Hacienda El Rancho

LOCATION: The apartments are located at the top of a VERY steep hill. We thought we might be able to walk down the 2km to the couple of restaurants on the main road at the bottom, but despite being good (mature) walkers, we couldn't face the thought of walking back up that hill, in the dark. Taxis are very expensive as you have to pay the return cost, eg a taxi from Restaurant Las Norias at the bottom of the road cost 12 Euros. On the plus side - the position offers fabulous views to the coast and the mountains and we have never experienced such peace and tranquillity - the only sounds being the insects and birds and the occasional passing car. It's less than 5 minutes by car to Puerto Naos, which we visited most evenings for food. ACCOMMODATION We booked a 2 bedroom apartment which was VERY spacious. Beds were comfortable and the kitchen had lots of utensils, although no oven or toaster - we had no problems cooking a couple of meals there during our 2 week stay. It isn't 5 star accommodation and some of the furniture, décor is a little dated but it felt like a home from home and I understand that the apartments are being upgraded. Everything was spotlessly clean. On arrival we found water (which we did request), wine and basics in the kitchen - washing up liquid, t-towels etc. A safe is provided in the double bedroom and the hairdryer was EXCELLENT! INFORMATION: The information cards provided were in German - the lovely lady next door translated for us the following day - which was just as well as we had no idea that we weren't supposed to put paper down the toilets! WIFI: We had no problems with the WIFI in the apartment - overall I would say good connection, DIRECTIONS: The directions provided were mostly in German and Spanish - we took our SatNav and also printed directions from Google Maps. The roads in La Palma are mostly very good with great signage and the SatNav worked fine until we were within 15 - 20 minutes of the property. By this time we weren't sure where we were. Arriving late at night you appreciate how dark this island is, and this made navigation very difficult. At the point we were completely lost, we had to phone Stefan for directions and he "guided us" there over the phone. Arriving at the property it is signed BUEN VIVIR and not La Hacienda as we expected. Overall a lovely place to stay and explore the West coast of the island - so many great places to explore by car, we will definitely recommend.