Villa Gary, Cala N Porter, Spain
Hotel Information
Hotel Description:
This cosy single-storey villa is good for families or groups looking for a restful holiday with occasional days out. The surrounding area is low-key and relaxing, and the villa has a pleasant well-planted rear garden, with lawns ideal for sunbathing. loading...
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Villa Gary Reviews
Arrival; There is no such thing as a free car!! A car was included with our Holiday but we had to pay 112 euros for insurance with tui, not Avis as stated in the brochure. As we were the last to get our car, we had a new one, a Corsa. Very nice.
At the Airport in Mahon, no cars are allowed to enter and wait at the Arrivals area, so Hubby could not go and get the hire car to come and collect me, my wheelchair and cases, we had to go to the car, which took a while to find.
At 9am we were in the car, we had been given a “welcome package” by the Cosmos Rep. that included a map to our villa and it’s details. The Rep had told us that we could not go into the Villa until 16.00hrs and yes it was in the small print of the brochure, I got her to show me and she did. All the while telling me it was her first week and that she only dealt with the Airport.
The front of the Villa is very disappointing, very plain and tatty.
The Villa had 3 bedrooms and only the double bed was made up, sheets for the other beds were left on them.
We were the first people to use the villa, this year and it was very cold and damp, in the living room was a de-humidifier that had stopped, as the water container in it was full, the red light was on, we had to empty this every day. This time of the year was really a bad time to go to Menorca, it really was changeable weather. We had 2 days of solid rain. We also had 10 days of lovely weather, when we played “spot the Cloud” I had an Asthma attack after 2 days and cracked a rib coughing so much.
3 times during the 2 weeks maids came to the villa, we only knew this because the towels disappeared and clean ones were left and the double bed was half made, this meaning that the top covers were neatly put into place, while not moving the bottom sheet. Clean sheets were left on the coffee table in the living room. The place was swept, we know, because there was a little pile of dust and rubbish left outside on the lower patio. We asked the visiting rep Rep. “What did maid service cover” Christine confirmed this and we were told that “most people like to do the cleaning themselves” and that included the bathroom and floors. So make sure to take the marigolds and Flash with you.
You are expected to take your own rubbish and place it in the wheelie- bins on the main road, make sure you do as after one day we were invaded by Ants. Ants were everywhere; they like to join you in bed. There were little black bugs too, these eat clothes, A wrap and a top had been hanging in a wardrobe and when I put on the wrap it had a number of small holes in it, around the same area, after going through the rest of my things, there was a top with holes in too, also some of these little black Beetles, so every thing got sprayed.
The bath in the main bathroom had a shower in it but it was not at the end but on the wall in the middle, this may be okay for small children, not too good for adults.
The sofas at the Villa were so uncomfy that we did not use them. The shade shown in the Brochure photo on the wall outside had been removed and was out of site behind a wall on the grounds, in the shade. On most of the white concrete around the pool we found it was covered by some very tiny industrious red ant/spider things, we sat on a lot before we knew what they were and they end up on you, if you don’t watch out.
The Pool looked so inviting but was freezing and made your feet go numb after 30 seconds. There are concrete steps leading down into it too, they don’t show up in the photo. By the way the pool does get cleaned as we found on the day we were leaving. We had to check in at the Airport by 8-45 am and Hubby had got out of bed and flung open his window to find eye contact with the young man outside, cleaning the pool at 7 am, we don’t know who was more surprised!
The TV has hundreds of Spanish channels and a few American ones, including Fox news but there are no Sky channels. The Kitchen was very well equipped, bottle gas hobs and an electric fan oven, great for cooking Baked potatoes, large fridge and nice size freezer section at the top. We used the BBQ a lot too. We found that light bulbs went a lot, so we just bought more.
The villa is in a very quiet residential area, along with a few other cosmos villas. The villa next door was for sale and was being redecorated etc; near the main road is a telephone box and easy to use with Euros. There are no shops nearby, the nearest are in Sant Climent where there is a large Spar shop, staff mostly speak English and are friendly. Do not bother to take foodstuffs with you, as nearly everything can be bought in Menorca and doesn’t cost any more. In this shop you will find fresh scones, steak and kidney pies, and apple pies all made by the English bakery on the Island and if that’s what you want, they are as good as home made.
We believe that the best place to do your “big” shop is at the large SYP supermarket on the way into Mahon on the Industrial estate. Great for fresh meat, point to what you want and it’s cut as you want, if in doubt say Fillet, Bacon, etc; they know mostly what you mean. Big selection of wines, all foods and stuff you need for your stay, loads of Brits used it. Recommended.
Any wheelchair users that need to pump up their tyres will find that there are a few petrol stations with free air but it is a different system to the UK and I needed to have 4 bars of air in my chair, check before you go. When we arrived in Menorca someone had let the tyres down on my chair.
We found eating out a bit expensive, in Sa Paissa in Calan Porter, we paid 15 euros for steak and chips each. At Nelsons restaurant near calas coves run by a British couple, there was a set 3-course meal for 18 euros each, with a beer, a coke and a bottle of wine come to 57 euros for the 2 of us. At Portabellas on the Harbour in Mahon, their 3-course meal was 16 euros each. In Es Castell at 3B’s café a lunchtime 3-course menu was 10 euros.
The Leather factory shops, that are along the main road from Mahon to Ciutadella are worth a look and, some things are cheaper in them, than at any of the markets. Not very wheelchair friendly as there were steps etc; The Ceramic centre near Mahon on the main road to Ciutadella is the best on the Island for all kinds of pots, good prices too. None of the markets are that large and you see the same people at all of them, as they are different days in each place. If you go into the one at Mahon and park in the underground car park, be warned that there is no lift and Hubby carried the wheelchair up the steps and I had to walk. Next time in Mahon, we parked in a disabled bay, painted blue on the floor, using my disabled badge. Couldn’t look at the shops in Mahon, as they are on steep hilly roads.
The top of Monte Toro has a fantastic view, so pick a clear day to visit, we could see Mallorca from there. This time of year was great for wild flowers out everywhere and lots of variety, red poppies along the roads, great. The huge Jacaranda tree’s purple flowers in Ciutedella were just fading, when we were there. Everything on the Island was very green and lush and most people were very friendly too. In the Spar supermarkets you can usually pick up a free copy of Menorca 2004, get it, as there is tons of info in it to help you.
Cala Santa Galdana… not only would this be a great place to stay but we had a lovely day there. A river runs out to the sea near the beach and there are some fantastic boats in it too, bridges to cross, café’s to sit in, beautifully laid out with a clean, sandy beach, lots of great looking Hotels too.
Cala En Bosch…when you drive into it, you come into a harbour area, this is mostly surrounded by Cafes, restaurant and shops, great for an afternoon visit and dinner, look around before you choose where to eat, there is a huge variety.
Cala En Porter… the main area is on a high cliff above the beach, the drive down on the road ends at a small car park by the beach. There are a few Restaurants and these are expensive and dirty.
We went along the slipway to the sea by the beach with the tide in and were disgusted with the amount of shredded toilet paper and sewerage in the water, not a place that I would want to swim in.
Binibequer…this seems to be a film set or something from Disneyland, very unreal and just for Tourists, if you want to see buildings with their lovely terracotta tiles painted white, this is the place to go.
Cala mesquida…. If you would like to see Mahon from the opposite side and see what a really beautiful harbour it is, go here on a Thursday (when the Cruise ship is in) nothing much there but the view is fantastic.
Mahon Harbour…lovely area, mostly restaurants and cafes, great place to have a drink and get to know “the Boat people” there are many boats moored here and the owners have to go somewhere. We chatted to a couple that were off to Mallorca the next morning for a few days.
Fornells…a nice drive to this dead end little town, not many shops but lots of boats in the harbour and the pleasure of watching the sailboats and wind-surfers whizzing along. Set back on a top road is an interesting, almost concealed cemetery surrounded by high walls. Inside in a courtyard setting is one of the prettiest cemeteries ever seen, really worth the drive.
We would go back to Menorca again but it would have to be later in the year. We had our villa at 2 weeks for the price of 1 week with Cosmos and we had to pay a supplement, as we were only 2 people but the Holiday cost £1400 for two and we had a great visit.