Quality Villas Blog

We are delighted to announce that in the past week or so, we have now added some fine luxury villas on the island of Capri.

 
Since a visit to the region earlier this year by our product manager Sally, the intention was to build a solid programme of villas that focused on the Amalfi coast. In particular this meant proven favourites like Sorrento, Positano and further round the coast. However we also wanted a slightly different feel to our villa selection, including some on Capri island as well as some of the more less well known areas.

Anyway our villas in Capri include Faraglioni di Capri which sports stunning sea views, is walking distance to Capri village centre and has full air conditioning. Also on the website is Villa Isola, which is a 15 minute walk to the blue grotto and beaches. My personal favourite is Mito di Capri. The image above is of this fabulous villa…the sea views are of course breath taking, whilst full air conditioing, daily breakfast and private chauffeured airport transfers of course make this a very nice summer hide out!

If you would like to know more about Capri island or to would like to reserve a property, please do call or email (info@qualityvillas.com or 0044 1442 870055).

The last Quality Villas outing was a speedy affair down to sunny St Tropez, a short visit last weekend with one of our travel agency partners Colette, accompanied by local manager Alex and head of reservations, Corinne.

The first notable word in the sentence above, is of course ‘sunny’. We can now confirm the sun is still in existence even if not over the UK. In fact, we were sent numerous photographs from the south of France which sent us into a tailspin of envy whilst the grey skies loomed over our offices. We can also confirm that a flat roof does eventually let water in, if it comes down hard enough!

Aside the villas which were seen, the positive aspects were numerous. Chances were taken to explore St Tropez itself, including some eateries and the harbour. The rather grand yachts were in abundance, as featured above.

Quality Villas now has 88 villas in St Tropez, we believe this is the largest (or one of the largest) hand picked collections of luxury villas on the market in this region. The difference of course is that each one is visited individually, something many other companies cannot do…such as the most recent outing. Personal knowledge and local knowledge (as they say) is everything…

To browse our St Tropez Villas online, please do click or call one of our staff on 0044 (0) 1442 870055 to hear more.

This weeks report is from Gill, area manager in the South West of France.

We are fast approaching the month of May and let’s hope it’s a drier and sunnier month than this month has been.  As I type this it’s pouring of rain again!  This is not England but South West France where we normally experience warm and sunny days.  However, the forecast is getting better and soon we will be back to our normal dose of spring weather.  May is always busy in France with a bank holiday almost every weekend, plus we have flower festivals, weekly markets bursting with spring produce and summery things to tempt the early tourists and the travelling fairgrounds for Pentecost.

The highlight for me is when I go to the Mediterranean town of Céret to enjoy a weekend of sun, music and a carnival atmosphere at the annual Cherry Festival.  The region around Céret is a major fruit producer, famed in particular for its cherries. The first of the seasons’ pick are, by local tradition, sent to France’s President so let’s hope President Sarkozy will enjoy them as the presidential elections are coming up and they might be his last!!
This annual cherry festival in Céret is a colourful weekend of stone spitting, music, dancing and entertainment in the streets, not to mention the inventive recipes involving cherries served up in the local restaurants like cherry burgers, cherries on toast, and all washed down with cherry wine or cherry beer. On Saturday there is the official opening of the festival followed by the Parade of the “Bandas” consisting of over 200 musicians from bands from throughout the region. In the afternoon is Catalan Dancing, the cherry stoning competition followed by the famous cherry stone spitting contest.

If you would to talk to one of our experienced staff about our extensive range of villas for rent in France please contact our office on 01442 870055 or visit our website

After a slight hiccup at the beginning of the week (lets just say the girls missed their flight out of Gatwick after a distressed Virgin flight was diverted back to the airport and then blocked the runway…!) but finally Federica and Julie touched down in Sicily.

This marks the latest in our visits overseas to see the villas we feature. We have a small but select portfolio of Sicily villas, with property dotted around the island. Julie and Federica will have to drive around most of it in order to see them all, but this shouldn’t be a hardship with some nice rest stops on the way, taking in the scenery and a bit of the local culture. The top image is in Patti. The images below are Siracusa. The weather looks fantastic in Sicily, in stark contrast to the rain lashing the UK at the moment, but then its all smiles as we had a water shortage anyway (always good to see the bright side of things isn’t it!)

If you are interested in viewing our Sicily villas, please do follow the highlighted text link. Alternatively to find out more about the trip plus Julie and Federicas feedback, please do ask (we love to talk about these sorts of things!) or indeed watch this blog for an update.

Tel 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email info@qualityvillas.com

The true value of booking with a genuine company as opposed to unscrupulous individuals offering villas and rental property online is being felt once more.

It happened several times last year (numerous high profile court cases were heard in the UK and then mentioned on this blog) as clients ‘booked’ with who they thought was the owner of a villa or apartment property through an accommodation rental website, made the payment…then found out later the property never existed and the money had gone.

It has happened several times this year, sadly, in London…tourists looking to rent ahead of the Olympic games have literally been ‘robbed’ online. The bogus villa or apartment ‘owner’ simply collects photos of attractive properties, signs up to a rental website – which also advertises bona fide accommodation – and creates a property. Then, with a reputable website marketing this ‘accommodation’ they can begin to take money with no checks at all. In other cases, genuine accommodation renters (owners) have their accounts hacked and the hacker then starts to receive the ‘bookings’ and steal away the funds.

The latest case of this sort of thing is being written about in the USA right now, a short quote from the Seattle Times (today) is below:

“The rental villa on the French Riviera that Sonia Guillaume found online looked picture-perfect. It featured an impeccably manicured garden, spacious living areas, a pool and stunning views of the medieval village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

And there was the price: 10 percent off the weekly 1,700-euro rate in August, a time when pretty much all of France is on vacation.

You know what happened next, right? Guillaume says she contacted the owner through the website, which is owned by the U.S. vacation rental listing site HomeAway, and wired him the money. Then she discovered that she wasn’t dealing with the real owner, but with someone who had fraudulently obtained the owner’s email password, a crime known as phishing.

“It was a scam,” says Guillaume, a subcontracting manager who lives in Poissy, a suburb of Paris.

I’ve been following similar incidents since the fall. In a report that I wrote in January, HomeAway promised to crack down on phishing and to work with victims to save their vacations. But since then, more defrauded renters and homeowners with listings on HomeAway have come forward to tell their stories.” The full article is here.

We are glad to say that here at Quality Villas – being a business with 26 years in the game – plus financial bonding, ABTA membership, a bricks and mortar office (which you can come and visit!) plus the fact we actually visit our villas…well, we hope clients will see the value. We protect not only your custom but also your monies.

To learn more about how we do this, our bonding, or to speak to someone who has seen the villas we market…please do call or email us. 0044(0) 1442 870055 or info@qualityvillas.com

Our Villas in France are online, see client testimonials, area manager reviews and more.

This week we were able to welcome back onto ‘the books’ Villa St Hilaire, a popular property sleeping 8, near the beaches of the Vendee on the west coast of France.

This property originally ‘left’ us as the owner took a long term rental meaning we couldn’t feature it, however this rental has now fallen through, so the good news is, we have a full year of availability left!

This villa has always been very popular in the past: just to indicate how much, this villa came back online this week and already it looks like we have the first booking in, with another 4 weeks to follow from interested parties. If you think you might be interested in taking a week, the rates are from £1140-£2590. Included : 14m x 6m heated pool, maid service, internet access, large enclosed grounds with good lawns for children, a village location but in particular, just 4 miles to the nearest beach and the well known Les Sables d’Olonne seaside resort is just 8 miles. Its driveable from UK ferry ports of course.

Please click to read more about this atlantic coast villa rental – or to make an enquiry. Alternatively please call 0044(0) 1442 870055 if you would like to speak about it. The other newsworthy snippet – product manager Sally is popping out to visit it next week alongside a wider visit to the region and other villas, so will shortly have very fresh, first hand knowledge, should you have a specific question to ask!

We look forward to being of service and reserving your perfect villa holiday.

Federica hits the road (above).

Its that time of year…Spring is in the air, flowers have started to open, the birds are in song plus a host of other seasonal stereotypes can now be added to with the Quality Villas ‘Grand Tours’, otherwise know as ‘villa fam’ trips or ‘educational trips’…or even sometimes ‘shopping trips and wine tasting trips’!

This week there are currently two such expeditions in place. John is currently in Marrakech, running the rule over our fine collection of villas there. Reports emanating from the region suggest a balmy 27 degrees, some long lunches and a bit of fun exploring the souks. More to follow on this.

Yet to call in to the office to confirm or deny their existence in the South of France since flying out on Monday, we have however managed to obtain some photographic evidence that Hannah and Federica from our reservations and product teams respectively are indeed well and seem to be enjoying their time!  Their visit will take in about 20-30 or so villas across the Cote d’Azur, with local manager Muriel leading the way. Possibly a few restaurants, glasses of wine and other hospitality may be enjoyed, but then this is the South of France.

All return to HQ on Friday to make their reports. In the meanwhile, safe travels to all concerned…in previous years trips have been scuppered by snow and ash clouds, so the current blue skies and fair weather bode well!

If you are interested in a villa in Cote d’Azur or wish to speak to one of the team about a villa holiday in France, please do call or email in the usual way.

Tel 0044 (0) 1442 870055

email: info@qualityvillas.com

Hannah enjoys the view!

Our Product Manager Sally, with colleague Tina, the Operations Manager, recently went on a fact finding mission to a new region of Italy for Quality Villas – the Amalfi Coast. They were joined by Marzio (pictured)…and some rather nice views.

We now have some 12 elegant properties with a few more to follow online, with a hint that something in Capri could be soon after! Please click to view our selection of villas on the Amafi Coast

The trip appears to have been a most enjoyable one (therefore we deem it a success!) and Sally has offered her personal thoughts as below:

“The Amalfi Coast really does live up to its reputation – stunning scenery, rocky coastline plunging into sparkly blue seas, all bathed in warm sunshine.  No wonder people want to go there.  During our visit, Tina and I used various modes of transport – planes, trains, automobiles….. and hydrofoils!  I have to say my preferred choice was the hydrofoil service, but that’s because I’m a bit wimpy when it comes to mountainous roads!   Of course, if you don’t try the ‘Amalfi Drive’ then you miss out on the scenery for which it is famed and that would be a real shame, but on the hydrofoils and ferries you get to really see the coastline and the villages in all their glory; plus there is something about being on a boat which puts me in a holiday mood – although we were obviously working really hard!

We popped over to Capri for lunch which was an experience – very quaint old town heaving with tourists when we arrived late morning, but we managed to squeeze into a restaurant near the main square and by the time we had finished our meal the place had really quietened down and we could wander round the narrow streets in peace.

In the middle of our trip we spent a couple of days in Cilento – the lesser known coast to the south of Amalfi – I say lesser known, but in fact it has long been a favourite of Italians themselves with many high profile figures owning second homes in the region.  I have to say I loved this region!  Perhaps it was because we had a local guide in the form of our  Area Manager Marzio (who is now working fervently to develop the region for us), but I felt it had everything the Amalfi coast has to offer in the way of quaint villages and harbours, mountainous terrain, but the drop to the coast is shallower and there are beaches too, so for young families it is perfect.  The hydrofoils run to the Amalfi coast within a couple of hours during summer so you can easily visit whenever you wish.  Because it is less well-known there is still a sense of authentic Italy.  We were taken on a beautiful scenic drive down the coast to Maratea and up to the mountain top above it (those mountain roads again!!) to see the giant statue of Jesus looking out across the bay – I’m sure we saw the whole of the Cilento coast from this vantage point – this is an image that will stay with me for a long time – it was truly stunning.”

For more information on our Amalfi villas range or to speak about any of the properties we feature throughout France, Italy or Morocco (or indeed ski!) please do call on 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email info@qualityvillas.com

The focus of our latest e-newsletter was a bit of fun here, but thrown open to a couple of the staff in this office was an opportunity to put forward their favourite ‘pools’ from our villa selection. The criteria was purely personal taste – the location, view from and so on, all being part of the equation!

Curiously, only two villas were in common for the same pool being chosen, mind you, with getting close to 500 villas online, choosing the same ones was unlikely!

For anyone interested in the top 5 – care of QV – please click and have a look at our latest e-newsletter (click here)

If you would like to receive our e-news direct to your in-box (our best offers, latest villas and various snippets and tit-bits of news from France, Italy and Morocco) then please visit our homepage for French villas – the sign up option is to the top left of the page. We look forward to keeping you informed…!

…and by the way, the number one pool? Click here and all will be revealed (villa with top pool). We hope you agree it is rather special (the private beach, private tennis court also help of course!)

If you would like to know more about our suggested villas with pools, please do email us or call on 0044 (0) 1442 870055 . Corinne and Hannah in our sales team would be delighted to assist you.

I am pleased to write that latest reports from France indicate the majority of the country has now thawed…and the bitterly cold spell, as seen across most of Europe in the last fortnight, is now safely behind us. Of particular concern were messages received from our avid blog writer in the South West of France (our area manager, Gill), who wrote to say:

“My village is perched on the top of three hills which has meant I have been locked in (if only it had been a pub!) for a week now with hardly any traffic able to get in or out.  Going for a stroll was impossible as gritting lorries do not exist here and the idea of my neighbours is to ignore it and it will eventually go away.  Well, it hasn’t gone away and I am still stuck indoors with freezing temperatures and the only sign of a thaw is in another 5 days!  Can I last this long without going out!  Fortunately I have enough food (and wine) to last me until then and I suppose there is one silver lining here is that I cannot go out and indulge in my favourite pastime of retail therapy; just think of the money I am saving!”

To keep her warm, we have of course been sending Gill plenty to do (despite the freeze, broadband kept going), which includes helping write up some of the exciting new villas in Marrakech we have recently taken on. The only consolation is that those glowing images of blue skies and gorgeous swimming pools, perhaps with a heartening hot, mint tea if the first elements weren’t enough, would have warmed Gills cockles through the cold!

To hear more about our villas in Morocco or to reserve from our French, Italian or ski selections, please do call on 0044 (0)1442 870055 or email info@qualityvillas.com. Corinne and Hannah in our villa reservations team are ready to assist you!

The photographs incidentally are from Alex (our man in St Tropez) and are of Lac Leman in Geneva, thankfully a long way from the scorching summer we are expecting in France!