Hotel Rural las Cinco Ranas

I have read all the previous reviews very carefully in order to ensure that my review is as fair as possible. We booked to stay in this Hotel Rural in Brazatortas through ***********. The owner phoned me just as we were looking for the house, and directed us to meet Natalia, who would show us the way and give us our key, at another address. The house is situated in a small village/town with little to do, so it’s ideal for anyone who wants to ‘get away from it all‘. Natàlia explained that there were no other bookings for any of the rooms, so we would be alone unless anyone else booked - and that she would be available by phone if we had a problem. There were no staff in the ’hotel’. She showed us the rooms and let us choose - we are both very tall, and some of the double beds are quite small, so we were pleased to be able to choose. The photos on the website and online are true to what the house is like - it is eclectic in its choice of decor, and has a Moorish feel. The house is very clean indeed - unlike previous descriptions online - I definitely couldn’t fault any of the shared areas or our own room. The garden needs some tidying up and cleaning (dead leaves/branches etc) but that probably wouldn’t affect future visitors. The pool had quite a lot of dead leaves etc in it, but after we had been there a while, the water jets came on and the water generally looked fresher, although there is a greenish tinge on the floor of the pool, and I am worried about Weil’s disease caused by rats in the countryside, so I decided not to swim in the pool. While sitting by the pool, I suddenly realised how ‘alone’ we were, as the security at the back of the house didn’t seem to be that strong - a kitchen window was open, and the door to the house from the garden didn’t seem to be that secure - and I wondered how secure the house was for single travellers, or just two women together. We went to rest in our room, and suddenly something very spooky happened. A man appeared with a long ladder, which he put down just outside our room. He wasn’t wearing a mask, which is very odd given that in Spain at the moment, everyone had to wear masks in hotels, and he said that he had to paint a room. We phoned the owner, who confirmed that he knew this man. After a long conversation he understood that we were really freaked by the sudden appearance of somebody else - we thought we were alone. Another couple meanwhile had booked, so we were relieved to find that we wouldn’t be alone at all (entry to the house is by code, so I have no idea how many people know the code). We went out for a walk and had a quick drink in the main square (with no tapas) then went to a bar run by a very sweet guy - at Bar Villares, who gave us very nice tapas - I really recommend his bar. There isn’t really anything else to do. Natalia had promised us that she would do breakfast at our chosen time - this was fine - she made coffee and heated up milk, and made tostadas for us (thank you