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When to visit: July and August are hot hot hot here (often above 40 degrees C) and the nights are hot too. If you are not good in the heat we'd recommend you visit in one of the slightly cooler times of the year. May-June/Sept-Oct: warm to hot daytimes and pleasantly cool evenings…a great time if you want lots of sun but not the searing heat. The beaches and towns are also quieter so its a lovely time if you want to escape the crowds. Nov/Mar-Apr: warm daytimes and fresh evenings…a lovely time to visit. Some restaurants and bars close at this time, but there is always a nice selection of places still open. The beaches are super quiet and it often feels like you have the whole park to yourself! A great time of the year for walking, hiking and cycling and swimming in the cool Mediterranean Sea. Dec-mid March: we are closed during this time
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What are the check-in and check-out times? check-in is from 3pm and check-out time is 11am. At quieter times of the year we may be able to offer some flexibility with this, but it will be on request
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Do you offer free WIFi? yes. There is free wifi available in the rooms and around the garden. Please note that since we are off-grid, the signal can occasionally be erratic, so we advise our clients to ensure they have also enabled mobile data with their home network in order to be able to access the internet at all times. We do our best to provide this service but we hope that you'll be able to check out completely from the web and enjoy the house and garden away from your devices
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Do you have air-conditioning? we pride ourselves on our eco credentials and are not generally in favour of the use of air-conditioning units. HOWEVER, for guest comfort we have installed air-conditioning units in the bedrooms and these will be operational during the hotter months (generally July and August, during the afternoon and evening, with scheduled timings). We encourage our guests to make use of our super-duper quiet and efficient ceiling fans (available year round) instead of the A/C units. Finally, please note that our air-conditioning is programmed to reduce the room temperatures down to a more comfortable level rather than to create an icy cold environment. We recommend sleeping with the fan on, and ideally a window open (there are mosquito screens on the windows) for an extremely comfortable and natural nights sleep.....whilst also being kinder to the planet​
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Should I bring a hairdryer? we provide hairdryers in all the rooms that are rated at 1200W. If you would like to use your own hairdryer you will need to ensure that it is rated at lower than 1500W (higher power dryers cause havoc with solar batteries and can cause power outages)
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Can I drink the tap water? we do not recommend that you drink the tap water. We provide drinking water in all rooms and you can ask us for unlimited free refills at any time, or help yourself to additional bottles of drinking water from the fridge in the living room.
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Do you have a restaurant on site? we don't have a restaurant but we do offer a daily continental breakfast hamper, delivered to your door every morning. There is a fantastic tapas bar, serving lunch within a 10 minute walk (2 minute drive), and you will find an excellent choice of bars and restaurants in Pozo de los Frailes and in San Jose (5 minute drive away)
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Do you permit parties or group bookings? Little Agave is a retreat, ideal for couples and friends looking to unwind, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy town - we try to retain a tranquil environment for all our guests so we don't permit large groups and we kindly ask that our guests are considerate of our neighbours by keeping noise down to a minimum after 11pm. We can advise you on the best local drinkeries and eateries locally in San Jose or slightly further afield in Almeria, and we can arrange a taxi for you
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Is it tranquil at Little Agave? yes yes yes! Little Agave is situated in a tranquil rural setting on the very edge of the Cabo de Gata Natural park. All our rooms have double glazing, sound insulation and their own private entrance. The house living room and sitting room are open daily until 11pm (or later on request). We ask that our guests are considerate of our neighbours by keeping noise down to a minimum after 11pm. We can advise you on the best local drinkeries and eateries locally in San Jose or slightly further afield in Almeria, and we can arrange a taxi for you
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Do you have a swimming pool? Yes! we have a lovely 10mx3m pool for your use. We also have a hot tub (winter) / cool tub (summer) for your use. Some of the finest beaches in Spain can also be found within a very short drive
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Is there parking at Little Agave? yes we offer free parking for all our guests, with 3 of the spaces shaded from the sun
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Is there any public transport from the house? from the roundabout in Boca de los Frailes (a 10 minute walk from our door) there is a bus service operating 3 times a day to San Jose, to the best beaches (Monsul, Genoveses and Barronal amongst others) and to Almeria. There is also a local taxi service operating in the area (we provide guests with the contact details)
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Do you permit guests to bring pets? No, sadly we do not permit guests to bring their pets to Little Agave. We have our own 2 dogs and a cat, so it is not possible for guests to bring pets. We do permit guests with disability assistance dogs (please advise us before confirming)
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I am allergic to cats/dogs - are your pets freely roaming around the property? yes, Arthur, Beetle and Peggy are free to move around the property, but are NOT allowed in the bedrooms. We ask that guests don't invite Arthur and Peggy into their rooms.
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Can we give Arthur, Beetle and Peggy food? please please please DO NOT feed our pets. Arthur is on a special medical diet and any human food can have serious health implications for him
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What is the smoking policy? all our rooms are non-smoking, but we can provide you with an ashtray for your terrace. We would also ask you to be considerate around other guests. It is not permitted to smoke while in the Jacuzzi or in the vicinity of the jacuzzi or the swimming pool.
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Since Little Agave is off-grid can we expect power cuts or loss of water? we have installed a top of the range solar electric system along with a back up generator so power should never go (we have never lost power since the installation). Water is delivered to us on a regular basis and we manage this very carefully, so there should be no times when water runs out. PLEASE READ the section at the bottom of this page regarding electric and water use
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Is the tap water drinkable? NO, our tap water is not drinkable. We provide separate drinking water to all guests free of charge and available at all times
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Do you accept children under 16 years old? You can contact us here to enquire about booking with younger children (minimum age 12 years). But please bear in mind that Little Agave is a small retreat in a very tranquil setting and was designed for adults. We do not have facilities for children (like extra beds, high chairs or toys). It should also be noted that the grounds surrounding the house are wild and stony and our garden is full of thorny plants, so the house is not suitable for young children. You will also need to book all 4 guest rooms if you intend to bring children younger than 16 years.
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Hot tub: how much do you charge for extra sessions (Oct-mid May)? every booking of 2 or more nights receives one free hot tub session for 2 people (1 hour) in our wood-burning hot tub (subject to availability*). You can reserve additional sessions for a small fee (€5 for wood). Maximum 3 adults / 200KG at a time. *Hot tub sessions need to be reserved at least 24hrs prior to use, in order for us to heat it for you. Please note that It is not possible for us to light the hot tub during high winds or in rainy conditions.
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Do you provide a laundry service? currently we do not offer a guest laundry service. We hope to offer an outsourced laundry service in the future. During quieter times of the year we may be able to wash some of your laundry in our domestic machine, but you will need to request this when here
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How far are you from Almeria airport? we are a very straightforward 25 minute drive from Almeria airport. We will provide you with detailed directions in your confirmation email
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Do you provide pool towels? Yes, we can provide you with Fouta towels (Tunisian thin towels) for use by the pool. We ask that you do not take these or the room towels to the beach
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Are mosquitos a problem at Little Agave? fortunately, due to the arid landscape surrounding us, mosquitoes are generally not a huge problem. During the rare times when they do occur (after rainfall) we will provide you with in-room plug in repellents
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IMPORTANT NOTE regarding electricity and water at Little Agave:
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Although we have made every effort possible to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity and water (and thus far we have not been let down) we are also extremely proud that Little Agave is 100% off grid, which does mean that the unexpected can still happen! Being off grid requires a certain amount of responsibility from us as owners, not to overload the systems, but also from guests to understand and appreciate the nature of solar power and its limitations.....
By confirming your stay with us you are agreeing that you are 'on board' with the eco nature of Little Agave and that you will be as mindful as possible of your electrical and water usage. We also encourage guests to recycle as much of their waste as possible - we have a regular bin and a recycling bin (for plastic, metal, glass and paper) by the gate ..... you can also bring any recycling to us.
Specifics:
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ELECTRICITY: we politely ask that guests try to reduce electric use when not in the rooms by unplugging chargers and turning off lights. We also ask that guests DO NOT use their own hairdryers (unless rated less than 1800W); we PROVIDE low wattage hairdryers in all rooms.
* AIR-CON: During July and August we can offer air-conditioning in the rooms, but please note that since we are 100% solar powered, it is time limited, and scheduled centrally (we can adjust the schedule to suit your needs, although they cannot be used in the middle of the night). You should be aware that there are occasions when A/C will not be possible, depending on the house battery state each day - this is fairly rare and our super efficient and quiet ceiling fans are available all the time, and these make for a very pleasant sleeping temperature, and are far kinder to the environment :-).
It is also worth noting that when the air-conditioning is functional we aim for a cooler and more comfortable room temperature rather than an icy cold climate.
OUR PETS: We have two dogs (Arthur and Beetle) and a cat (Peggy) who are free to roam in the gardens; they are not permitted in the bedrooms. Our pets are incredibly friendly and will come and say hello to you - if you do not like, or are scared of cats or dogs please consider whether Little Agave is the right place for you.
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DRINKING WATER: The tap water at Little Agave is not recommended as drinkable, but we provide all guests with an unlimited supply of bottled drinking water.
WATER: water is our most limited resource.....this is the most arid part of Spain after all.....and all our tap water is delivered. In the future we hope to dig our own well, but for the moment, to reduce carbon emissions from the delivery vehicles, we ask that our guests help us minimise water wastage by being aware of tap water usage in the rooms.
HOT WATER: Our water is heated by an extremely effective solar water heating system, which delivers extremely hot water to the bedrooms (please be careful). We also have a secondary back up hot water solar tank. In the rare instances when there is no sun for multiple days (winter months), we also have a back up gas boiler for hot water.
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