Bed and Breakfast Gandia - Page 3 of 12 - Villa Florencia Casa Rural Gandia

Family Friendly Holidays in Spain

Family Friendly Holidays in Spain We received an enquiry from Karin and her family last year, asking about the possibility of visiting us last October. However, due to family circumstances they were not able to make the trip so we were delighted when they contacted us again early this year with a view to visiting us in June. Karin, Rogier and their eighteen month old daughter Maite arrived from Holland in the late afternoon and were happy to take advantage of our evening meal service that night even though they were renting our self-catering apartment – there was no need to rush out to the shops straightaway! They soon settled in to the apartment, and found it suited their needs perfectly. They were staying with us for twelve days so were glad of the extra space, as well as the cot and high chair for Maite, of course! They became firm friends with our dogs and cats and Maite especially loved playing with them around the pool. Most days they would spend some time in the gardens and pool, although Maite was not an enthusiastic water baby to begin with! However, by the end of their stay she had become…

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Gandia Las Fallas 2014

Guests for “Fallas Fortnight”! Quite a few months ago we received a booking from Sandy and David who wanted to stay in our self-catering apartment for nearly a fortnight, to coincide with the local fiesta of Gandia Las Fallas 2014. Las Fallas is the famous Valencian fiesta which sees enormous satirical effigies constructed in each town (or in each area of larger towns). These are then judged on their merits and finally burned to the ground on the night of March 19th – St Joseph’s Day, the patron saint of carpenters. In the run-up to March 19th there are daily parades with marching bands and local ladies and young girls bedecked in the most elaborate of traditional dress. Sandy and David are very keen on the whole tradition of the Fallas fiestas and have been coming to the Valencian region to view the spectacle for a number of years. However, this was the first time they had decided to spend their time in Spain with us and we were delighted to welcome them and show them to the self-catering apartment that would be their home for the next two weeks. They were of course very familiar with the area already…

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Spring Spanish Property Hunters

Spain or France for Property? We have recently been aware that more guests have been visiting us for the purpose of looking for a Spanish property on the northern Costa Blanca. Spanish property prices are now at a very realistic level compared to many other places in Europe (northern Europe especially), and this has been reflected in a gradual increase in the number of property hunters – once an almost extinct breed! Colin and Helen arrived to stay with us on one of our Property Hunters Packages, and booked with us for five nights recently. They are very taken with the idea of a home for their retirement and would love to find somewhere that offers a good and healthy lifestyle, reasonable living costs, and of course better weather. They have been turning the idea over in their minds for some time, and are torn between either France or Spain for this big life changing decision, so this trip was very much a preliminary reconnoitre – basically to see what this part of the country is like and whether it is somewhere they could add to their list. They had not contacted any property agents, but rather wanted to get…

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Spring Activity Holidays in Spain

Spring Activity Holidays in Spain The cooler months of the year give a great opportunity to enjoy all that the Costa Blanca has to offer in the way of outdoor activities, many of which would be impossible in the height of the summer. Rock-climbing, mountain biking and bird watching are all hobbies and activities that visitors can take part in, and local tourist organisations are now beginning to promote the area as somewhere to come for more than just the traditional summer attractions of sun and sea. Recently we were very pleased to welcome Jean-Marc and his wife Nathalie who are from Quebec in Canada. They were in Spain visiting their daughter who is studying in Barcelona, and as part of their trip they wanted to spend some time in the northern Costa Blanca birdwatching. They booked one of our all-inclusive 3 night Birdwatching Packages, which basically takes care of everything they need, with all evening meals included, packed lunches, and 2 days guided birdwatching. They arrived on the Monday afternoon and settled in, enjoying a leisurely dinner that evening before meeting their guide the next morning. They set off to the Albufeira wetlands just to the south of Valencia…

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Vegetarian bed and breakfast in Spain

A Vegetarian Stop-over! We recently welcomed the Subrahmanian family to Villa Florencia, as they wanted to stay overnight on their way to a holiday villa they had rented near Malaga and they had been looking for accommodation that would offer them vegetarian cuisine. Originally from Mumbai, Chitra and Ram moved to Switzerland about fifteen years ago, and their daughter was then born in Geneva five years later. They love travelling around Europe during their holidays, but had never explored Spain until now. They stayed with us because they had been looking not only for a guest house conveniently located between the north and south of the country, but also one that was happy to cater for vegetarian preferences, and also welcomed pets as well. They were travelling with their two beautiful, white Swiss Shepherd dogs, so our apartment suited them perfectly with its spacious bedrooms and living area. Since they were only staying with us for only the one night during their journey (they had already stopped near Perpignan the previous night after leaving Geneva), they wanted to dine in with us, rather than making use of the kitchen in their apartment or searching for a suitable restaurant. This was…

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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 bird watching 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 bird watching excursions, spending time inland from Valencia, then to…

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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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Family Mountain Biking Holidays

Family Mountain Biking Holidays A short while ago we received a reservation from Louise and Adam for an August weekend in our self-catering apartment. They were going to be visiting Louise’s father who lives in Alicante, but wanted a few days away in a different environment – away from the city – and where they could enjoy a more rural setting. They were bringing their children Harry (8) and Issy (6) with them, and they hoped that Adam and Harry would also be able to have a day’s mountain biking over the course of the weekend. Louise and Issy intended to make the most of the sunshine and the pool! They arrived on the Saturday morning, with the day’s biking planned for the Sunday, so soon settled in to the apartment and enjoyed some time around the pool and in the gardens. However, Adam and Harry thought it would be a good plan if they could possibly spend a short time biking on the Saturday afternoon too, and although Dave from Mountain Biking Valencia was only going to be guiding and tutoring them on Sunday, he had already delivered their bikes here in readiness. Mark therefore volunteered to take them…

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