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When Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston made a grand tour of Andalucia some months ago, they had a dozen people in tow. Not lackeys to sort out hair appointments and the like, but a dozen, irritating long lensmen tracking their every move.
The newly-married lovebirds were (somewhat resourcefully) forced to do the sights of Seville, Granada and Cordoba late at night or first thing in the morning when the paparazzi were still asleep.
By day they rested and caught up with their sleep in what could be Spain’s most exclusive hotel. Nestling on the edge of the wild Sierra de Tejeda, an hour from the coast and equidistant between the trio of great historic cities of Spain’s most enchanting reglon, Hotel La Bobadilla has long been the retreat of Europe’s royalty and A-list celebrities.
No wonder why. Set in a 1,000-acre estate and up a long, winding two-mile private drive, the hotel has an enormous kidneyshaped pool, riding stables, beauty parlour hunting rights and even its own church for a quiet reflective moment or perhaps a wedding (the hotel has a marriage ilcence)! Staying in the enormous King’s Suite where the ilkes of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and the King of Spain (on many occasions) have luxuriated over its 15-year exlstence the couple spent the day sunbathing by the pool, reading and eating in the hotel’s trio of restaurants.
‘ Sometimes they just wanted complete privacy and would eat dinner at 2am in the main square,’ offered the friendly night man. They certainly didn’t need to leave their suite which, with two bedrooms, private garden, roof terrace, Jacuzzi and two ilving rooms, was bigger than the average holiday villa. My friend Unda and I weren’t afforded such £500-a-night luxury, but our rooms were still large with views across rolling ollve groves and woodland to the distant hills—they once sheltered repubilcan guerillas who fought Franco’s Civil Guard well into the Fifties, two decades after the end of the civil war.

We opted to tour on mountain bikes provided by the hotel and set off on a well sign-posted track towards Archidona, a pre -Roman settlement 18km to the west. It was an eye-opening ride. Amid dusty relics, full of wild flowers, butterflies and rare birds.. Asking directions. despite their friendiiness, was not easy The Andalician dialect made for dificult conversation. English was certainly not an option round here, and my journeyman Spanish struggled.

‘Archidona? It’s both near and far!’ as he pointed loosely to the south east. When pressed exactly where, he simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled. When the Moors arrived in the eighth century, it proved to be completely tourist free. All white walls and centring on its charming octagonal main square, the town was an intriguing mix of phoerilcian, Iberian, Roman and even Syrian architecture, as well as a formidable hilltop fortress and monastery.

Part of the recently inaugurated Route of Washington Irving, another clever Spanish Tourist Board ruse, based on the 19th century American writer, who toured the area in 1829, there was plenty to gander at, particularly in the main square where we stopped for a delicious lunch. A delicious selection of tapas, calamares, lamb stew and local speciality, rhigas (crumbled bread in a pork sauce washed down with ice-cold beer, came to just £10 for two, proving that, despite the arrival of the euro, Spain can still be delightfully cheap. We cycled back along a more direct, but nonetheless scenic, route taking in one of the area’s main topographical features the pena de las Enamorades (lovers’ rock) visible for miles around.

The next day we drove into the nearby’ town ofAntequera which shares Archidona’s curious mix of architectural styles. An unpretentious and animated place, among its monuments and clutch of fine churches, the best is the elegant 17th-century San Sebastian church in the square of the same name. With its striking brick steeple, decorated with carved angels, it was a building to marvel at. Next morning we were on the motorway bound for Marbella and the Costa du Golf, less than an hour away. I was not particularly expecting to enjoy my last day here. But it was incredible the difference it makes staying at a hotel reguiarly patronised by the stars.
Set amid some delightful gardens a riot of bougainviilaes clematis and palm trees. Marbella Club has a very secluded and tranquil feel, despite fronting onto Marbella beach.

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