Year: 2013

Autumn Sunshine Holidays

Autumn Sunshine Holidays in 2013 We have been delighted to welcome a steady succession of guests this year who have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we have been experiencing here on the Costa Blanca. The summer this year has been a very long-lasting one with daytime temperatures in October in the high twenties or occasionally even the low thirties. Night temperatures are of course lower now, which means that the swimming pool is only usable by the more hardy of our guests, but there is still a great opportunity for getting a late tan and storing up some sunshine before having to endure the winter months ahead in northern Europe. There is still plenty to do here during such lovely warm days, and of course the sea temperature is still holding up well for those guests who are beach enthusiasts. And once the novelty of sitting and enjoying the sunshine at this time of year has worn off a bit, the slightly cooler temperatures mean that our guests can take part in outdoor activities which might be uncomfortable during the really hot months of the summer. Sue and Gareth for example came for a few days relaxation in…

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Spanish Property Hunters Galore!

Property Hunters Galore! Maybe the title is a slight exaggeration, but it is undoubtedly true that we have seen a significant increase in the number of guests who have stayed with us recently with the intention of looking for a Spanish property in our part of Spain. Some have been looking for a holiday home and others for a permanent residence – or even sometimes with the intention of eventually moving here but only holidaying here to begin with. Obviously, everybody has different tastes and requirements (and of course budgets!) but at the present time there is a wide choice on the market so it’s a good time to think of buying, whatever your situation. Spanish property is now being recognised once again as representing good value for money – and not only for purchasers from the UK. An additional consideration for non-EU citizens is the concession that the Spanish government has very recently introduced, whereby residence entitlement is automatically granted in the case of Spanish properties that are purchased for a price in excess of €500,000. Full details can be seen in the article here: Golden Visa to non-EU citizens Amongst our guests from countries other than the UK,…

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Bird Watching Holidays

Bird Watching Holidays We were delighted to accept a booking some time ago from Lynn and Steve who were planning a bird watching trip to the Costa Blanca and found our suggested bird watching packages on our website.  We offer a week’s stay with us at Villa Florencia with breakfast and evening meals included, as well as three days birdwatching in conjunction with Valencia Birding – and even packed lunches are included on the bird watching days!  This package suited Lynn and Steve perfectly, as they wanted a holiday in this part of the Costa Blanca that gave them all the birding they wanted but with plenty of time to relax and to do some sightseeing in the area as well. They arrived last Saturday, and had arranged to go birding on the Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday – so basically alternate days, interspersed with getting to know the area all around.  The weather has been really excellent for September and was perfect for their purposes – warm and sunny for their whole visit, but not so hot as to be uncomfortable.  They had a really great time on their birdwatching excursions, spending time inland from Valencia, then to the north…

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Family Holidays Costa Blanca

Family Holidays Costa Blanca We usually have several Italian guests during the course of the summer season, but this year we had not seen any – until we received a booking from Stefano and his wife Elisabetta, who wanted to come to us from Rome in early September for just over a week. They were a family of four, and when they arrived we were pleased to welcome them, along with their two teenage daughters Pamela and Chiara. They wanted to come to our part of Spain for a family holiday and to see what this part of the Costa Blanca had to offer – it was not a part of the country they knew well, but it is one they thought they would like. They had done their homework before leaving Italy and had a tentative itinerary worked out of all the sights they wanted to see during their visit. The Costa Blanca is a great part of Spain for a family holiday as there is something for everyone, and in the summer of course the wonderful beaches come into their own. Most days they went on an excursion to one of the towns along the coast, as well…

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Golfing Holidays in Spain

Visitors from Holland We recently welcomed Geert and Oda, a couple from the Netherlands, who had booked an eight night stay with us.  Having driven from Holland in their car with a couple of overnight stops along the way, they arrived with us last Sunday in the late afternoon.  They spent some time relaxing in the garden after their journey before taking us up on our offer of our evening meal service – they found it so much more convenient than having to find a restaurant so soon after arriving. This was certainly not their first trip to Spain, and in fact they had visited Valencia city briefly in the past, but it was the first time they had had the opportunity to stay for any length of time in this part of the country.  They are golf players also, so they had brought their clubs with them in the back of the car in the hope that they would be able to play a couple of rounds on a course in the area. On Monday morning they set off for the La Galiana golf club at Aigües Vives near here and spent most of the day there, having a…

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Pet Friendly Accommodation Costa Blanca

Pet Friendly Accommodation Costa Blanca Last Thursday morning we received an unexpected phone call from a German speaking couple wanting to spend that night with us as a stop-over on their way down to Malaga, where they were renting a finca for a fortnight’ holiday. They only wanted one night’s accommodation as part of a driving holiday towards the south and they particularly wanted to stay the night at our pet friendly accommodation because they were accompanied by their lovely Golden Retriever/Labrador cross, who was called Pasha. They arrived around four o’clock in the afternoon, having set off from their home in Switzerland the previous day and received a warm welcome here – not only from us but also from our own dogs, who are always happy to welcome a guest dog! After the initial excitement had died down, Pasha was content to settle in their room for a short time while his owners relaxed in the garden. However, the weather was so warm and sunny that soon they decided to have a swim in the pool and so brought Pasha down to the garden to join them. He loves playing in streams and rivers where they live, and soon…

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