Choosing a villa for your holiday

When you are faced with a website with hundreds of choices of villas, how on earth do you choose one.

First, think of your party dynamics. How many people and their ages. How many beds do you need in total, how many bedrooms and then how many bathrooms. If you are just Mum and Dad and two children, then you will only need one double room and two singles with two bathrooms, so a three bedroom villa will be enough. If you take Grandparents as well, then you will need four bedrooms, so you will need a four bedroom villa with maybe three bathrooms. If you are two families sharing then you will probably like to have two master suites. If you have a baby in your party, is there a cot and highchair available and are they free or do you have to pay extra for them.

Second, how many living areas. Do you want a games room and what would you like to have in it. Do you want a separate family room for the children to amuse themselves in during the evening? If you decide you want a play station for your children, be aware it may be hard to get them to leave their game when you are all ready to go out for the day and they just want to finish the level they are on. (I hear this a lot)

Do you need a pool? Does it have to be south facing? Do you mind it being overlooked from the back? If the answer is yes, then do you want a conservation view, a lake view or a golf course view? Some have high fencing so being overlooked is not an issue.

Do you want a spa/hot tub? Remember if you do, you will in most cases have to pay extra to heat it.

Third, how much spare time will you have to use all the special extras offered, when you are on a very busy theme park holiday. You may think you would like to have a BBQ, but in reality, will you want to start cooking when you get home from a day in a busy theme park, or would you rather stop at a restaurant on the way home. Many people like to go home and freshen up, then go out to a restaurant for the evening. If you are on holiday during a busy season, you will probably not even get home until 11pm.

Do you need internet access, do you need to phone home, then free wi-fi access and free international phone calls would be helpful. A safe in the villa is useful for storing your valuables – NEVER leave valuables lying on view through windows.

So having all these criteria in place, it should narrow down your choice to make it easier to pick your short list.

One last thing to mention during these hard financial times, please appreciate that owners are having a hard time too, paying their mortgages and all their utility bills, so they would prefer you not to haggle over their prices or ask for a special deal. They set their prices not to make a profit, but to cover their costs and have enough over to upgrade their fittings and furnishings. After all you want a nicely presented villa with good appliances, crisp clean sheets and fluffy towels don’t you? All this costs money.