There are moments as hosts of our holiday home Málaga that make us stop, stare at the thermostat, and wonder if we’re living in a social experiment.
Outside: 42°C.
Inside? The air conditioner is proudly working overtime to reach… 18°C.
Eighteen.
Apparently, some people don’t travel to southern Spain for sunshine. They travel to recreate a refrigerated supermarket aisle.
We honestly admire the ambition.
The Great Temperature War
It’s fascinating.
Many visitors from Northern Europe arrive convinced that an air conditioner has only two settings:
- Off.
- Arctic Expedition.
Meanwhile, Andalusians—people who somehow survive this climate every single year—quietly set their air conditioning to around 25–27°C, drink something cold, close the shutters during the hottest hours and continue with life.
Because they know something many visitors discover only after a few days:
It’s not about making the house cold.
It’s about making the heat comfortable.
Your Body Isn’t a Frozen Pizza
Walking from 42°C outside into an 18°C living room might feel refreshing… for approximately thirty seconds.
Then your body starts wondering whether it’s is Spain or accidentally landed in Iceland. The result?
Cold shoulders, sore throats, headaches, and the delightful experience of putting on a hoodie while palm trees are melting outside.
The Andalusian Secret
Locals have spent centuries figuring this out.
They close the shutters. They avoid the blazing afternoon sun. They slow down. They enjoy a siesta—not because they’re lazy, but because fighting the sun is a battle nobody wins.
And yes… they use air conditioning. Just sensibly.
A room at 25 or 26°C still feels wonderfully cool when it’s is over 40 degrees outside. Your body adjusts more easily, you use far less electricity, and the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as if it’s trying to freeze the Mediterranean Sea.
At our holiday home Málaga, we encourage guests to experience Andalusia the way the locals do. Not only is it more comfortable, it’s also kinder to the environment and keeps energy consumption under control.
Enjoy Spain… Like Spain
One of the best parts of staying in a holiday home Málaga is experiencing local life instead of hiding from it.
In Andalusia, that means embracing a slower rhythm, respecting the climate instead of fighting it, and accepting that summer is supposed to be warm.
Very warm.
So if you ever find yourself reaching for that magical 18°C button…
Take a deep breath.
The sun will still be there.
And your air conditioner will thank you.
And who knows—you might even return home with a little bit of the Andalusian way of life.