Seeking Family Sanctuary: CasaBlu Hotel, Mijas, Spain
Halfway up a mountain overlooking a vista of the Costa del Sol sits CasaBlu. Once a sprawling family home, now a boutique hotel with a laid-back luxe restaurant, it’s the dreamiest of locations for a family escape blended with a touch of surreality.
There’s a very particular effect exerted by CasaBlu, one that seems to take hold the moment your car turns up the winding driveway. I realise I’ve left reality at the iron gates, and in true Through the Looking Glass style, I’m whisked into a dreamlike world. We glide past luscious green lawns and succulent cacti, beneath swaying palms and beside gurgling emerald pools dotted with floating lily pads and dancing dragonflies. A blend of 21st-century aesthetic attention and authentic passion has been poured into every detail, and it shows, even before we reach reception.
The main house, home to just 12 guest rooms, sits opposite the reception, and after a seamless check in we are given a tour by Julia. CasaBlu started life as an Andalusian country home to a big family: the large bell still hanging high above, that used to summon them to dinner. It was one of those children, Florence Swaters, who was responsible for its grand makeover. The phantasmagoric feel flows from the outside in, the otherworldliness of the place reflected in all the mesmerising design elements. Trickling water features, mosaics, and lofty green plants with enormous leaves surround us. I’m unable to tell whether we’re inside or outside, and I think that’s the whole point. We climb a spiral staircase inside a midnight-blue turret hung with glittering Moorish lanterns and gilded gold-framed mirrors.
A scene of boho-cool, white-on-azure aesthetic greets us. Everything about this room implies calm while being fabulously stylish. It’s full of intriguing pieces without feeling crammed or cluttered - meticulously designed, with each object or artwork placed just so. We discover that Florence Swaters is the one responsible for enriching CasaBlu’s spaces with her own curated collection. Little by little, she gathered things throughout her life - from souks, markets, and local artists - bringing her personal favourites to CasaBlu and blending them with family heirlooms and works of art. Blue and white china tabac jars, Ming-dynasty-style vases, ceramic cats, and oversized lamps adorn corner shelves and dressing tables. Silver lanterns hang elegantly from the ceiling, an underlying Moroccan influence ever-present, even down to the tassels on the beautifully fluffy white cotton towels and flannels. Our bed is sumptuous and huge, there’s ample wardrobe space, and the whole room feels more like a private villa.
Our bathroom features two parallel, wall-sized gleaming mirrors, flooding it with natural light and showcasing its spotless, blue-and-white tiled beauty: a nod to authentic villa-style elegance. Open-plan in layout, with the toilet tucked into a separate enclave and the shower behind a partition wall, the room centres around a pearl-white, free-standing bath. Twin his and hers basins complete the space, offering a wash station that feels effortlessly luxurious. The shower itself feels like an entirely different realm: a cerulean-blue tiled paradise that’s more of a wet room than a traditional shower. One end features a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking our large private balcony, with views stretching out across the valley and all the way to sea. With the option of a rainfall head, four wall-mounted jets, and a standard shower hose, plus Molton Brown toiletries, this is an experience for both body and mind.
Stepping outside, we are met with CasaBlu’s most famous and adored tableau: framed by pink hibiscus blooms, a gorgeous green‑blue swimming pool is carved into a generous terrace below - luxurious enough to laze an entire day away. Beyond it, the exotic beauty of the gardens unfolds, and that painted backdrop of valley and distant ocean infuses the scene with breathtaking expanse. The sunloungers are solid and wooden, topped with clean, plush grey cushions. A couple of canopied daybeds offer extra shade, while a scattering of soft upright chairs make the perfect spot for morning coffee by the water. Just beside the pool sits a small, cabana-style bar, manned by a single smiling barman.
There’s a real sense of intimacy here, without anything feeling overbearing. The staff float gently around, always on hand but never intrusive, and other guests tend to keep to themselves. It feels like the place is ours. The guest mix is a balanced blend of couples and families, and thanks to its size and layout, CasaBlu feels more like a private home than a hotel. Parents play happily with their children in the single-depth pool, and experiences like the scenic picnic provide plenty of relaxed, family-friendly fun.
Other experiences on offer include culinary classes, beauty treatments, massages, yoga in the on-site studio, wine tastings, and local excursions. Of course, the breathtakingly pretty and historic town of Mijas is just a ten-minute taxi ride up the mountain. We find ourselves there the next day, wandering its sloping streets lined with whitewashed houses, Andalusian restaurants, charming boutiques, leather shops, and the occasional horse-drawn carriage. CasaBlu has also provided a list of recommended restaurants, and a map of the town’s attractions and viewpoints.
Despite its proximity to Mijas, you could easily spend an entire week at CasaBlu without leaving the premises. The hotel’s stylish spirit and Arabian-inspired hedonistic charm remain at the heart of the experience, and now, guests can enjoy dinner at CasaBlu’s restaurant. Choose between the glass-walled dining room with garden views or the candlelit terrace, strung with lanterns for a touch of intimacy and superlative stargazing. We opt for the terrace, serenaded by a chorus of cicadas and frogs. The mouthwatering Mediterranean menu offers authentic takes on Spanish classics, with a focus on local cured hams, luxurious olive oils, and fresh, expertly prepared fish dishes. A highlight proves to be my main: tuna steak. Beautifully presented with gastronomic flair and perfectly seared - caramelised on the outside, ruby-red and tender within. Its flavour is bold yet clean, with a subtle sweetness and a buttery richness that melts across the tongue. It’s the kind of dish that speaks for itself: fresh, unfussy, and deeply satisfying.
We wake to breakfast and birdsong on our final day. Beneath the wisteria-covered pergola, we sip cappuccinos languidly, indulging on fresh fruit, orange juice, yoghurt, granola, and pastries, while dragonflies skim across the pool. Later on, we decide to explore the grounds, they seem to be so expansive it feels we have barely scratched the surface. There’s something about climbing the steep path, birds chirping among fig trees and bursts of bougainvillea, that heightens the magic. Here, the vast megalopolis of the Costa del Sol and nearby Marbella seems to dissolve into the foothills of the Sierra Blanca, to be replaced by a very quiet sort of glamour and tropical solitude.
Some hotels on the Costa Del Sol are scenes, while others are escapes. CasaBlu is without doubt, the latter: a blue-hued, Mediterranean-meets-Morrocan refuge. Of all the grandes dames along this Spanish coast, none deliver sanctuary and seclusion as dreamily as CasaBlu.