This is a 4 bedroomed villa that sleeps 8 comfortably and is situated in a small town about 1 mile from the nearest beach. There were only two of us and we stayed for 2 weeks.
Bad things first:
We arrived Sunday afternoon to no Welcome Book, stained cups, curtains that wouldn't open, a broken blind, a broken satellite remote, 3 broken loungers and only one parasol - in a villa for 8!
On Monday the rep came & called the owner who remedied most probs quickly, but the blind remained broken, the broken loungers were taken away but not replaced, only 1 extra parasol was supplied and the remote was not replaced until 2 days before we left. The rep suggested this was the general std for villas and should be expected!
Later we discovered our bedroom curtain hem was held by a safety pin, as was the seam on a bedspread, the air conditioning pipes flood the bedroom balcony - which was dirty as was the roof terrace and the ring that the glass dish turns on was missing from the microwave and several light bulbs didn't work.
The directions were unclear and there are no street names. There is lots of graffiti and the villa is on a busy road. Traffic noise was a nuisance inside and out - no double-glazing. Worse is incessant barking from nearby dogs - day & night. All nearby properties have guard dogs left out 24-7 barking ferociously at every passer by, howling- and setting each other off. 3 times barking went on throughout the night and we were woken at least twice by them every night. Mattresses are VERY hard. 2 gardeners come Tuesdays, 2 maids (a girl and an older man) come Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays, 2 pool boys come Thursdays, so privacy is rare. Dishwasher useless. While we were there, the oven plug burnt without tripping the fuse - owner supplied brand new oven next day. Picky but I hated all the ornaments & plastic flowers!
Good points: Large Pool & full size enclosed tennis court, attractive garden areas, excellent views, included hire car a boon, air conditioning upstairs and downstairs, all rooms spacious, wardrobes roomy, large ensuites, utility and storage rooms, useful safe, large fridge with small freezer compartment. Owner friendly and sorted most of the initial problems we raised quickly. (She lives next door but it is not possible to contact her directly because of her dogs.) Local supermarkets are very good and very reasonable with excellent selections of international foods. Local beaches are distant and small but sandy and pretty.
Shutting the stable door I know, but next time, get onto forum's like this and ask before you go, you would have got plenty of places recommended that people have tried and tested. I am assuming as there were only two of you in a large villa that you got a bit of a bargain - maybe the price reflected the state of the place?
It does not excuse what you had to put up with, but food for thought for the future.
We searched the net for reviews on Villa Isabel before we booked but could not find any - which is why I posted on my return.
Although there were only two of us we did not get a bargain - on the contrary. We had to pay an under occupancy supplement and the two weeks (including a hire car provided and air fares) cost us £3,350!! So we were expecting something very special.
So the standard was very disappointing and the noise from traffic and dogs, the graffiti (a problem in all urban areas throughout Europe, I know), the comings and goings of maids, gardeners and pool boys, all added up to making this quite the opposite to the restful and peaceful holiday we hoped for and needed.
We asked for a timetable re all these 'attendants' but were told the timings were not set and they could all come at anytime of the day - and did! In fact one of the days the maids came we were sitting eating our lunch - it was 1.20pm. They never did much either - emptied a couple of bins, washed a couple of floors and changed the towels.
Anyway, we are glad we are able to let others know of our experience. Sites like this are invaluable and we shall never book anywhere that hasn't had a few positive reviews posted about it first ever again.
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