Accommodation Blog - Villa Florencia Casa Rural Gandia

Costa Blanca Pet Friendly Accommodation

As part of our policy of promoting ourselves as Pet Friendly Accommodation, we frequently find that guests want to stay here with their pets, as it can often be quite hard to find suitable places to stay. In the last few days, we have had two such groups of guests, but staying with us for very different reasons. The first couple to arrive were Thor and Margarete from Sweden with their thoroughly endearing dog Buster. They had flown from Stockholm with Buster and were on their way to their holiday home near Torrevieja, but had decided to take a few days to get there and spend some time exploring a different part of the Costa Blanca. They stayed with us for two days in one of our Bed and Breakfast rooms and took advantage of our evening meal service both nights – they considered it so much easier than either taking Buster with them or worrying if he was all right whilst they were out! Buster got along famously with our three dogs and spent a lot of time investigating the garden and playing around with them in general. During the days, Thor and Margarete would take some time to…

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Bed and Breakfast in Spain

Bed and Breakfast in Spain We were happy to welcome Curt and Sandra who came to stay with us for two nights last weekend. They live in Wiltshire – although Curt is Swedish by birth – and the purpose of their trip was to visit relatives who live in this area, as well as other family members further south near Torrevieja. Their plan was to stay with us for a couple of nights and then to move on to visit their other relatives. Curt and Sandra arrived around 3.00pm on Saturday and had a welcome cup of tea in the garden before setting off to their uncle’s house about 15 minutes away. They had also said that they wanted to take advantage of our evening meal service on their first night with us; they had been on the move since 3.30am the previous day and were glad to know that, after their afternoon visit to the family, they would be able to return to us and relax, without having to think about finding a restaurant in unfamiliar surroundings. It is for this reason that they prefer to use Bed and Breakfast accommodation whenever they can on their travels, rather than…

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Rural Bed and Breakfast

Rural Bed and BreakfastWe were really pleased to welcome visitors from far away this week – Mike and Sharon Farrell and their family from the United States. They were travelling as a group of six, spanning three generations, and the main purpose of their trip was to visit another family member who was studying in Spain for a semester. The had arrived in Barcelona a few days before travelling to us, and now wanted a couple of days relaxation in a rural Bed and Breakfast before visiting their relative in Alicante. Having spent time sightseeing in Barcelona, and then more sightseeing on the way down, they finally arrived after dining en route, and were happy to settle in and relax for the rest of the evening. However, they did not want to miss the opportunity to see something of our part of Spain, so took time to plan what they would do the next day. Having heard about the famous Borgia family of the area that gave the world the only two popes of Spanish origin, they wanted to see the nearby town of Xativa, where the family came from, so made a plan to take a rural drive the…

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Pet Friendly Accommodation Spain

Pet Friendly Accommodation Spain It was a real pleasure to welcome back Sheri, who decided on a last minute visit to come and see us. She booked herself in to our Pet friendly self-catering apartment, which suits her particularly well as she comes over here in order to visit her two lovely dogs. Sheri is originally from California, but moved to Spain approximately five years ago – bringing her dogs with her, of course. After some time, she received an offer of employment in the UK, so she now lives there most of the time – but unfortunately she was not able to take her dogs with her. They are looked after by a friend here in Spain, but Sheri naturally likes to come and visit them here on the Costa Blanca as often as she is able – so our pet friendly accommodation suits her down to the ground. This time, she spent just over a week enjoying the warmer weather and relaxing with her dogs in the apartment, or out in the gardens around the pool. Our own dogs are always pleased to have visitors, and of course now know Molly and Snickers pretty well from their previous…

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Costa Blanca Winter Sunshine

Costa Blanca Winter Sunshine Costa Blanca Winter Sunshine! We were happy to welcome our latest guest who came in search of some winter sunshine here on the Costa Blanca – Sam, a retired actor from London. He was combining a spell here on the coast after having spent time visiting friends in Toledo and Madrid as part of his Spanish break. Having already spent time sightseeing in the cities, Sam was eager to relax and enjoy the warm sunshine as a very welcome contrast to the cold weather he had left behind in England and to recharge his batteries. Sam was renting our self-catering apartment for his stay with us, although he did choose to take advantage of our evening meal service most nights. The first two or three days of his visit were spent reading and relaxing in the garden, and then he felt it was time to explore a little of what our region has to offer nearby. The inland town of Xativa was Sam’s choice for a day’s excursion, and made for a great day out exploring the small streets and picturesque squares. The castle which dominates the skyline provides a dramatic backdrop to the quaint old…

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Anniversary Long Weekend

Anniversary Long Weekend We were delighted to receive a booking from Geoff and Joan who wanted to come and stay with us for a long weekend in order to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. They have owned property for about 15 years here in Spain – further down the coast at the southern end of the Costa Blanca – and have lived permanently here for the last four years. They have already explored many parts of the country, but had not yet visited Valencia city or this section of the Costa Blanca, and were looking for a peaceful venue for a few nights, but within easy reach of Valencia and the rest of this part of the coast. They soon settled in and for the first afternoon enjoyed the beautiful weather in the gardens, before later on joining us for our evening meal service. They were staying for a total of four nights, so were keen to get any advice we could offer regarding scenic drives, local places of interest, and of course the easiest way to visit Valencia city itself. They spent the next day touring the area, spending time in Gandia town and the beach area, before returning…

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Motorcycle Friendly Accommodation

French Motor Bikers on the Costa Blanca! We received a reservation some time back from a group of 8 French motor bikers, who were keen to stay with us because of our convenient location for an overnight stop between Almeria and Sitges (their next port of call), as well as because of the fact that we offer free and secure parking for their bikes. They said they were a group of friends from the Lyons area who often holiday together on motorbike touring trips, visiting many parts of Europe and even further afield as well. We tend not to accept bookings of only one night in August at the height of the season, but we also appreciate that it is not always easy to find motorbike friendly accommodation, so under the circumstances we were happy to accept their reservation. They arrived around 5.00pm and soon settled themselves happily around the pool, to enjoy some relaxation time in the gardens before joining us for dinner. Unfortunately two of their group had had to return to France with their motorbike due to mechanical problems, so were transported back home already, so the group size was reduced to six people, but nevertheless a…

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More Italian Guests – Bellissimo!

We received an unexpected phone call earlier this week from Mariolina and her husband Antonio, who were on their way northwards from Andalucía. In fact, they were already in the Alicante area, and wanted to know if we could accommodate them for a night or two as they passed through the Costa Blanca. They were having a driving holiday in Spain, and had spent the last four weeks touring the country before heading towards Barcelona and the ferry back to Italy. As it happened, we had a vacancy so were happy to await their arrival later that evening. They made good time from Alicante and soon arrived with us and settled in to their room. They loved the house and gardens, and were so glad that we had room for them at such late notice, having read reviews about us on Trip Advisor. Having already eaten on the way, they did not want to take advantage of our evening meal service, but were happy to enjoy a drink in the garden with us. They ended up staying for three nights, and took the opportunity to explore the area a little, see the wonderful blue-flag awarded beaches in Playa de Gandia,…

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Costa Blanca Bed and Breakfast

Leon and Gerrie were recent visitors from Holland who came to stay in our Bed and Breakfast, and they were looking for a good period of rest and relaxation. Gerrie is a journalist and Leon a cameraman and both spend a lot of time traveling in connection with news stories, so really were in need of some time off from the stresses of their daily lives. They had spent a few days in the city of Valencia before moving on to us, and their initial booking was for four nights bed and breakfast. However, they soon fell in love with the peace and relaxation they found here and so extended their stay for an extra four nights. Most days they would go on a trip to one of the beautiful beaches nearby, and in fact soon found that Oliva beach was very much to their liking. Quieter and less crowded than Playa de Gandía, Oliva beach has a lower level of development along its coastline and Leon and Gerrie found that it was within very easy reach of the villa, so it soon became a favourite of theirs. Then a typical day would see them return to us for lunch,…

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New Guests from a New Country

We have had guests visit us from many different countries – both from Europe and further afield – but we recently had the pleasure of welcoming guests from Sweden for the very first time. Peter and Eva Kjellborn had been touring around the southern part of the country for a couple of weeks, and wanted to visit us for a few days prior to returning to Sweden from the airport at Alicante. They felt that we were located in an ideal part of the Costa Blanca for their purpose – plenty of inland towns and villages to visit if they wanted, but close to the beautiful beaches of the region as well. They arrived in the afternoon and soon felt at home, opting to dine with us that evening as well. They felt it would be easier than leaving the relaxing surroundings of the pool and gardens on their first day, since they wanted to make the most of the sunshine before having to return to the dubious weather in Stockholm – their hometown. They loved the tranquil ambience of the villa and were more than happy to settle in to their time here with us. The following day they…

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Spanish Driving Holidays

Returning Guests from Belgium We were really pleased to welcome Frans and Marita again, who were visiting us for their third visit. Previously, they had travelled to us from Belgium on their motorbike, taking advantage of our motorbike friendly accommodation with the safe and secure parking that we have available. They then would spend a few days with us, touring around the area on their bike and exploring the beautiful inland scenery that this part of the Costa Blanca has to offer. This time, however, they arrived in a beautiful Mercedes cabriolet sports car – apparently their motor-biking days are over in the quest for greater comfort and style!! They had driven from Belgium, spending two nights on the way, and arrived with us in the middle of a beautiful, sunny afternoon. They wanted just to relax and unwind straight away and said they felt like they were coming to their second home! In no time at all they were relaxing in the pool and enjoying the first sunny weather they had seen for a long time. Belgium has, so they said, been having terrible weather this year, in common with most of the rest of northern Europe. They spent…

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Bed and Breakfast Guests from Orba

This last weekend we were pleased to welcome Jonathan and Anne, who live in Orba on the Costa Blanca less than an hour away from us (and have done so for the last 15 years). They run their own business and felt in need of a short break, so – having heard of Gandia – they decided to visit us for a couple of days and explore the area. They took advantage of our special offer of a Bed and Breakfast weekend of a two night, three day mini break. They arrived on the Friday around midday, settled in to their room, and then set off to Playa de Gandia in search of lunch and some relaxation on the beach. They had lunch at the Yacht Club there and then strolled along the promenade before relaxing on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. They returned to us in time for some final sunbathing around the pool, and then joined us for dinner. On the Saturday they wanted to visit another of the stunning award-winning beaches that are to be found all along this stretch of the northern Costa Blanca and so went to Miramar – a very different…

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