Fountainhead Retreat Hotel Riogordo Spain

As well as raising puppy and restoring a house we like to eat and travel, earlier this year we spent a week at the Fountainhead a hotel and restaurant near Riogordo in the mountains about 45 minutes north of Malaga. Here is my review.

Fountainhead Andalucía

Perched on a terraced mountainside in a Moorish/Art Deco cottage, surrounded by wild Fennel, self-set Almond trees and ancient Olives, I can see across the deep wide valley to the bald grey mountain tops crowned with wreaths of blue-grey rain laden clouds, at odds with the sun drenched lower slopes whose legions of regimented Olive trees do battle with the precipitous slopes keeping at bay the otherwise advancing erosion typified by the naked rim of summits that surround us.

Fountainhead is described as a ‘Five Star Retreat’ I would prefer to describe it as a ‘Five Star Refuge’. We hadn’t finished dinner on the first evening and we were already planning a return visit. At the end of our seven night stay, if anything our desire to return is even greater.

Fountainhead defies comparison with anywhere else we have stayed, or heard mention of. From the moment the wizened, old, family retainer lurches and drags himself down the steps to the car, waving his arms discordantly, howling ‘Sanctuary, Sanctuary’. You are cosseted in the warm attentive folds of this excellent, warm, family owned and run Shangri-La. 

Actually ‘Front of House’ is the domain of Peter (not the afore mentioned Quasimodo) and son Angus, Peter is urbane, witty, intelligent and an ‘all round’ really nice bloke, Angus is well on his way, but no doubt with his own slant on life and the universe. 

We drove from Northern France over three days and left the main road to tackle the infamous front driveway to Fountainhead, despite some comments this is not a problem; if you take note of the wreaths and shrines that denote previous fatalities you should be ok. To be honest all you need to do is engage your brain and drive carefully.

Over the brow of a hill Fountainhead appears, a white and yellow pueblo suspended amongst Olive and Almond Groves with gradients of 1 in 3. 

Peter, alerted by grinding gears and spitting sand is there to greet you and escort you to your suite, with a full fridge and views to die for (remember flowers and shrines). 

Now, dinner, what can I say? There is a standard choice of 5/5/5 (starter, main and dessert) with the likes of Langoustine Broth, Chicken Livers, Bream, Lamb, then chocolate torte or cheese or something else.; but you have all read these menus before, so is this a case of ‘same old, same old’? No, quite frankly it is not. 

We have eaten at Gidley Park and the Le Gavroche amongst others and these are fantastic restaurants, But Helen the chef at Fountainhead can count herself the equal of Michele Roux (Jnr) and Michael Caines, her food, imagination and sense of style is every bit as good as the best the UK has to offer. We realised this on ‘day two’ in that we had actually run out of superlatives and sat dumbstruck when the empty plates were removed. 

Peter’s Dry Martini is traditional copious and excellent, dry as a bone. He appears to treasure his wine list and rose to the evening challenge of ‘you choose’ without faltering and managed to match white wine with every meal which is no mean feat. We are in Sherry country and his range and knowledge is excellent, this is not the stuff that sits in your granny’s sideboard only to make a brief unloved appearance along with turkey for Christmas. 

If you want to get out and about, Peter runs various tours and took us to the Alhambra, acting as our guide he knew it inside and out and spoke with real affection as well as deep knowledge.

If like us you want to take a gradual tour around the best restaurants available then add Fountainhead to your list which is also available to non-residents if booked in advance.

The suites (and there are only 4) are cleverly arranged to have decks and plunge pools that are not overlooked and enjoy uninterrupted and dramatic views of the surrounding mountains. All meals apart from dinner are served in your suite and you decide what that consists of.

All good thing must come to an end and the only time we used our car was to leave and go home, when I paused at the top of the valley for one last look I almost expected Fountainhead to disappear in a swirl of mist just like Brigadoon, too good to be real (until next year).