Villa Asquith

1 reader found this review helpful

I booked this 'villa' directly with the owner through ownersdirect. The property ref on there is S6586.
We'd stayed in the Jalon Valley area a few times before, so were looking forward to a quiet break with our 2 young children when we booked. The property looked good value for a villa rental, what could go wrong ?
Quite simply the villa - well, isn't one. Its an apartment with an outside staircase to get from the bedrooms and bathroom to the 'lounge diner'.
The correspondence with the owner was pretty minimal and not forthcoming - I didnt get a receipt for my payment or any booking forms , nor responses to several questions about the property post payment.
Having booked villa holidays on numerous occassions we expected a self contained, private unit where we could relax and the girls would be safe. Along with the outside staircase (not mentioned in the listing), the 'villa' has 1 room acting as kitchen/lounge/diner, not the separate rooms the ad states. really disappointing, and when with the furniture needed to make it a lounge/diner is crammed in, there's no room to swing a mouse let alone a cat. My toddling 1 yr old crashed headfirst into the hideous and enormous coffee table within about 20 mins of being there.
You expect a feeling of space & privacy in a villa - in this tiny room you just dont get it.
The pool is approx 300 metres away from the property reached by an overgrown path - not great with 2 kids.
The owners live in the adjacent property - most of the 'villa' is overlooked by it, again so you never get any feeling of privacy. This was particularly highlighted on the morning before we decided to leave when the owners 2 dogs appeared barking & scratching at the door of the kitchen room - the grounds around the owners & rental 'villa' are not segregated. Nice ! We didnt fancy risking an encounter with the hounds of the baskervilles every day, nor cooking on the filthy BBQ outside which was the only way to grill/cook, so decided to try and save the holiday and find a real villa.
I explained this to the owner, and we agreed a 50% refund. Once I'd left I took a rather unpleasant call from her telling me my behaviour was 'despicable' and she hoped we had a 'horrible holiday'. Nice for my kids to hear that. Still not sure why other than I didnt like the place - i was nothing but polite when simply advising the place wasnt for us.
You could have a decent holiday here, but not if you've stayed in a villa before and were expecting to stay in one ! Also helps if you like no privacy & dogs.