Holiday villa for rent in Orgiva, Las Alpujarras, Andalucia, Southern Spain. Sleeps 8 (4 bedrooms).

Private swimming pool, shaded terraces, stunning views of Sierrra Nevada and Lujar Mountains.

We hope you have a lovely holiday in our home. We spent four winters in Orgiva before buying a property. Captivated by the stunning scenery of the region and the friendliness of its people we became determined to establish a permanent home here.

For three years we searched for a property which would be capable of fulfilling our strict criteria - it must be in a tranquil area, in the countryside but not isolated, and within walking distance of Orgiva.

Whether lounging or dining outside we wanted views of the spectacular surrounding scenery. We sought a garden of good size, but we're not farmers and didn't want to harvest a hundred fruit trees.

Most of the properties we saw had small dark rooms, but we wanted a spacious lounge and room to seat ten people for dinner. A swimming pool was of course essential together with mains electricity and drinking water.

Friends we made in Orgiva thought we would never buy a home. Some people thought we were "...house tourists who would never be satisfied!"

We were repeatedly told "La Mimosa is not for sale", but we are friends of the owners who live locally and they had barely used the house since buying it just four years earlier.

After three months of badgering we persuaded them to sell. La Mimosa became ours in October 2003. It was capable of fulfilling the strict criteria and could become a beautiful home.

The house was in need of a large amount of TLC. The work has been hard and the hours long but at last we're free of an army of builders, plumbers, gardeners, electricians, a digger driver, tiler etc. Our twelve hour working days are over and we no longer have to dash daily to Granada to buy fabrics, furnishings, poolside furniture or tiles etc. Now we can all enjoy our time here.

We've decorated throughout, built new wardrobes, replaced most of the beds and mattresses, bought new cotton bed linen and electrical appliances etc. We've created a really nice home with two distinctly separate and shaded external dining areas, a large new brick/tile barbecue, a cosy seating area beneath the olive tree, extended pool terraces and installed a new poolside shower.

La Mimosa was the first property in this part of the countryside to connect to mains drainage. It was never our intention to let our home for others to stay in but after such great investment we now welcome you to La Mimosa where we're sure you'll have a lovely holiday. We look forward to returning ourselves at the end of the summer.