El Jardín de Azahar - Touristic rooms in private Villa

The house

Not much is known about the history of the house. We were told that documents at the land registry office were destroyed during the Civil War.

Most probably the villa was built in the 1920s when wealthy Malagueños started discovering the local beaches. At the time, many impressive weekend homes were built along the Calle Juan Sebastián Elcano.

The original owners came from the north of Spain and mixed Basque style architecture with an eclectic selection of other styles.

Having lived many years in Cuba they planted a lush garden with tropical fruit trees in the back.

Renovation

The house had not been lived in for many years and was in need of a thorough renovation.

In October 2014 we received a permit to start on urgent work that needs to be carried out to prevent the building from becoming entirely derelict. Work started in January 2015.

The main renovation work was finished in summer 2016 but some details still need fixing.

The garden

Our garden will provide the perfect setting for a relaxing breakfast and for unwinding after a visit to bustling Málaga.

Azahar

Jardín de Azahar is Spanish for a citrus blossom garden.

Azahares are the flowers of any citrus fruit tree, orange, lemon, or citron. The name derives from the Arabic-Spanish azzahár which has its roots in the Arabic az-zahr meaning flowers.

Especially Seville orange blossoms are typical of Andalusia. They are used for perfumes and the petals are dried to make tea.

The Calle San Mateo in front of our B&B is lined with Seville orange trees which flower from February until June spreading their enchanting fragrance.

The neighbourhood

During the real estate boom, especially of the 1980s and 1990s, Pedregalejo became a fashionable residential area. Upmarket condominiums started replacing many of the beautiful older buildings.

More recently, Málaga has become aware of its architectural heritage and almost all remaining older buildings, such as ours, are protected.

Pedregalejo is quite unique in combining the best of a city break with a close-by beach in a friendly neighborhood.