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My Villa Parade Majorca villa holiday review part two

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We flew out on the Thursday, was a 3pm flight, as we checked in the lady on the desk was astounded at our lack of luggage and utterly incredulous at us travelling without a pushchair for a two year old, in her words ‘you are legends’ little did I know how much this aspect would come to bite me royally in the ass.

Emma roared round the airport like a complete loon, rarely agreeing to sit on the Trunki and when she did sit on it the strap broke off rendering it nigh on useless, she ran off, hid in shops, wouldn’t hold hands, complete nightmare. But Lucy was VERY excited – can you tell?

By the time we got on the plane the relief was palpable, not least down to being able to keep her in one spot for more than her customary 7 seconds, to be fair she was great though that was probably assisted by the £30 I spent on colours, magazines, stickers and toys for that exact purpose!

We arrived and headed to pick up the checked bag on the carousel of hell and then went over to the car hire bit, collected our car and set off, before figuring out that we didn’t have a map, not so good with 3 tired overwrought children and it now being 7.20pm and it going dark.

Headed straight the local supermarket for a ‘big shop’ where yet again, the phenomenal range of fresh food and veg is a miraculous sight in it’s own right, no wonder they are so much healthier and happier than us, our supermarkets are full of packets, jars and frozen goods, over there virtually none of that, the balance is completely skewed the other way.

Set off and remembered that we still didn’t have a map – do’h! However I knew the general area and had received physical written instructions from the wonder that is Villa Parade – we followed them in the pitch black and remarkably found the villa on the first look.

Arriving in the dark is never a good thing, you cant get a feel for the place or the location, so we quickly explored, turned on the hot tub to warm up and put the children to bed and relaxed with a bit of British TV (thank God for a freeview box with British Channels) and a bottle of Lancers.

Next morning I was greeted by this view – at the back of the house and this view at the side – not bad eh – I could certainly get used to this view every morning I can tell you. Though you cant see it on this image – the view goes out over Pollensa Bay.

 

I got my bearings and figured where we were in relation to towns, mountains and roads, I’m the navigator in our house and it helps me to feel at home to know where I am. The children got straight in their swimmers and headed out to the gated pool – there is NO denying it was cold in that pool – and the hot tub wasn’t warmed up yet.

Tim and I sat back, watched the children as they alternated between sunbathing, table tennis and swimming  – brilliantly the house already had a ton of inflatables and buckets and spades so they just got stuck straight in. 

We went into Pollensa thats afternoon/evening and found the wonder that is Ca N’olesa in the main square – simply superb pizzas, in a stunning location – now Im on holiday, eating and drinking after a chilled out sunny day – bliss

Friday morning we headed into Puerto Pollensa and found the Gran Cafe 1919 for croissants, pain au chocolat and coffee – on a lovely pedestrian promenade – perfect for families it became a regular haunt for us for nightly ice creams sundaes and waffles. Back to the villa to relax some more – then onto Stay Restaurant overlooking the marina in Puerto Pollensa for tapas and a cheeky G & T

Saturday we headed into Palma for Tim’s usual pilgrimage in Massimo Dutti – we LOVE Palma, its pretty, cosmopolitan, cultural and fantastic for shopping, we headed up to a cafe for croissant and coffee (noticing a theme?) and Tim as accosted by an elderly woman foisting olive leaves onto and into him, as I marched onward she was stuffing them down his shirt and into his pockets, was comical to watch him try to be polite but firm till we saw her try and take his wallet in the process then demand money for the leaves!

As we headed up one of the stunning wide pedestrianised streets Paseo Del Born – we were suddenly feeling like someone had pressed pause – we had unwittingly walked straight into a Flash Mob event, in this case a Flash Freeze event where everyone and we mean EVERYONE was just stopped in time, frozen, mid chat, mid coffee, mid cycle, mid call – was SO surreal til we figured out what was going on – cars stopped, the street fell silent – was incredible – so we decided to join in and froze to the spot too, after taking this cheeky snap.

Though I know it just looks like they are all mid action – they weren’t – they were all frozen still – for about 3 minutes – and then they came and did it again half an hour later.

Tim shopped, then we headed to Porto Pi – an indoor shopping centre – where I mainly chased the never tiring smallest member around – regretting not bring a pushchair?  you could say that.

Back over to the villa we ate in that night we headed out around 8pm for icecream and waffles at Gran Cafe

Sunday is market day in Pollensa – this is truly not to be missed – Pollensa is very Spanish – sounds odd doesnt it of course its Spanish you might be thinking but often Majorca is accused of being too British with its English Breakfasts and pubs, not in this area – its still very Spanish so the market here is a sea of amazing stalls of fresh fruit, veg, meat and spectacularly – anchovies – Oh. My. God. Just amazing. 

Emma drove us insane by charging through crowds and diving into shops and at that point it was decided that a pushchair was a must – so after a lovely wander around Pollensa we headed to the Hire shop to get one sorted out and met a lovely chap who provides all the stuff you might need on holiday – we were very impressed, let me tell you that pushchair was 15 Euro VERY well spent. Back to Pollensa again to discover this, the 8th wonder of the World…. Il Guardian

Il Giardino is a restaurant where the chairs spill into the pedestrian square – perfect but down the side they have their very own bakery *sigh* where they make not only the bread for the restaurant, but also to sell warm fresh croissant, pain au chocolat and wait for it…. ensaimada a treat so revered in our house we might have to get a plaque – you buy the pastries and then go and eat them in the restaurant – a perfect concept – just magic – this MIGHT be the reason I came back 9 – yes NINE pounds heavier.

Yes that is us all drooling over the pastries in the reflection

Look at the layers in there  – and let me say this – they were WARM – WARM I tell thee

In the afternoon we headed over to Festival Park – Majorca’s answer to a an out of town shopping outlet centre – to be honest it was pretty small, and not much of interest to us but they have some super children’s’ entertainments and activities there, including a carousel and fantastic water fountains for the kids to play in – worth a trip for that alone for us, full of locals spending some super time with their children

Think that’s enough for now – the rest of the week will come in Part 3 by @alysonsblog

 

 

 

 

My @Villa Parade Prize – Majorca Villa Holiday Review – Part One

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Provided by @alysonsblog 

I was the incredibly lucky person who won the Villa Parade competition run on their blog over the summer, lucky as this is perhaps the only competition I have entered this year, I’m by no means a professional comp’er so it made the shock of winning a bit, well overwhelming.

The prize was a week in a villa in Majorca over October half term, including car hire, as I wrote in my previous post we haven’t had a family holiday abroad in around 5 years so this was long overdue, and certainly after what can only be described as a very difficult year, very much needed.

Majorca rates as one of our favorite places to visit, it holds very special memories for both my husband and I, and we never tire of it, not the 18-30 style Magalluf/Palma Nova type places, but the real Majorca, friendly, beautiful, relaxing and cultural, its the place we escape to for cheeky weekends away, mainly involving spa’s, shopping and eating.

We are seasoned villa renters, around the world so I felt I had a strong idea of what I wanted to get out of this break and what to expect and that to be honest, going to Majorca again would be more like coming home (in a good way) than discovering anything new, but again this lovely island surprised me.

We have previously rented a couple of times before with Majorca Farmhouses, but now find them pretty expensive and out of our price range, Owners Direct, but can find that slight unreliable as you deal direct with the owners and occasionally their idea of ‘luxury’ is not always yours!

The Villa Parade concept is a ‘travel holiday’ company who make it more an end-to-end service, but without the exorbitant prices of other similar companies, they pass the same good, and unbiased eye over the property allowing you to compare side by side, rather than by an owner’s rather preferential description! You deal with them directly and they can advise you on different villas to suit your need, it was a very personal service matching needs and locations, really well executed.

As we are a family of 5 we decided to upgrade the free car hire to a bigger car, and got boosters and car seats too, that was all pretty painless to sort out and was simple at the airport to collect the car too, again all organised via Villa Parade.

I wrote a post for Villa Parade here about how we travel light so with 1 checked bag, 3 excited children, 5 hand baggage bags and we were off, a 3pm flight with Monarch out of Manchester.

In Part Two I will detail more about the holiday and the villa and show you more of the amazing island I love, including our participating in a Flash Mob event in Palma, and us almost giving the owner a heart attack!

Click here to find out more about @alysonsblog 

Travelling light with a family

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Those aren’t words that tend to go together are they?

I recall holidays where the sum total of bags and luggage could have represented emigrating not a week’s holiday in Spain

But if we are good at one thing in this family its travelling light, very light.

Part of the reason for that is experience, vast and lengthy painful experience, with 3 children now and an ever-growing amount of ‘stuff’ I have learnt to trim the fat when it comes to travelling, almost every weekend we decamp to the family home in North Wales – so that means packing for two/three nights away, complete with children & dog. It’s become a bit of a challenge nailing just how little we actually ‘need’ and that’s half the battle.

Goodness knows when our first child was born, holidays tended to look like we were moving an army, so much stuff that we couldn’t do without, sterilisers, blankets, travel cot’s, bottles, toys, clothes it was a huge amount, but with each subsequent child I have chilled out a bit more about what needs to come travelling with us.

I’m pretty old school, I grew up in an era where a ‘hold’ bag was included in the price of your airline ticket (imagine that) and that means, though I’m ashamed to admit it, I’m perpetually tight when it comes to buying baggage allowance, and so frankly I don’t, or I buy the absolute minimum I can do. So on this trip to our VillaParade villa in Majorca I will be checking in 1 hold bag and the rest of us will be sporting hand luggage. I would also say that I wouldn’t bother with any hold luggage but for my husband’s addiction to Massimo Dutti and the FACT he will buy his next year’s full wardrobe on this trip, I know him so well!

Now I can feel some people reeling in shock, and incredulous horror, but I have to say one of the best advantages of a villa holiday is that fact they have laundry facilities, now I don’t want to spend my holidays resembling Widow Twanky but I also don’t want to lug back bags full or unworn or unwashed clothes either, come on we have all done it, come to pack up the bags and realise how much hasn’t even seen the light of day on the holiday.

Now with three children, one of them a teenager who frankly couldn’t fit her make up in hand luggage, this can be a challenge but I find there is a knack to it, and the trick is to get the children to buy into it. They each get their own pull along, or in Emma’s (2) case a Trunki, and then its a competition to see who can take the least but still look great, with prizes for ingenuity, and asking them to think about what ‘they’ want to wear on holiday, not what I want to see them in – that’s key. If your children are anything like mine it’s as little as possible, 2 x swimwear, 1 x shorts, 2 x tshirt’s and 1 x dress, cardigan/hoodie, sandals for both day and evening and of course underwear and one toy.

As for me, I pack 2 day time dresses, one pair of shorts, one evening dress, three strappy tops and two pairs of shoes, underwear and swimwear, light jacket that I wear on the plane, make up and a hair brush and I’m done, if there is room I might put the straighteners in there too along with DVD’s for the children. My husband packs even lighter than that and I can all but guarantee that the bag we put in the hold on the way there will be nigh on empty, but for reasons I mentioned above I know it won’t come back like that

So there you have it, I see it as a challenge, have a fabulous minimal hassle holiday, and not get screwed over paying a fortune for luggage, more pennies to spend on holiday and less to lug about – everyone’s a winner well except for those pesky budget airlines.

Its surprisingly liberating and I would encourage you to give it a try, nail your capsule wardrobe and you won’t look back, on sneaky weekend trips without the children there is no feeling better than skipping off the plane, bag in hand, walking straight to the exit rather than joining the hoardes at the carousel of pain, getting straight in the first taxi and knowing that you a full hour ahead of all the others stood staring at luggage and battling to grapple it off the moving treadmill. 

This beautiful blog post was written by @Alysonsblog

On behalf of everyone at Villa Parade, thank you so much for taking the time to write this and, for allowing us to post it on our site.

We wish you and your family a wonderful villa holiday X

From Scotland to Menorca without the hassle!

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“A big thank you to Alastair Campbell, his wife and their two children, aged 14 and 12 for sharing their holiday experience.”

Outside the snow was actually up to my armpits, inside, my wife and I were surfing the net looking for some much needed holiday inspiration for our next summer holiday.

We had decided we didn’t want to stay in a hotel because we wanted space to chill, have plenty of room for our luggage – so we weren’t tripping over them all the time! We also wanted food our way – when we wanted it and without the forced entertainment!


We also wanted a private pool with a terrace and above all a haven of tranquillity. This meant one thing, a villa holiday. Due to the turmoil in the travel markets we had decided not to do a self-made package, but instead find a villa holiday company that was ABTA and ATOL registered so we could, in effect, outsource the hassle and the worry. 

It was while we were looking on the Internet that we found Villa Parade. To be honest we had no fixed idea of where we wanted to go; our criteria was somewhere that was one flight from Scotland, walkable to the beach and shops, yet private enough to give us the quiet we were looking for. 

Having worked our way through countless websites from major operators downwards, we came across Villa Parade, which proved to be the site we kept coming back too! The information found on their site provided us the details we were looking for. The fact that they gave accurate map references meant we could also check the villas out on Google Earth, just to make sure there was no motorway or railway line at the bottom of the garden! This gave us increasing levels of confidence in the accuracy of the information and the company.

We had settled initially on Majorca when for some reason we thought of Menorca, and once we found the Villa Galdana in Cala Galdana it was game over. The video reference convinced us and the pictures just reinforced the ‘wow’ factor. Once we found the villa on Google Earth we knew it had the proximity to the beach combined with the privacy we were looking for. It does have 4 bedrooms, which is one more than we needed but at least we would have plenty of space to store the cases!

The booking process was very simple – just a few clicks, select a flight based on the times we wanted, car hire – didn’t forget the car excess waver and minor damage waiver – we do have kids after all and that was it – job done. The email can back confirming everything and an invoice with full details followed shortly afterwards. The only problem was this was December 2010 and we had to wait till July 2011. I did want to check something about the car hire so emailed the admin contact and got a reply on the Sunday, even thought their office was shut, answering my questions – a good start in my book.

As they say time passes, we paid the balance and our tickets arrived. Our bags were packed and off we went. We landed at Mahon airport, on time, only to be confronted with a massive scrum at the car hire – nightmare! Then I noticed there was no queue at the Avis desk – big smiles as we were with Avis. We were in our car and on our way with no delays – dream start to our holiday. We drove to the resort – following the instructions we were sent and found our villa – this was about 13:00, a couple of hours before we should have been allowed in. We asked the cleaners if it would be okay if we just dumped our cases and put some food in the fridge – “no problem” they said. We came back to the villa at about 16:00 to find it immaculately clean – just jumped straight in the pool (after changing first of course).

The villa pictures didn’t do is justice, it had a real ‘wow’ factor – the descriptions and video were accurate representations. The gardener appeared some days, the pool cleaner on others and the towels were changed twice while we were there.  Our stay at the villa was brilliant, it was a nice walk downhill to the village on a quiet shady path – takes longer to get back as it is uphill.

We settled into a routine of wandering down first thing for some bread and croissants, lazy breakfasts followed by swims in the pool and a trip to nearby towns for shopping (better range and much cheaper than the village). We would then eat lunch by the pool, walk down to the beach in the late afternoon for a swim, followed by a drink at one of the beachside bars. We would then wander back up for a BBQ, or we would wonder back down for dinner in one of the local restaurants, intersperse this with a trip to Mahon, a walk to find a cave or another beach and that sums up our very relaxing and fantastic holiday.

The four of us had a great time and we were all sad to leave. Would I recommend Villa Parade to anyone else?  Well I just booked us into the same villa next year – trouble is its now September 2011 and we have to wait till July 2012! At least this time we can look at our own pictures and revel in our memories – Asta la vista Villa Galdana – we’ll be back!

You can follow Alastair on Twitter: @alastairdfc

A big thank you to Claire and her family…

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This was our second holiday with Villa Parade, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel each year when searching for the best villa holiday for your family. It might sound clichéd, but clichés exist from real experiences and Villa Parade really does tick all the boxes; top of the range quality properties, fantastic locations, cleanliness and exceptional attention to detail.

We arrived at Can Fuster in the middle of the night (12.30 am), having followed some very precise directions. We had, as previously, booked a welcome hamper of basic food and drinks, which was very welcome at that time of night. As it was dark we missed the initial wow factor of this villa until we awoke on our first morning. Opening the shutters on the windows was a truly breath-taking experience with fantastic views of the Tramuntana Mountains.

Can Fuster exceeded all our expectations of a high quality, spacious family villa. The bedrooms are large, comfortable and air-conditioned; this includes the more than ample bed area on the mezzanine. With three indoor bathrooms this offers fantastic comfort for the larger family.

As we had holidayed in Mallorca last year we did not feel the need to rush out and explore allowing ourselves to spend our first day relaxing by the pool, followed by a scrumptious BBQ in the evening.

If you haven’t visited Mallorca before you really must try to wonder round one of the markets. You need to allow a good half day for this experience as there is so much to see and you can only amble at a slow pace due to the sheer numbers of people there. This year we went to the one at Pollenca old town, with the stalls splayed out through the small alleys. There is plenty of variety with stalls ranging from local crafts, jewellery, clothes and food. The central square in Pollenca is where you will find the food stalls and here you will find queues of local Mallorca’s at the cheese and meat stalls. Many of the stall holders will offer samples without any obligation to buy; not to be missed are the olives and the anchovies. Once you’ve tired of shopping search out La Bendita cafe and boutique where you can sit outside or inside and enjoy an exquisite snack. This place doesn’t look exceptional from the outside but the shop itself is affordable and very chic. A small beer costs a mere 1 euro 20, which is ridiculously cheap. But you really must get there early enough to sample a picodillo; a small baguette with a range of fillings including chicken, cheese or duck. These really are superb and worth the 3 euro price tag.

The villa is ideally situated to explore the various beaches; San Vincente, Peurto Pollenca, Formentor and Alcudia. Each has a different attraction and we spent a day or two at each of these. Peurto Pollenca has a fairly open bay and the sea is warm and often lively. Our teenage boys particularly like this beach as they can snorkel safely and see a wide variety of fish. Cala San Vicente has two very small secluded beaches with soft sand and rocks. The sea can be quite rough here and you need to watch out for jelly fish, but a flag usually warns you if there are jelly fish present.

Drinks can be very expensive here, so be prepared to pay or take a picnic.

Although Alcudia has a long, sweeping beach it is very sheltered at the west end due to the shape of the bay. The sand is soft and the water temperature seems to remain warmer than other beaches.

However, my personal favourite is Formentor beach, a haven of the rich and famous; Robbie Williams, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas to name drop a few. The beach can be reach either by an adrenaline drive through the mountain road (my husband did this and said the views were breath-taking) or very reasonably by ferry for 11 euro return (5 euro 50 for children). This was my preferred option being a nervous car passenger. Both journeys take about 30 minutes and it is well worth the effort.

Formentor has a narrow, beautifully curved beach with a spectacular mountainous backdrop. It is a real sun trap although this makes the sea seem slightly colder than elsewhere.

Villa Parade does not do justice to the sheer beauty of the properties they let out; the landscaping and outside areas are impeccable and offer an interesting selection of plants, trees and shrubs. Can Fuster has a huge array of Geraniums, which are lovingly tended by the gardener who is in attendance every other day.

Villa Parade provides ideal locations and villas for family holidays, and caters for families with young children. However, don’t be put off if you family is slightly older, our children are 15, 16, 18 and 20 and we opted for a countryside villa, which although seems counterintuitive with teenagers and young adults gave us the ideal base for getting together and embracing family values whilst having a relaxing and enjoyable break from the hustle and bustle of daily routine. Even teenagers enjoy messing about in the pool and the hot tub was an added attraction, despite the temperature.

Can Fuster is an ideal villa for simply relaxing, whether by the pool or on the beautiful sun terraces, but particularly in the evening around the BBQ. This was our favourite activity of the holiday; being able just to relax and enjoy good food outdoors.

We decided to go all out on the relaxation element of our holiday and decided to book a massage each at the villa. Katie arrived at 11am and set up all her apparatus on the mezzanine and we each enjoyed an individually tailored massage in a calm and tranquil environment. We did this at the beginning of our holiday and it really helped to slow the pace and ease us into the holiday mood.

As we enjoy cooking and relaxing we only ate out on four occasions, each time in Peurto Pollenca. To celebrate our anniversary we decided to venture to the picturesque Pine Walk area of Peurto Pollenca and booked a table at Illa D’Or, overlooking the bay. This was a beautiful backdrop on a balmy evening and we enjoyed not just a splendid meal with excellent service but also an amazing sunset over the harbour and sea front.

Illa D’Or offer a truly mouth watering menu and their Château Briand is reasonably priced and well executed.

If however, you are a fish lover then take a stroll along the sea front and you will find Simbad’s. Despite the rather unusual name you will not be disappointed with your meal here. This is a family run establishment who land their own fish daily, hence it is guaranteed fresh.

They do an unrivalled range of paella, with something to suit everyone. The patron is somewhat eccentric and will flirt unashamedly with all male members of your party; much to his embarrassment this included our 16 year-old son.

If you go slightly further away from the town you will find Tolo’s, a large and busy seafront restaurant specialising in made to order pizza. If you’re not a pizza fan don’t be put off as their menu is extensive with a range of pasta and rice dishes. The waiters are friendly and the service is quick.

The piece de résistance being the fantastic range of fresh breads put on the table with an oil dip. As with Simbad this is an inexpensive place to eat and although busy you do not feel rushed to give up your table.

If, like us you opt for a villa in the countryside then be prepared for the range of wildlife you will encounter. As with any European country you will probably encounter at least one stray cat. Although we know not to feed these cats they will take advantage of any rubbish left outside. ‘Our’ stray managed several fish meals with leftovers from the BBQ. You will also become familiar with the tinkling sounds of the mountain goats which roam around to control the shrub land. As the vegetation was so dense where Can Fuster is situated we never actually saw the goats this year, but always knew when they were close by. Many homeowners keep chickens and cockerels’, our neighbour was no different. However, his cockerel was slightly confused and crowed in the afternoon as well as the morning. The best wild life you will encounter are the small lizards which frequent the area and give pay to the national emblem and is called an ‘endriago’ which actual translates to ‘dragon’. These are very timid creatures that will avoid human contact where possible but come out at sunset to warm themselves on walled areas. We snapped this one in our kitchen and it is about 20cms in length, we called him Tim!

Sunset at Can Fuster is really the most enchanting time and you will never tire of the view that is cast over the mountains. These final photos show how vibrant the colours of the garden become at sunset and also the spectacular decline of the sun behind the mountains.

We plan to return to a similar area in Mallorca next year and will only consider booking with Villa Parade. As I said at the beginning, when you know something works you don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time; once you have experienced the excellence that is Villa Parade, it is difficult to settle for anything less.

We would like to give a huge thank you to Claire Barker, and her family, for being valued Villa Parade customers, and for also taking the time to provide us with this wonderful blog post – thank you!

Click here for your free copy of the Villa Parade 2012 brochure