Country House SerranoCártama · Málaga

Remote work · Costa del Sol

Spend the winter working from a villa in Málaga

Country House Serrano is a private villa in Cártama, 20 minutes from Málaga city and the beaches, rented as a whole house to one group at a time. The pool is heated to 30 °C every day of the year, including January. The internet is a real 800 Mb fibre line with a desk to work at. Three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms sleep up to 8. Málaga TechPark, the largest technology park in southern Europe, is a twelve-minute drive away. Three months costs about €248 a night, cleaning included.

Booked directly with the owner. No platform, no commission, no booking fee.

30 °Cpool, all year
800 Mbreal fibre
8guests
3en-suite rooms
20 minto Málaga
4.93from 125 reviews

The thing you actually care about

800 Mb of fibre, and a desk to use it from

Most holiday lets say "fast wifi" and mean whatever the router happened to come with. This is a fibre optic line rated at 800 Mb, and it is the real line into the house, not a shared complex connection.

There is a proper desk with a chair, in a room with a door, with a window that looks out at the garden rather than a wall. Video calls work. Large uploads work. Two people working at the same time works.

Every room has air conditioning and heating, so the room you work in is comfortable in February as well as in July.

If your job depends on the connection, ask us before you book and we will run a speed test and send you the screenshot. We would rather you check than arrive and be disappointed.

The desk at Country House Serrano, set up for remote work with 800 Mb fibre
The pool at Country House Serrano, heated to 30 degrees all year round

Why people come in winter

A pool at 30 °C on a January morning

The pool is heated to 30 °C, 365 days a year. Not "heated in season". Not "solar heated when the sun is out". Thirty degrees, in December, in January, in February, whether the house is full or empty.

It has a bubble bench built into it, on all day and all night. Getting into warm water outdoors while the air is cold is a strange and very good feeling, and it is the single thing guests write about most.

Around it there is a garden with orange and lemon trees, a four-hole putting green, a basketball court and a table tennis table. A covered porch has a gas griddle and a sink for cooking outside.

No enquiry needed

What a winter actually costs

Almost nobody publishes these numbers. We do, because you are trying to plan a budget and "contact us for a quote" is not an answer.

Everything below is the total price for the whole villa, with the long-stay discount already applied and the one-off €150 cleaning fee already included. No booking fee, no platform commission, no tourist tax on top.

StayNightsTotalPer night
1 Nov → 1 Feb92€22,851€248
1 Dec → 1 Mar90€22,358€248
1 Jan → 1 Apr90€22,358€248
1 Feb → 1 May89€22,471€252
One month, November30€8,046€268
One month, January30€8,194€273
One month, March30€8,046€268
One week, January7€2,338€334
Six months, Nov → May181€45,172€250

Split between two couples, three months works out at about €62 per person per night for a whole villa with a heated pool. Divided across a family of four, less.

How the discount works

The longer you stay, the less each night costs. Stays of 85 nights or more get 25 % off every night from November to April. A full month gets 20 %. A week gets 5 %. Discounts never stack: each night is charged once, at the rate that applies to it.

And if your three months happen to run across Christmas and New Year, you do not pay the holiday surcharge. Short stays do; you do not. A winter here should not cost more because of where the calendar falls.

Check any dates in the live calculator → (in Spanish, but the calendar and the numbers are easy to follow)

A few things worth knowing

What it is like out here

After eight years we have noticed that the guests who love this place most are the ones who knew what they were coming to. So here is the honest picture.

You are properly in the countryside

Mornings start with a rooster somewhere down the valley and a neighbour's dog answering back. Planes pass overhead on their way into Málaga, and you will hear them go by. That is the soundtrack of a working valley twenty minutes from a city, and most people stop noticing it by the third day.

What you get in return is space, quiet evenings, a sky full of stars, orange trees you can pick from, and nobody on the other side of a wall.

And a few practical things

  • Bring a car, or rent one. Shops and restaurants are ten minutes away on foot, so you can manage without. But Andalusia is a place worth driving through.
  • There is no conventional oven. The kitchen has a microwave with an oven function, an air fryer, a full hob, fridge, freezer and dishwasher. Plenty to cook well with — but if you bake, now you know.
  • No tumble dryer either. There is a washing machine, an iron and a drying rack, and around here the sun does the rest for most of the year.
  • The villa is only for you. No parties and no events, so the quiet stays quiet.

Where you would be living

Cártama, and Málaga twenty minutes away

Cártama sits in the Guadalhorce valley, inland from the coast. From the villa it is roughly 20 minutes by car to Málaga city, about the same to the nearest beaches, and around 20 minutes to the airport.

That distance is the point. You get quiet, space and a garden, and you are still close enough to spend a day at the Picasso museum or in a coworking space in the city and be home for dinner.

Málaga has become one of Europe's main bases for remote workers: over 300 days of sun a year, fibre in most of the province, direct flights to almost everywhere, and Spain's digital nomad visa if you plan to stay longer. The city council even runs a support programme for remote workers arriving in the area.

Málaga TechPark is a twelve-minute drive from our gate. The Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía in Campanillas is the largest technology park in southern Europe: 719 companies and close to 29,000 people working there. If your employer is posting you to Málaga for a few months, this is a twelve-minute commute that never takes you through the city, and you come home to a garden and a heated pool instead of a studio flat.

Nearest coworking spaces are in Málaga city, around 20 minutes away, if you want a day among other people.

View of the sierra from Country House Serrano in Cártama, Málaga

Straight answers

Questions we get asked

How far is Málaga TechPark?
Twelve minutes by car, roughly 6 km. The Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía in Campanillas has 719 companies and close to 29,000 employees. If you are being posted to Málaga for a few months, you can commute there without driving through the city.
How fast is the internet, really?
It is a fibre optic line rated at 800 Mb, dedicated to the house. There is a desk set up for working. Ask us and we will send you a current speed test before you book.
Is the pool genuinely heated in January?
Yes. It is held at 30 °C every day of the year, whether the villa is occupied or not, because a booking can arrive at any time. It also has a bubble bench running 24 hours.
What does three months cost?
Around €22,400 to €22,900 for the whole villa, which is roughly €248 a night. That includes the 25 % long-stay discount and the €150 cleaning fee, and there is no platform commission on top. Exact dates change the figure slightly; the price table above has real examples.
Can I book just for myself, or does it have to be a group?
One person can book it. The price is for the villa, not per person, so it is better value shared, but plenty of couples and single remote workers take it for a winter.
Do I need a car?
You can manage without one. Supermarkets and restaurants are about 500 m away, roughly ten minutes on foot. But we honestly recommend renting one, both to reach Málaga easily and to see the rest of Andalusia.
What is the minimum stay?
Two nights from November to March, five in April, seven from May to October. Christmas, New Year and Easter are seven nights. None of that is a problem if you are coming for a month or more.
How do I pay, and is my money safe?
50 % by bank transfer or Bizum when you confirm, and the other 50 % in cash when you arrive and we hand over the house in person. The booking is not held until the first payment is made. We are a registered tourist establishment, number CR/MA/02097 in the Andalusian Tourism Registry, and you can look us up.
What if I have to cancel?
You have 48 hours after paying to cancel and get everything back, as long as you booked at least 7 days before arrival. After that it depends on how far away your arrival is: 120 days or more, full refund; 60 to 120 days, half; 30 to 60 days, a quarter; under 30 days, nothing. And if you cancel with 30 days' notice or more and we manage to re-let your dates, we return everything anyway.
Can I see the place first?
We have 125 reviews on Airbnb with a 4.93 average, eight years as a Superhost, and a Guest Favourite badge. Read those first. Then message us on WhatsApp and ask anything you like, including for a video call walkthrough of the house.
Do you allow pets?
No, we are sorry. And no smoking indoors.

Next step

Ask us anything, in English

Write to us on WhatsApp with your dates. You will get an answer from Fran, who owns the house and hands over the keys in person. Usually within the hour.

1

Message us with your dates and how many of you there are.

2

We confirm the villa is free and send you the exact price. You pay 50 % to hold it.

3

We meet you at the house, in person, and hand over the keys. The other 50 % is paid then.

Message Fran on WhatsApp See live availability

Registered tourist accommodation CR/MA/02097 · Francisco Serrano Zambrana · Cártama, Málaga