Spain - Almeria - Vera Natura

On 13/01/01 Andy Crawford posted this report to the uk.rec.naturist news group. He writes, "Feel free to contact me for further specific information".

I'll be brief!
The accommodation is superb. The complex consists of 25 low rise apartment blocks each with 8 units. The rooms are very spacious. The larger split level ones have up to four sun terraces. The only shortcoming is that most of them only have a two ring hob to cook on and no oven. Microwave ovens can be supplied. Some have washing machines too.

The site is private and secure, surrounded by chain-link wrought iron (and a bit of barbed wire too). Some may consider this a benefit others may prefer a bit more free range. It fronts on to the beach and is sited within the official "zona naturista". At present there is extensive building work going on close by. More of these type of complex are being built. Most are naturist, and some are not.

Facilities
There is a heated indoor pool. Some complained that the water in it was too hot(?) but we found it fine. Within the gym area there is a Jacuzzi, steam room and salt bath. Massage is also offered. They all carry an additional charge. Nudity is ok anywhere inside (and outside) the complex. Apart from (rather ironically) when using the gym equipment. The staff however are not allowed to be nude.

There are two restaurants one on site in one directly on the beach. We did not visit either, because they only offer a non-vegetarian menu.

Shops
There are very few in the immediate area. There are two convenience store type of shops (with convenience store type of prices) A bus will take you to the nearby towns but a car proved to be very useful to shop at the discount supermarkets (about 9km) away and the local street markets.

Weather
The Spanish Almeria Coast is known for its hot summers and mild winters. They get very little rain. Even during mid winter the temperature can reach 18 - 20 deg C so long as the sun shines. From April thru to October it can get very hot.

The beach
It was unclear how far the official naturist section of Vera beach extends. Directly outside complex it is apparently "officially naturist". Some signs had been erected pointing toward the "Playa Textil" these were heavily defaced. The beach itself is just a strip of coarse sand and pebbles. Most of the land behind it is being prepared for development.

Conclusion
Overall it very pleasant complex. Most of the apartments are owned privately by a mix of Europeans. There is very little for children to do. There is nowhere to kick a ball about outside, but that is compensated by the space inside the accommodation and the private gardens and terraces. Due to the extensive development, this is set to be a boom area for naturism. Apart from the Vera Playa Hotel, Vera Natura is the main resort at present but there is a lot more to follow....

AndyC

Mike Morley posted this second report to the uk.rec.naturist news group in September 2001. 

Came back on Sunday after an excellent 10 day stay at Vera Natura. Weather was near perfect throughout. Although we had a 30 minute rainstorm early one morning it was clear blue sky again an hour later. Sea conditions were variable, very still at the start and a couple of days with heavy breakers in the middle. The beach was as good as ever for walking, quite populous at the end near the Hotel but getting sparser as one went away.

A point of interest on the way, a turtle had nested on the beach, apparently the first ever known there. Hatch date was said to be about now but whether the eggs survived a partial flooding on the heavy sea days was not known . The 24 hour watch team were frantically trying to build up a sandbag wall to keep them dry. Looks like the turtle did not know that it should have gone further back on the beach!

After the restrictions of some places it was good to be able to go nude anywhere on site or around the rest of the area. There was a little altercation one day when a group of Spanish youngsters tried to wear swimwear in the pool but were ejected by the local "Wardens" (some of the long term residents). I believe that they were later persuaded by their mother that they should obey the rules.

The building activity at Vera Playa continues apace, with many new sites starting up. An outfit called Armony Natura has started to build on a small corner of the patch between the Hotel and Natsun sites. They have a website at http://www.proyeccionesinmobiliarias.com/natura/ which, although in Spanish, has some interesting aerial photo. We went into one of the sales offices "Torremar Natura" and were offered apartments for completion next April for about £50 to £60K. It will be interesting to see whether the rate of building holds up after the conversion to the Euro as there is reputed to be much "Hot money" in old currencies driving it.

A lot of this may be off topic but it adds interest in the future of a splendid place to go on holiday where naturism is officially sanctioned. Depends on you views between the merits of "facilities" and "un-spoilt coastline" on whether you reckon it to be a good thing.

Anyway, it will certainly be on our list again for the future.

Send an E-mail about this resort to the NEFF