Special Places to Stay - More than a bed for the night

You'll feel at peace within seconds of arrival. Impossible not to: it's 20 yards above the sea. Look forward to an indoors-out lifestyle, sweet and simple, your home as basic as a fisherman's place on the beach. Living within stone walls the same colour as the ground and the sand, you are open to sunshine, breezes and blue sky. Catherine's uncle bought a virgin olive-tree lot in the sixties and built 15 cottages as a summer hang-out for friends. Linked still by a long cobbled back yard, edged by a low wall, dotted with the odd olive tree, each cottage looks onto the sea. Enter yours via a lovely walled patio off which a jasmine-scented stair leads to a rooftop for nights under the stars. Below are the two bedrooms – primitive, bohemian, earthy – and bathrooms with charming old fittings and chipped tiles. Furnishings are sea-worn, the kitchen is tiny (open shelves, fridge, butane hob), the sitting room is delightful and opens to all sides. Follow a trail through the pines to a sand beach close by, visit beautiful Miravet for artisan pottery. Easy to get here; once here, you won't want to leave.