Bed and Breakfast Gandia - Page 8 of 12 - Villa Florencia Casa Rural Gandia

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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The Boys from Bordeaux

We were really pleased to welcome Fabien and David from France who came to stay with us recently. They live near Bordeaux, but enjoy spending time in Spain for their holidays, whilst renting out their home in France during that time. This time they decided to spend some time on the Costa Blanca, before moving further south and finishing their holiday near Marbella. They had not visited our area at all in the past, however, so enjoyed taking trips in the car to some of the surrounding towns and villages, as well as making the most of the beautiful beaches that the La Safor region has to offer. They stayed with us for a total of five nights, often taking advantage of our evening meal service, and even enjoyed celebrating David’s birthday here as well. However, all good things have to come to an end, and all too soon it was time for them to go on to the next part of their holiday and bid us farewell. However, they had really enjoyed their time with us and were very impressed with the La Safor region as a whole, so they have every intention of returning to us in the…

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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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House-hunters Return!

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed Bernard and Grace back again recently. They had also stayed with us,in our Bed and Breakfast in May of this year, during which time they found a house they wanted to purchase. This is with a view to moving to Spain on a permanent basis, not just as a holiday home, so it was a decision they had to be really sure of. This time they decided to rent our self-catering apartment for a week in order to combine some rest and recreation with practical matters concerning their impending purchase – not least of which was to have a good and leisurely look around the house and gardens to get a proper “feel” for it. Using the self-catering option was also going to give them the opportunity to get to know the local shops and supermarkets, so that when they made the big move, they would know some of the basics of where they liked to shop and would feel more at home straightaway. Much of their time was also spent in the gardens here at Villa Florencia relaxing and having a real holiday around the pool – which was even…

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Overnight B&B guest en-route to Granada

Just Passing Through! We received a reservation from Didier and Carole Jeanjean for a one night’s stay for themselves and their three children recently, so were pleased to welcome them when they arrived last Thursday. They had set off from their home in France at 5.00am, so arrived with us around lunchtime with the intention of relaxing for the rest of the day around the pool. They were on their way to spend two weeks in the south of the country near Marbella, but were going to go to Granada first in order to see the world-famous Alhambra so we were a convenient stop-off point on the Costa Blanca along the way. They were taking time off from their olive oil producing business near Nîmes for a family holiday and we were ideally placed for their overnight break. They had also decided to take advantage of our evening meal service in order to avoid having to find a restaurant in the town and to enable them to make the most of their rest time in the sunshine. They were delightful guests and it was great that they joined us for dinner, although they went to bed soon afterwards to make…

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Guests from Belgium, Holland and France

This past week were delighted to welcome a group of people involved in the Juanjo Trilles Challenge – a billiards challenge between the two top players in the world (Dick Jaspers and Frederic Caudron) to determine who really is the best player over a match of long duration – four days – thereby minimising any factor of luck that could be associated with shorter games. The tournament was being streamed live by the Kozoom organisation, and we provided accommodation not only for their production crew and executives, but also for some celebrities from the billiards world itself. Billiards is hugely popular in many countries of mainland Europe, and this was reflected in the guests who stayed at Villa Florencia Casa Rural. The Kozoom production team arrived on Monday, followed on Tuesday by the billiards celebrities Jean Claude Dupont (president of the UMB the world federation of billiards) and his wife, and then Raymond Ceulemans and his wife (who has won 35 world titles, 48 European titles and 61 national titles). Both these prominent figures come from Belgium, and they were joined later in the day by the Frenchman Bernard Boudoin, ranked third in Europe, with his wife. The tournament itself…

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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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Guests from the USA

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed two couples from the United States last week, especially so because they came to us on the recommendation of some friends of theirs who stayed with us last year in our bed and breakfast. Bob and Mary Lou were from Colorado Springs (where their friends who stayed with us last year were from also), but Hank and Maxine come from Missouri. They were on a driving holiday through France and Spain and stopped overnight with us on their way to Malaga. They had visited Barcelona before coming on to us and arrived in the late afternoon, ready for some relaxation in the gardens and around the pool. They soon settled in to their rooms and then enjoyed some drinks and tapas in the bar before joining us for dinner that evening. They had not visited Spain before, and had decided to drive down the Mediterranean coast, stopping off at Barcelona, then on to the Costa Blanca before heading down towards Andalucia. Their whole trip was to last just over three weeks – including their visit to France – and they were loving their time in Europe. They were following some of the…

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Dog Rescuers from Germany!

Just over a month ago we were pleased to have Dagmar and Andreas visit us for a couple of days from Germany. They were spending time helping at the local animal rescue centre before taking four dogs back to Germany by plane for adoption. Dagmar chose a dog that she also wanted to adopt, but was not able to take it with her at the time for legal reasons and it was going to be transported to Germany at the beginning of June. We were therefore very happy when they returned to us last week by car with the intention of taking Dagmar’s own dog back with them, as well as three others that had also been found homes in Germany. They arrived late in the afternoon, having left Germany the previous evening and driven non-stop the whole way! Having visited us before, they settled in with us like they felt at home immediately and joined us for dinner that night. The next morning they were keen to go to the rescue shelter and see the dogs they were taking home, so the plan was to straight to the centre, spend some time with the dogs and depart for Germany…

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Overnight B&B Guests from Holland

On Sunday we were pleased to have Ton and Frank from Holland stay with us for the night on their way south to Almeria. They had set off on their journey by car from the Netherlands on the Saturday, staying at Narbonne in France along the way. In fact they phoned us from France to enquire if we had a vacancy for Sunday night, as they liked the idea of breaking their journey in our part of the northern Costa Blanca. This was to be a tour around the mainland of Spain for them, lasting about four weeks, in order to familiarise themselves with the country. They already have a property on the Canary Islands, although are thinking of relocating to the mainland, as well as retaining their other home in Holland also. They arrived during the afternoon, having made good time from France, and were pleased to be able to spend some time around the pool in the beautiful weather that we are enjoying now, before taking advantage of our evening meal service too. They decided that it would make things very much easier for them if they could simply relax after their long drive, without having to think…

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Property Hunters with plenty of Choice!

Bernard and Grace arrived on Tuesday for a three night stay with us, having already visited this and many other parts of Spain in the past. However, they were here with a purpose other than a break from the routine of life in England – they were looking for a property to buy for their retirement, with the intention of moving here on a permanent basis. They had spent time in the past looking for property in various locations along the Mediterranean coast, but had now decided that this area was the one they preferred. The northern Costa Blanca seemed to suit most of their requirements, and the area around Gandía was particularly to their liking. They wanted to see a good choice of quality properties at reasonable prices in an appealing part of the country – and somewhere that still felt like it was an authentically Spanish area, rather than somewhere that had a disproportionate ex-pat community (whatever the nationality!). With the choice of houses currently on the market, they had already spent time on previous visits viewing a large number of houses, so this visit was to be a series of mainly second viewings, to whittle their list…

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