Illora News

Dateline 14^th April 2009

Casa PIlar Alto Illora Opens, First Guests Arrive !!

The crowd had been growing in the street for an hour or so, some quietly whispering to each amongst themselves, greeting friends not seen for a day or two, others standing quietly in some awe of the event they were about to witness.  The two marching bands, in part for want of any space in the narrow old town streets, gathered outside the church, ready to take their place in the proceedings.  They were dressed in rather smart uniforms with more than a touch of the toy soldier look about them, the bands a mix of ages from very young to quite elderly.  Whatever their age, they chatted excitedly, proud to be taking such an important part in an event the whole town had been awaiting with excitement for over a year.   The crowd had swelled further to line the streets, the people of Illora eager to play some part, if only as onlookers, in the spectacle about to unfold.  Nobody noticed an occasional light drizzle and, when that looked like turning into something more determined, umbrellas blossomed quietly to disappear again just as quickly as the skies conceded.  It is Spring and the rain in Spain sometimes falls on the otherwise sunny and very warm mountainside.  Seemingly quite suddenly but actually in a carefully orchestrated manner, the procession came together, the two most important elements joining what had already gathered, a whistle blew several times to signify the start and the procession started to move off – initially in a slightly hesitant fashion, gaining confidence with each step – onlookers moving back onto the pavements to allow them to pass unhindered.

I refer, of course, to the very moving Good Friday procession that is one of the two most important elements of the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations in Illora, as in every other Spanish town of any reasonable size.  This was the day – or more specifically the evening - that Casa Pilar Alto, Illora opened its doors to paying guests – a little over two years after we first arrived in Illora with intentions of doing exactly this and 18 months after we had abandoned the project in the face of what seemed insurmountable obstacles combined with our unanticipated distraction with consultancy services to hotels and serviced apartments that is an important and continuing part of our daily lives.

There were times during those final days leading up to Friday when we wondered whether we could really make it all as we wanted it in time for these first guests – a couple and their children visiting a Spanish friend and his British wife in Illora.  A slightly panicky call from Cathy to her close friend here asking for help, brought not only the best friend, but her boyfriend, his mother and several backup elements.  Curtains disappeared from Casa Pilar Alto to be washed and ironed elsewhere before being returned for last moment hanging.  Our very friendly immediate neighbours assisted with painting, cleaning and very much more throughout the week – my own efforts at helping resulting in rather more accidents than successes.  Casa Pilar Alto became something of a community project in those last few days but Cathy’s single minded determination shone through and we were able to take the new photos that now reside on our web site and to watch the Good Friday procession for an hour or so and to relax a little before welcoming our late arriving guests in a slightly clumsier manner than I had planned – limbs aching all over, including in places where we don’t have limbs.

Casa Pilar Alto Illora was planned to be a B&B but time and the barriers that prevented it being so, have enabled us to create something that we feel is a little more special.  We offer 4 rooms on one level – 3 Double bedded and one adjoining children’s room – (each bookable individually – aside, of course, from the children’s room) along with an air conditioned, fully equipped kitchen and dining area at the lower level of our high terraces that lead up to the rock in the centre of Illora into which Casa Pilar Alto Illora is built.  The kitchen is provided with some welcoming goodies – coffee, tea, milk, water and more – that make it unnecessary to immediately trip to the supermarket on arrival, as well as china, glass and cutlery.  The separation of our own part of the houses that make up Casa Pilar Alto ensures a greater degree of privacy for our guests to make use of the amenities in their own time, whilst we are naturally on hand to help as needed.

As photographs at www.casaillora.com show, bedrooms are each designed in an entirely different colour scheme but with a unifying theme of rustic/antique Spanish style combined with very modern bathrooms that aim to ensure a memorable stay.  A communal lounge links the rooms along with a study – also in a determinedly rustic theme – provided with some books, selected DVD’s (less rustic) and board games for those who might otherwise be so.

The animal lovers amongst you may have noticed no reference up to now to our two lovely dogs – Carbon and Miel.  Both long since developed to a size and level of energy that needed even more than our terraces could offer.  Whilst very much family to us, the thought of these two bounding in excitedly friendly fashion to greet – and quite conceivable bowl over - guests on the terrace in search of nothing more than a simple cup of tea or coffee long since led everyone who knew them to the conclusion that they needed somewhere larger to run and play.  So, Carbon and Miel left us on Thursday to return initially to the refuge from where they originally came, whilst awaiting new owners.  There, they have already got very much more space to run and, happily, we are able to visit them as and when we can.

For technical reasons I will not bore you with – oh, go on, I hear you scream – the web site still looks a bit of a mess after a complete reconstruction that, unfortunately, necessitated changing all the page URLs.  The main site URL is, of course, unchanged at www.casaillora.com and Google is slaving away to get the other pages up to our normal placing in searches as quickly as possible – although currently waiting on me to complete the Spanish and German versions of the site, most of which need to be translated all over again and hopefully to have a French version added.  The header you have seen for the last two years, whilst wondering whether we would ever open, will change soon in favour of something a little more up to date and reflecting our offering as well as our wonderful views.

Since starting to write this, those first guests have departed, after extending their stay for another night and making full use of the amenities provided.  It was very satisfying to finish Casa Pilar Alto Illora off but even more so to see guests enjoying what we had provided.  They assure us that they will be back in the Summer for a longer stay.  We look forward to that.  In the meantime:

Book Now securely online at:

www.casaillora.com

Casa Pilar Alto Illora

#6 Cuesta Pilar Alto

18260 Illora

Spain

Phone:  +34 958 464 493