Beds: Large comfortable doubles, if a little on the soft side and draped in crisp white sheets. The bedrooms are high-ceilinged with smooth tiled floors and pale-yellow paint on the walls. Ensuite bathrooms have large walk-in showers and sweet-smelling toiletries. Antique furnishings match the dark-wood shutters, while the ground-floor rooms have French doors onto the garden.
Breakfast: Divine. Ensure you pop down to the outdoor pool or do your yoga practice before breakfast because you wouldn’t want to deprive yourself here. Warm butter croissants and pan de centeno (rye bread) with home-made jams and marmalades, fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice and steaming hot coffee.
Where to practice yoga: Upstairs in the scrubbed wood-floor gym which, when I stayed was devoid of any gym furnishings. There’s an enormous panoramic window with a view out over the garden. Or head down into the garden and practice by the lily pond – there may be lotus flowers in bloom if you’re lucky.
Unique WP factor: The welcoming and laid-back owners, Familia Caruso, also have a vineyard in La Rioja so a well-stocked wine cellar here. The Posada del Olivo dogs love company and enjoy yoga so if you don’t fancy a canine companion showing up your down dog, it’s best to mention it to the owners as the dogs are free to roam the grounds. And lastly, the route to get here – the oh-so spectacular Cuesta de Miranda, along Route National 40 – advice is to take this just before or as the sun sets. It’s something quite special.
Not many people know but.. not far from Posada del Olivo and well worth a visit, stands one of the world’s most impressive feats of engineering. Famatina, located just outside of former mining town Chilecito, houses the early Cablecarril (cable car) that carried men and supplies to the mines. The journey took roughly four hours, over a distance of 35km. Construction began in 1903 and completed in 1905 and was considered particularly challenging due to the extreme weather conditions and geography of the region, as well as the limited means of transport and logistics at the time. It also included one of the first telephone systems in Argentina so the stations could talk to each other.
*World on a Pillow stayed at Posada del Olivo, January 2017
WORLD ON A PILLOW 