Next year we would strongly like to recommend you think about taking a holiday in the Alpujarras in January or February. You may have seen photos of the area covered by a blanket of snow and think that winter here in the Sierra Nevada can be hard and bleak, but it's not!

It is true that we can get heavy snow and when we do it's all thermals, log fires, hearty soups and mulled wine but that kind of weather is becoming a rarity. We haven't had any serious snow for a couple of years. This year and last saw January and February saw mild, even warm temperature throughout. Indeed last february and this January we experienced incredibly pleasant weather, absolutely perfect for walking and cycling.

We offer our own one-week inclusive walking packages at an incredibly reasonable price. We also work closely with Pure Mountains mountain biking specialists to offer long'weekend biking break throughout the Winter months. 

Get away from the cold, grey, miserable northern weather and head south. Think of it as the perfect way to avoid Seasonally Affected Disorder! 

Our friends and neighbours in Narila, Sam and Sam Clarke have just published a new book. Moro East is a new compilation of recipes that the husband and wife team of chefs have put together to follow up on the success they achieved with The Moro Cookbook and Casa Moro.

The two, who have had their house in the Alpujarras some 7 years, are well known for their Spanish-Moorish restaurant in Islington, London called, unsurprisingly, Moro. They have been regular visitors to the hotel over the years and in 2006 they prepared a gala dinner for friends and clients of Los Bérchules including the food writer, Michael Jacobs and Chris Stewart of Driving Over Lemons fame. People who came are still talking about it!