United Kingdom

Michael

Woefully overdue review following a fantastic stay in August 2016.

We were a party of 4 adults and 2 children and all thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the aptly named Glorious Simmons Raffa Villa.  The attention and personal sense of satisfaction taken by Michael and Julia in ensuring their guests have a fantastic holiday is abundant in everything- from their patient and excellent communication from first contact to the wonderful welcome pack and excellent standard of the villa's facilities.

My daughters spent most of their time in the huge pool and particularly enjoyed switching the illumination on of an evening for a dip!  The villa is not overlooked at all which provides a lovely sense of privacy but there are other villas nearby enough so as not to feel remote.  There are several areas in which to eat, or take your morning coffee and two bbqs on which to prepare the delicious offerings of the frequent fish markets in nearby Santa Pola.  Santa Pola is delightful and although we unfortunately missed all of the festivals there was still plenty to see and do- and eat!- of an evening should you just want to be near the cool of the house and the pool on particularly warm days.

We happily spent the vast majority of the week in the villa but would recommend hiring a car to explore the region and do the big supermarket shop!  Tip- there is a zoo about 5 minute's walk away with a cafe, playground and a few animal enclosures that you can avail yourself of without actually entering the zoo.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this villa.



Glorious Costa Blanca Villa with private pool near Santa Pola

Family from London, United Kingdom

More than perfect!
Beautiful house and a spectacular and huge garden.
We had a terrific time!
:-)

Norway

 From Oslo, Norway

The whole family (2 adults and 5 children aged 16-2) all had a fabulous time at the villa which suited them perfectly. The pool was big enough for everyone to swim together and the water was unbelievably warm. The villa was well stocked with everything that we needed and the large garden was great. 
We were not aware of dogs barking at night which some previous guests had mentionned. We did not feel that we were isolated, but the villa is well off the tourist route. We didnt even see another Brit when we went into the towns of Santa Pola and Elche. The owners Michael and Julia were very helpful, phoning us before we arrived to give us some advice.
We would strongly recommend the villa to anyone who wants to have a great place to stay in Spain. It is ideal for a family such as ours.

 From Stoke-on-trent, United Kingdom

Great place to stay, we had four parents and four kids, we stayed first week in October and pool area was very quite, wed had the place to ourself. 12 minute walk to bus stop and local resturants. Only concern was that the cost of eating out was quite high.
Great for golf and swimming.
we all had a great time.

 From Stockport, United Kingdom

The Villa was lovely, comfortable with a lovely kitchen, the pool very important as the beaches in Santa Pola are not great, the car is needed as there is not immediate amenities in the vicinity. 
It was a very welcomed touch to have a basket with goodies at our arrival as on the Sunday finding a supermarket open was a bit of a task.
I would recommend the villa!

 From Sembrancher

This was the first time I had ever been on a villa holiday and it exceeded my expectations.

As a mum with a toddler, I did not want a long onward journey from the airport before arriving at the accommodation and this villa was perfect for that.  It was only a 20 min drive from Alicante airport which was ideal for us.

The villa was relatively easy to find.  We had a sat nav, but Michael and Julias directions were spot on.  If you havent driven in Spain before, the technique for crossing the carriageway takes a bit of getting used to!  I would advise swotting up on the Spanish driving etiquette before you go.  I agree with other reviews that you will need a car at this villa as there is nothing that you could walk to safely nearby.  As this villa does give you a taste of authentic Spain, be prepared to brush up on your Spanish and/or take a phrase book!

The inside of the villa is spacious and comfortable.  The decor is rustic with a traditional Spanish feel.  The welcome pack on arrival was a really nice touch too.  The villa is extremely well equipped and just about everything you could need is there, you might just have to hunt around a little for it!  Incase you get a rainy day, the villa is well stocked with books, dvds and board games.  The villa is maintained and monitored regularly by the site manager, pool attendant and gardener.

The pool was a great size although it does get quite deep quite quickly, so I had to keep quite a close eye on my toddler.  The gardens are a real strength of the villa.  Massively disproportionate to the inside space, a lot of care and attention has clearly gone into the grounds, providing peace and tranquillity in a beautiful backdro p, just what is needed when you are trying to escape the madding crowd.  We fired up the barbecue many times and enjoyed alfresco dining every day, a luxury not afforded often living in the UK!

We stayed local and if we went into town, it was into Santa Pola.  The beaches tend to get busy quickly during the day (we went in high season), but we went in for a meal one evening and that was fantastic.  We ate at the Porto Bella Restaurant overlooking the boats in the marina which was a fantastic backdro p.  Restaurants tend to open quite late compared to here, but I was pleasantly surprised how welcome children are.  Walking along the seafront of an evening was lovely, the place had a very family-friendly feel.

Other reviews have referred to noise.  There were a few times where dogs barked and you could hear the animals and loudspeaker in the nearby safari park, but to me it was negligible.  The main culprit of noise seemed to be the insects (maybe crickets?!) that lived in the trees!

Michael and Julia (the owners of the villa) will get in touch with you before you go with lots of useful information about the villa and the local area.  This is really helpful if you arent familiar with the Santa Pola/Elche area.

The guest book at the villa itself reveals the many groups of people that have not only enjoyed their stay at the villa but that have returned several times.  I am already regretting not booking a two week stay!

I would recommend this villa to anyone .

 From Flitwick

I thought the property was good value.  The welcome pack on arrive was excellant.  Our only complaint was that there was no where locally (i.e walking distance) to each, drink, buy break milk etc.  Everything was a drive away.  Otherwise we had an excellant holiday.  Thank you.

 From Chester

The property was well furnished and very clean.  The pool and gardens were very well cared for. We thought it was very nice that the owners let us use their cycles which were well used over the holiday by all the party.  The cycle path down to the Safari Park and along the walkway down the road was a great and very safe route we all took throughout the holiday.  We all had a really lovely holiday in the villa and we most certainly would return and recommend to any of our friends and colleagues.

Thank you.

 From Bury

Well what can we say,on arriving your first reaction is that the photos definately do not do this place justice and on our initial inspection of the villa and gardens both children and adults were pleasantly surprised.The villa is well equipped both inside and out. The Pool was superb and very well maintained.The Beach at Santa Pola was untouched and very beautiful, we enjoyed evening barbecues , and everyone had a lovely time.The Gardens were very picturesque and serene and in the moonlight came alive. We also enjoyed our Bike rides into Santa Pola.

Michael

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