Based on their website, Sans Souci Inn appealed for our trip with friends from the UK as it had a Mediterranean air and seemed to offer nice outdoor spaces for us to sit around together and chat, as well as being a 2 min walk to the beach. The adobe buildings were designed and built by the owners, Reto and Vera, who are Swiss, with the view of keeping the Inn eco-friendly, so for city-chick me this was a new experience!
Room with patio
The buildings are pleasant, simple and very clean, with airy bedrooms in a semi-detached arrangement around the courtyard garden and main building where the kitchen, dining room and lounge areas are located. The large beds are on futon style bases, so a long way down! There are some wicker chairs and table in the rooms and some hanging space but some shelves would have been very handy to allow us to shift our stuff off the floor and chairs. Each room has patio doors out to a wee patio with seating to allow you to enjoy the gardens and evening sun. The light curtains and bamboo blinds mean you do get wakened with the sun.
Patio
And so to the communal bathroom block! Three composting loos, which amazingly do not smell at all, four sinks in an oval island which is filled with glossy plants to provide some screening from the person using the sink opposite you and three shower cubicles as well as a private bath are provided for the 6 rooms. There is a self-catering studio with it’s own kitchen and bathroom (which wasn’t available for our stay!).
I must confess the composting loos were a bit of an issue for me and I failed to …”relax” 🙁 for a few days due to the draft from the ventilation which assists in preventing the loos from smelling! Also with six rooms using the facilities, if you had a shower at the end of the day you needed to prepare for the facilities not being so clean due to use. I felt a sink in the room would have been user friendly, although I appreciate maybe not so eco-friendly, but having to traipse along to the block all the time was a pain – I was not paying for a camp site! Also, the walk to the block wasn’t completely covered and during the horrendous stormy night, getting wet along the way was also a pain!
Lounge
There is a kitchen for use, although Reto does provide fabulous set dinners each night so use of the kitchen is subject to how busy the restaurant will be. The lounge area is lovely, although the seating could do with new cushions now, and music is provided to add to the ambiance.
Sitting outside in the sunshine having dinner on at least one night is definitely worth while, as Reto or Emma cook beautiful, generous meals served by friendly and helpful staff. Bliss.
Delicious Dinner
