Webmaster – Costa Natura 102

Instructions and Advice

Where supplied by the manufacturer you will find full detailed instructions for all the equipment in a link from this page, but on this page you will find the basic stuff to make things work on arrival!

Dining. Every apartment in Costa Natura makes some compromise due to size; there just isn’t room for everything! Our choice was not to have an internal dining room table or chairs. There is both a large and a small (round) garden table and six chairs. Eat Al Fresco or lift either table indoors as needed.

Sun Lounger and Seat Covers. These are stored under the bed. Please bring them in at night. Costa Natura has many cats who provide their valuable services free! However they would like a soft bed if you leave one for them, please don’t! While on the subject, using towels on seats and sun loungers when naked is of course expected good manners.

New entrance window Lock (on arrival). Key is counter intuitive, clockwise to open, anti-clockwise to lock. If it seems stiff push the door towards its closed position and try again, it is new.

Light Dimmers. Press once for on, once for off, hold down to adjust light level.

Side Window (bedroom). Handle down – locked, handle horizontal – window opens, handle up – window tilts from the top. Mosquito screen, black plastic handles slide inward to pass two locking obstructions, slide them out to secure.

Under Floor Heat. Leave on 24/7. Thermostats are next to bathroom door. Top one is bedroom, lower one is sitting room, adjust as necessary but leave on 10 degrees when departing – thank you.

Hot Water. The water tank is in the bathroom wardrobe, thermostat under. It is pre-set at 2+ for safe heat. If you would like it hotter adjust as necessary, but in our view it is potentially dangerous and could scald, a concern with children and the elderly; so if you increase it please return to this safe setting before leaving.

TV – red button to start. In top left hand corner it will say HDMI3 if it’s set for UK TV. Freesat takes a second to switch on after pressing green button, (smaller handset), and works pretty much like sky. To change between Spanish TV and UK TV press “input” on TV remote, (top line of buttons), use left right arrows to select “antenna” (Spanish) or HDMI3 (UK) and click OK. If you find a good movie or crime series on Spanish TV (Paramount or Disney but other channels too), press MENU and use right arrow to AUDIO LANGUAGE and choose anything but Spanish. Might say ENGLISH, or VO or VERSION ORIGINAL, UNDEFINED or various others. Sometimes you end up with French or German but mostly they convert to English!

Dishwasher, put tablet in slot, shut cover. Close door > press left hand on/off > press INICIO (centre button in programme selector).

Washing Machine. Plastic soap sachet goes in with washing. ALGOD is a long wash, takes two hours, RAPIDO MIX seems OK to me and takes one hour. Touch INICIO to start, (not a button to press).

HOB. Not intuitive! Well not to me anyway. It’s a touch panel on the hob and so not a good idea to sit on it! Left hand symbol nearest you on/off, then touch the symbol for the burner you want, if a double ring press again to get the outer ring on too. Touch plus or minus to increase or decrease temperature, light touches repeated seems to work best. Switch hob off by reducing temp to zero or touching on/off. Pressing harder seems to work less well, just a light touch. No scouring cream on here please!

On departure please ensure air conditioning handsets back in their places and TV remotes by next to FREESAT.

What we supply. Clean sheets, bath and hand towels, extra blankets if needed, full equipment for kitchen and for dining. Your sheets will be changed weekly and contact information should you need assistance can be found on the bedroom cupboard door, (inside).

What we don’t supply. Beach towels.

Stores. Whatever consumables you find in the apartment please use, but please do not leave the dishwasher and washing machine tablet boxes empty, if one of them becomes empty during your stay please replace. Likewise it would be kind to leave a little coffee and tea, or perhaps a bottle of wine to greet the next visitors.

Apartment

No. 102 is classified in Costa Natura as an A2 apartment, a sitting room with kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. Total area 27 sq. m. Plus 27 sq m of terrace, which is three times larger than the standard Costa Natura terrace. The bedroom is separated from the sitting room by a curtain only.

There is a lower terrace, 100% private, and a large partially private upper terrace. The apartment and the lower terrace are not overlooked at all, complete privacy is assured. There are five steps down to the entrance, and eight steps up to the large terrace; regrettably there is no disabled access.

What you get! Most apartments in Costa Natura offer a letting option where the owner’s best things are put away, at 102 what you enjoy in summer we enjoy in winter. The under-bed storage is not locked but available for your suitcases as well as home to the sun lounger and garden seat covers. There are just two small locked bedside tables where sheets and pillow cases are stored.

The sitting room includes a 6-panel original watercolour entitled “Window Shopper” by the renowned Irish modern artist, Kirsten Glass, (www.kirstenglass.com), her paintings are included in the world famous Saatchi collection. Kirsten’s studio is in Central London and she is a personal friend.

The paint finishes are “Farrow and Ball”, Ringwold Ground for the walls and Lulworth Blue for the kitchen cupboards. The laminate floor has been chosen to represent a slightly bleached look, as if by the sun, and the main lighting is on dimmers to reflect your changing moods. The bathroom was renovated in 2006 and has not been altered this time, it has a shower, hand basin, bidet, heated towel rail, wardrobe with full length mirrors, and the overall impression is of blue mosaic.

The 2012 renovation of 102 was carried out by “Jose el Antequirano” (www.construccionesjoseelantequerano.com). Our plans and technical requirements were created by Manuel Fontiveros, Technical Architect, ( www.mftecnico.com ). We were impressed with the efficiency and workmanship of both and totally recommend them. The underfloor heating was supplied by UK Company “Warmup” (www.warmup.co.uk), who have a representative on the Costa del Sol.

Welcome

Welcome to our paradise beach house, “El Jardin Secreto”. On this web site you will not find details of Andalucia, Costa Natura, or naturism generally, but there is a page of links to more information if you require it. No.102 is almost unique at Costa Natura in offering privacy near ground level in an enclosed environment; whilst at the same time having a front line sea view. It is not an apartment, but rather a semi-detached bungalow with its own gated entrance.

It was completely renovated in 2012 including a new power feed and wiring, underfloor heating for winter, two station air conditioning, a kitchen that includes a full oven, microwave, dishwasher, and washing machine; all new furniture, a new king size bed (150×190), and enough power sockets for the most wired-up visitor. The accommodation is primarily for two adults, but a single child or teenager can be comfortably accommodated on the sofa-bed in the sitting room.

Our personal thoughts. We would like you to enjoy yourselves, to respect our investment, and to come back year after year; so we don’t have too many requests. We only ask that you read the “instruction page” (link) before you arrive, take care of our investment, and use the bed a lot, (it’s what holidays are for). We have a minimum rental period of 7 days, and a constant changeover day of Thursday to Thursday in order to maximise our summer return, but we can be flexible.

This web site’s purpose is to provide pre-booking information, contact with the owner, and instructions for all the installed equipment!