area. As stated in previous reviews it was close to road and therefore easier to walk into town/beach etc
There are two pools in the pueblo area and as it was a bit later in the season these were very quiet. Both very clean.
There are lots of steps so need to be fairy agile.
There is a Supersol on the main road next to El Capistrano but this isnt cheap. If you have a car try Lidl at the other side of town.
I cannot fault the villa - was very clean. A tip though - you only get one loo roll and need to provide your own. Room is only cleaned once per week. Rubbish sheds are located around the area for your rubbish.
There are buses running every hour until around 9/10 in the evening in to town but the walk takes around 30 mins. Uphill slightly on the return journey.
I would recommed this place if you dont want to be in town and want to do your own thing.

Accommodation:
El Capistrano is quite difficult to review as the enjoyment of your stay would depend on where you were situated on the development. There are actually 3 ‘urbanisations’ that make up El Capistrano, with El Capistrano Village being the original. Like the brochures state the area is made to look like a typical Spanish mountain village. Wandering around the small cobbled alleyways between the villas felt very authentic.
On arrival we were allocated our villa [maisonette] which was located in the San Juan area the northern most (and highest) of the Capistrano’s. The villa was very clean and well furnished but there was a 6 foot wall around the property which meant sitting out the patio provided no view what so ever. We asked if it were possible to move and the chap on reception said it was impossible on that first day but if we went back the following day he would do his best. True to his word he did indeed offer us another villa for the next day for the rest of our stay. This second villa was very spacious and had two bedrooms and a large lounge/diner. It had a sizeable balcony off the lounge and 2 smaller ones off the upstairs bedrooms. Also, we had the advantage of a lovely garden accessed from a set of steps down from the balcony. There was a BBQ and a working washing machine in the store room underneath the property.
So we spent 2 nights in San Juan and then the remaining 7 nights in El Capistrano village. Each of developments are separate so you are given a pool pass for the area in which you are staying but are not allowed to use the others (something to do with property tax). San Juan area definitely had the better pool as it was much larger, with two cafes in one corner, where as in El Capistrano village the pool is a little smaller with bar tables around most of it. However both pools were spotlessly clean. There are separate smaller children’s pools in both areas. There was a further pool available within the complex, but we didn’t use it – it was the smallest. Having read other reviews there are strict rules in place for the pools, but for me that was a benefit as you could actually swim properly. I suggest if you want to float on a blow-up crocodile sipping a pina colada from a hollowed-out pineapple, then Torremolinos is an hour away! Around the pool areas the typical Spanish feel of the development gives way to the English culture football and Hotdogs.
Both villas we stayed in were very well equipped, whilst there was no air conditioning, there were two or three fans and the kitchen had kettle/toaster and plenty of crockery etc. Towels were only changed once in the week and the apartment was not cleaned but for me it was nice not to have the maids knocking on the door at 8am like other places I have stayed. If you want to remove your own rubbish there are plenty of rubbish sheds on the development which have closed doors so no smell.
In terms of facilities each part of the development has its own shop. The supermarkets in town are cheaper but the little shops are handy if you’ve forgotten something and are open into the evening. Around the pool areas are a couple of cafe bars which serve food all day. The menus seem mostly English snack type food but a few of them advertise themed evenings, ‘giant Paella’ etc . There are more choices around the San Juan pool and just underneath it is another little alley with about 3 more bars but we didn’t go to any of them. I would recommend ‘La Parra’ restaurant which is on Calle via Real just as you enter the San Juan area. It has a typical Spanish menu and serves really good pizza.
In terms of getting around, we had a smart car booked at the airport. It represented good value for money, especially when you consider that a transfer was around £50 each! A car really is a must for the complex. It also allows nipping around the little streets, grocery shopping at Super Sol or Lidel and visiting fairly empty beaches within a few minutes drive to the east.
The centre of Nerja is about half an hour downhill walk at the most which we did a few evenings
Nerja
There is plenty to do in Nerja with its bustling town centre. Calle Pintada and the area around the ‘Balcon’ of Europe has the most going on. There are lots shops, bars and restaurants. Take a walk to the end of the balcony with an ice cream and the views are wonderful. A few evenings we went out for drinks and tapas rather than a full meal. In typical Spanish style many of the bars serve a plate of tapas included in the price of a drink but you need to sit at the bar. Many of the restaurants have a sign outside advertising their ‘tapas area/zone’ in the bar. There are quite a few on the road Almirante Ferrándiz (which runs parallel to Calle Pintada down to the balcon) One of my favourites was ‘El Mesón de Julio’ and the restaurant next door but one decorated in yellow. The tapas in both places was very good.
We also found the Buddha lounge further up Almirante Ferrándiz which was a great chilled out place to have a drink, in their roof terrace. They serve a big bowl of popcorn with their drinks. Lastly if you want to get away from the main tourist areas walk along Calle Carebeo which heads east from where the roads Pintada and Ferrándiz meet, there’s a tourist shop right on the corner. Along Carabeo its get a little quieter but there are some lovely restaurants and toward the very end there is a great bar, Jardin de Al Andalus. It’s a Moroccan themed bar with live music and they do some good meze type food
The caves provide a good half day out and I would definitely recommend a visit to Frigliana, a few kilometers up the mountains from Nerja. It’s a really pretty village with some lovely shops and restaurants. Check out the little wine shops for a local bargain.
All in all I would recommend El Capistrano and Nerja itself has its perfect if you just wanted to relax but at the same time there is plenty to do without it being ‘in your face’ like some of the Costa Del Sol’s neighboring towns.