WELCOME TO CAMINO ART HOUSE, SAN MATEO
We are happy to introduce the house and land to you!
Our building – called Casa Mireles, after the family who established the original property – was constructed almost 90 years ago, in 1930. The original foundation goes back much longer in time: you can still see hand built stone terraces on the land from about 200 years ago.
The building has a long brick shape structure with rooms on one side and a long corridor with big windows on the other side. There is also a long patio in front of the house where you can sit down and observe the magical old valley, listen to the birds or follow the hunting sessions of the local falcons.
The Corridor
This part of the house is actually the common room and the dining area in one. We have the „reception”, the „lobby” and the “art shop” here as well. We organize exhibitions in this area too.
All the rooms open from the corridor (except the Bird Nest Room which used to be the tools storage room and has a private entrance from the patio). At the entrance door you can sit down on the sofa and choose a good book from our library, or check out the maps of the island that we store in a separate folder for you. If you walk towards the kitchen, you can find our art shop with small art pieces that you can buy. You can find larger art pieces (painting, photos) on the corridor or room walls as well. If you buy any of the smaller or bigger pieces you support the hostel and the artist as well, just like in a gallery.
The Double Nook
This is a small cosy private room with a very little space around the double bed. This is one of our room which actually has a window, so it might be a bit more fresh than the other ones (bit colder in winter too). There is an old combing table, a little wardrobe in the room where you can fit your things easily. You will find some painted stones in the room. You can find a few paintings from Hajnal Miklos from her bird series on the wall.
The Shelter Dorm
This is our biggest room, covered with the original wooden roof structure and clay tiles. It has two sections, divided with a wall. The smaller area used to be the library in the old times. We used textiles for decoration and made little spaces for our visitors to feel a bit more private. But in general this is the room where you will meet exactly your type of people during your stay.
The Green Family Room
Our Family Room is large enough to accommodate a little family. There is a double bed and a single bed in the room, but if it is needed we are ready to prepare a baby cot too. Beside the antique combing table there is a big comfortable arm chair in the room, and some little toys that might be useful if you arrive with small ones. This room makes you feel you spend your days in an old hunting lodge.
The Bird’s Nest Double Room
This is one of our most beautiful room. We turned an old shed full with gardening and carpentering tools into a cosy little hut room. Repainted the wall, which made the whole space lighter and cleaner. Beside the half cave sleeping area there is a small room where you can store your lagguage, sit down to read or have a tea. On the walls you will see Mandala works from Hajnal Miklos, also one of her brid painting. Beside these art pieces there is a clay work (candle holder, artist: Viktoria Szabo) and a few natural objects that make the space very special.
The bathroom
Our main bathroom is super new! It was renovated in October 2017. The very special thing about it is the natural light which comes trough the upper window which opens to the roof. This light channel is covered with a transparent plastic piece, not to let the rain fall in but perfect to have natural light inside all day long (and during the night by full moon). We started to recycle water about 6 months ago. We collect the used water after washing your hand in a bucket and we fill up the toilet tank with this water. This way we reuse the water to clean the toilet. Please read the instructions on the wall.
The kitchen
The building has a small but well equipped kitchen. A small storage belongs to it where we store all the pots and plates, etc. There are boxes to store food in front of the kitchen door, next to the antique water filter stone. This filter is a special part of the kitchen. These type of constructions were very common on the island about 100 years ago. Now, thanks to it’s size and weight, nobody uses them any more. We keep it and also try to keep it’s good condition by cleaning the big stone bowl time to time.
The old toilet
The old toilet is actually the new toilet. We designed a special room for you with an Asian style toilet and a shower in one. This is a perfect combination to use the small space with different functions. Also very hygienic as you use the shower water to clean yourself after you finished your pipi / kaka. In this bathroom we don’t use paper at all. We keep the space always clean and we ask the same from you too.
The studio
We have changed the laundry room into a multi-functionally room: storage room, art studio, laundry and pet hut. This is a room which leads to the large rooftop, has a window. We store here a lots of tools for making art, not only paintings but glues, textiles and different materials to create whatever you feel like. This is also the place to hang out if it gets late and cold outside, this room is warm and far from other guest’s room so you can enjoy a good conversation.
The Rooftop
The top of the building is a giant rooftop. It has four different parts, one for the roof top shower, one for the yoga and common area, and the others are for the laundry and also for sitting, having a meal or just watching the stars.
The Patio
All along the building there is a long terrace where you can have a seat, enjoy your breakfast or lunch or just have a coffee. You can have the greatest view from here to the whole Valley of Mireles.
The Garden
In front of the entrance of the building you can find the garden with it’s two level. The upper level has a few area to sit down, also a few herbs and large quantity of aloe vera grow here. The camp fire place is in the lower level of the garden, just like our baby fruit trees. There is also a small little tiny little secret terrace with a comfortable chair, perfect place for morning coffee or meditation. The Sun rises just in front of us, so if you are able to wake up early, it is worth to take a blanket and sit outside with a mug of hot coffee or tea and wait for the first rays of the Sun and listen to the thousands birds
The Land
Almost the half of the valley belongs to the property. There are 8 caves, many terraces and a few meadows on the land. We kindly ask you to walk around and visit the sights carefully, strictly for your own risk. We don’t take any responsibilities for accidents that happen because of your lack of attention or abilities. The paths are steep and slippery, and climbing up on the trees, even though we prepared support by clearing ways, fixing ropes, or laying down wooden boards, is dangerous and need special attention.
The Caves
We have 8 caves on the land, one of them is turned to a Natural Cave Room. These caves used to be spaces for animals, or storage spaces for gardening materials, tools or products. Now most of the them are dangerous, and they are only for observation. Please don’t touch their walls, or try to climb up on the wall, inside or outside, they are not properly fixed. We cleaned them only to give you an idea how they were used long time ago.
The Family Cave Room
This cave is safe to enter. We offer this room for our adventurous guests who would like to spend a short time in the nature. The room doesn’t have electricity but it is cosy and comfortable. You have to use candle to make light inside. Please be super careful and attentive while using this cave. We want to protect the original state of the cave and the beautiful nature around.
The Soul Cave Room
The cave is a bit smaller than the Family Cave. No electricity. Natural walls. We use curtains to make the room private, which gives a very special vibe it the morning when the rays of the sun gently runs through the textile.
And some important note:
You arrived to a unique and special place so please treat it in a special way!
There are a few things that we ask from you (in other places they call this „house rules”):
1. Please keep yourself and your environment clean!
2. Don’t disturb others!
3. Be responsible for your actions, and behave as it is normally expected:
– be kind, polite and respectful for other beings and your environment
– don’t harm other beings or nature
– use your manners
– clean up after yourself
– please smoke only in smoking areas (patio and front garden)
4. Please note that we don’t take responsibility for your personal belongings!
5. Please note that if you don’t or can’t follow the suggestions above we will ask you to leave the house inmediatly. We will refund the rest of your stay deducting 2 nights as a cancellation fee.
We wish you a special and pleasent stay at Camino.
The Camino Crew