Appalling experience.

Clearly James Villas is outsourcing everything now. The holiday was a sorely needed quiet break; this wasn't going to happen. Having paid full price for the villa in April / May for an August holiday I was expecting to have a good break. Firstly, trying to book seats with extra legroom I was told by the airline, Thomson, that I had to upgrade through James Villas, as it was booked through them. From the seating plan row's 15 had extra legroom. I paid £120 for seats on the outward bound and return flights, only to find we were in rows with no extra legroom, ( rows 3&4).

I also booked the car hire through James Villas. My second mistake. Roig cars ( as it turned out) are not like other regular car rental companies. oh no. Upon arrival at Palma airport, where other car rental companies are clearly signposted and present in the terminal, Roig are not. There were no instructions on the paperwork either, with any clues where they might be found. Eventually, after queuing at the airport information desk to find out where this odd company might be- I was told they were in a car park on the 4th floor. Again, it took some time to find them, a small desk in a corner of a massive car park, with no signage. perhaps they were trying to be discreet. Eventually we arrived at the Villa - again, at an entrance with no clear sign as to its location, just a small dirt track and a 8" high stone marker by the roadside. Upon arrival at the villa there was no security gate at the entrance, which is a change from previous villas. The Villa it turned out was just 100 metres from the main road. Relaxing on the small patio was not an option.

Sitting on the M25 would be just as restful. Furthermore, the pool was very small. The photos in the "brochure" are carefully shot with a very wide angle lens to give very distorted and misleading pictures of the size of the villa. When we called the rep to complain, she had her answers all prepared, clearly this was not the first time guests had raised these issues. Then we went inside. The "ensuite" bathroom was a shower and a toilet, all within a space of 90cm wide x 180cm. Very, very small, and the shower didn't fully drain. The sink had to be in the bedroom. The mattress was the cheapest it good be, and couldn't support two adults properly. Then, after the "holiday" there was the adventure of trying to return the hire car. We followed the airport's instructions to go to the car rental returns car park, where Sixt, Enterprise, Avis, all the others were. Of course all , except Roig. They are in another car park, somewhere at the airport. By this time, the clock was ticking and getting short to check in.

Eventually, after calling Roig, we found the public car park where they were situated. Stressed, we just made it to the gate just in time. I will never book James Villas again, cannot trust what they say they are offering, and it is now a company that is both expensive to use while offering a very poor product. Avoid at all costs.