Villa for rent with swimming pool

We stayed here for 4 weeks in July 2014 and really enjoyed it. On arrival Pepe & Loles welcomed us and showed us around the villa. We don't speak much Spanish (yet, we're working on it!) and they don't speak much English but luckily they have a Son who speaks very good English and he was able to explain some of the more technical things like the dishwasher/washing machine/Wi Fi etc. They were kind enough to have supplied a couple of large bottles of beer in the fridge and some of Pepe's home grown tomatoes which were delicious. The villa itself has a traditional feel to it, with some very pretty touches - it's more rustic than luxury - but very comfortable and had pretty much all we needed to enjoy our stay. There are 2 double rooms and 2 twin rooms with air conditioning pumped through, a shower room inside and another shower room accessed from outside. The kitchen is a good size, with additional walk in store cupboard so plenty of storage space. The lounge area has big comfy sofas, but we didn't really spend that much time inside! Outside there is a good size swimming pool with sun loungers and a pool shower, plus there is a table and chairs for 4 with a large sun shade, or there is a bigger table and chairs for 6 in the bbq area which is shaded by trees. We very much enjoyed cooking and dining in the bbq area - there is a sink, worktop area and terracotta table so plenty of space for prepping food. There is also an outside fridge for drinks. Pepe takes good care of the pretty gardens and was kind enough to share some of his homegrown fruit and vegetables with us - we very much enjoyed the aubergines (eggplant), apricots and some enormous tomatoes! Loles joined us for a beer in the evening a few times and it was lovely chatting with her (with a bit of help from google translate!) The villa is in a quiet residential location, not overlooked by any neighbours, and not filled with tourists. No-one really speaks English, but everyone we encountered was lovely and would help us with menu ordering once they realised we didn't have much of a clue. Most of the restaurants in Almodovar del Rio do have menu's in English. There is a nice restaurant at the bottom of the hill, Cuevas Bajas, which is only 5 minutes by car or a 10-15 minute walk. The walk back is a bit harder, uphill and in the dark, but we had torches so it was ok. The food was very reasonable (we never paid more than 50 euros for 4 of us dining, with a bottle of wine and a couple of beers) and there is a good range of dishes to try. There are other good restaurants in the nearby village of Almodovar del Rio but you do need a car to get to those. There are 3 supermarkets nearby: a small one in Almodovar del Rio which covers most of the basics plus fresh produce and alcohol, a slightly bigger one is located 10 minutes by car on the road towards Cordoba and a bigger one about 20 minutes by car towards Cordoba. There is also a pharmacy about 15 minutes drive away should you need it. Nearby (about 20 mins by car) there is a big lake, Embalse de la Brena, which people fish on, and there is a waterskiing and wakeboarding school (Xtreme Gene) where you can book lessons with instructors. There is also a new restaurant just opened called (I think) Churinguito which has amazing views and sunsets over the lake. There is also an outdoor activity centre just opened (Active Andalucía) here that has a zip line, rock climbing, canoeing etc so plenty of activity if you want it. To sum it up we had a lovely time of tiring ourselves out during the day and then enjoying a mixture of chilling out in the pool with a glass of something cold, relaxing into the evening sitting on the terrace, and cooking up enormous dishes of paella on the bbq!!!