References and Reviews

Arabella Tancred

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Dawn and Jason's villa is in a beautiful valley surrounded by small villages just 40 minutes inland from Alicante. The two lovely dogs, a Labradoodle, Bluey, and a Spaniel, Timmy, were great company especially on the many walks exploring the area. We spent a little time with Dawn and Jason before they left on their trip back to the UK, very friendly and welcoming and it was interesting hearing about their lives and interests. Dawn kindly made us a delicious vegetarian lasagne (dietary intuition on her part through our communication!) and a cake. Completely unexpected, much appreciated. The house is beautifully spacious, and much to his surprise and 'yes, get in there' our 14 year old son had the whole downstairs floor to himself. Although the area is fairly secluded, there are many sites of interest within driving distance. Jason had mentioned the spa in nearby Fortuna so it wasn't long before we spent a happy afternoon soaking in the warm waters of what is apparently the richest mineral spring in Spain. Other days we headed out to the coast, south to Santa Pola first (not a recommend as far as the town is concerned but we did see flamingos on our drive through the reserve on the way back) and then north to Calpe and its Penon d'Ifach. It's a good hike up the rock and so worth it, beautiful terrain and what a view! As we descended the blood red sun was setting over the Benidorm skyline in the distance which sounds completely 'naff' but was so glorious I have to mention it here! There's not a lot of restaurants in the area and through the festive season, it's a bit hit and miss as to what's open. However, I will mention the Indian restaurant in the nearest village Hondon de los Frailes - really good! There's quite a few bodegas in the area and we finally visited one on New Year's Eve at the next town over, Hondon de las Nieves. Very friendly staff and the taster of a rose cava was so delicious, we took a bottle back to the villa to bring in 2020. I think my ratings paint their own picture, Dawn and Jason were a pleasure all around and we'll miss Bluey and Timmy on our daily walks. I know our own dog, Yeti, would have loved their company.