Tom Chris & Sara - Southend on Sea London 18th to 25th June 2005
Thank you for the opportunity to stay in your house. We have had many self
catering homes over the past few years and have to say that the
accommodation & hospitality pack is first class. Yours definitely stands out
It was also really nice to meet you & discuss your experiences of buying a
house & knowledge of the area. We now have to go home & do some serious
thinking.
All the Best Chris, Tom & Sara
Paul & Deb Broderick - Lyndon Forest of Dean Glos 28th June to 5th July 2005
Your superb house exceeded all our expectations, you truly have thought of
everything necessary to ensure a very comfortable stay despite the searing
heat!
We love Oliva & its old town in particular still retains a true Spanish
Village feel. We liked "Bar Pelut" very much & can recommend revueloto con
ajo y gambas, and the chicken liver with onions & mushrooms! Leave room for
the Crema Catalanna for pudding too!
Had a brilliant trip to Xativa, well worth the hours drive just to see the
castle.
In fact we can't wait to visit again in a couple of month's time, and intend
to check Easyjet as soon as we get home!
John & Evelyn Kenny - Galway Ireland 12th July to 19th July 2005
Excellent "Home from Home" house. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The
welcome pack was excellent, every thing you would need for a few days. The
information at the house was very helpful. The town itself gave us a taste
of living in the Real Spain. Parking not really a problem, but driving in
the narrow streets is not for the faint hearted! Your website photos of the
house were good, but the house itself is even better. Oliva is a lovely
friendly town & the old town area, including Calle San Rafael, is really
beautiful. Thanks Mike & Brenda & Brenda you are right about the washing 30
minutes & it is fully dry!!
Ann & Kevin Flanagan - Belfast, Northern Ireland 15th September to 22nd September 2005
We had a great break on our second visit to Oliva, enhanced by our stay in
your beautiful house. Thank you for your hospitable welcome & for all the
useful information provided. We love Oliva & will be back for more!
Margaret, Leigh Harris & Christine Savage October 2004
We have thoroughly enjoyed our 2 weeks holidays. The neighbours have been really friendly & welcoming. Being in this house has given us the opportunity to live amongst ‘local’ Spanish people, and has given us a picure of everyday Spanish life. This is our first visit to Oliva & we have enjoyed every minute, especially relaxing in your lovely home. We have appreciated all the amentities, including the welcome pack. Wishing you both all the very best for the future & we hope you soon find the permanent home you are looking for.
Mike & Yvonne Chandler October 2004
Our 2nd visit to Oliva, our first stay in Mike & Brenda’s house. We love the house, and as per previous comments the welcome pack (particularly the vino tinto!) was much appreciated. We also loved having a CD player with excellent speakers – really enjoyed having that. For the benefit of future guests I will mention that on the first night we parked in one of the bays (not the disabled one!) at the foot of the street & woke up to a very flat tyre. The sidewall had been punctured – possibly by a penknife (there was no broken glass anywhere). After changing the wheel & getting the puncture repaired we found alternative places to park “just in case”. Apart from that, weather’s been great, 30 – 32 degs C every day, beautiful evenings. The Ducal Palace in Gandia is superb, guided tours every 2 hours (in Spanish but they have an English handout which covers the main points). On holidays, 12.30 may be the last tour of the day, so if in doubt schedule it for the morning. Friday mornings, don’t miss the market on the Oliva Passeo. Mercadona along there is a very good supermarket, good selection, reasonably priced. Keep an eye out for the Oliva crisps: Excellent! Stick a Bocarone on top of your crisp & you have fish & chips Spanish-style! Holiday was not long enough, but we enjoyed the time we had.
Thanks – Mike & Yvonne Chandler.
Teresa & Colin Skelton September/October 2004
Thanks for letting us use your home, we have had a lovely week, and it is very comfortable, covering all your needs. This is our second visit to Oliva this year & we just love it, people, food, area, weather all great. Hope to be looking for a home of our own next year.
Thanks Teresa & Colin
P.S. Welcome pack great.
Kathrin & Dennis September 04
Thanks for letting us stay in your lovely house, a brilliant place to unwind & relax. A true taste of Spanish life. We would recommend the Gallinera Valley – some gorgeous views. Guadalest, El Arca animal sanctuary, Xativa, Javea, Cap de Sant Antoni, if you stop at the bar/restaurant on the way back for a cold cerveza, they also have a swimming pool if you fancy a dip. Thanks for the welcome pack, it was very much appreciated. Will miss the roof terrace when we’re back at home.
The Wale Family August/September 04
Superb house with all facilities required to make an excellent home. We found the neighbours English & Spanish very helpful. Wonderful beaches, Oliva is a true Spanish Gem. We look forward to returning. Fly from Coventry, it’s cheap & hilarious!! (Terminal is a portacabin). We recommend the following restaurants, La Rustica, Fuegos, for the hungry you must try BBs restaurant on the N332 on the way to Ondara, just before the Esso garage on the left. Steaks are huge!! Welcome pack was most thoughful & appreciated – Clive.
Robert, Sara, Sara May (16), Ian (12) August 04
Nice home, we all enjoyed it, we hope we can return another time, did well with parking spaces, don’t think the neighbours appreciated it. The only thing we missed was Spanish TV (we watch it in the UK!). Thanks a lot – Robert.
Jackie, Paul, Frank (10), & George (7) August 04
Thank you for letting us stay in this house for a week. Thank you for the information, I love the food.Thank you for the welcome food – George. A very nice house, we all enjoyed it – Paul
Jean-Claude, Sibeal & Patricia Allist August 04
Had a great stay in Oliva, thanks to your lovely house. Thanks for leaving us the welcome pack, it was much appreciated. Visited most of the region while we were here & also the beaches & restaurants. Thanks a million for everything (also to Gina for sorting out the extra days we stayed).
Peter, Jackie, Esme, Luke & Sam July 04
We had a lovely holiday. The house is a real home from home, a nice place to relax & Oliva is a great base for seeing the region. Terranova is a lovely beach & we enjoyed the “Moors & Christians” fiesta. Thank you for allowing us to use your home.
Deidre, Dan, Jack (9-1/2) & Anna (7) June 04
What a town & what a place! Thank you for a lovely place to call “home” for a week. We were very comfortable here, although the street noise at night & early morning took some getting used to. Loved the food at the Gandi restaurant. We also went to Oli Ba Ba, which has a great atmospere – the pizzas were pretty good. We searched high & low for a place that sold hand-painted pottery & finally found one in Gandia, Ceramicas Cele at Calle Harmana Carmelita Reta, No.11 (or perhaps 14). We also visited the Castle at Villena, which was almost nearly obscured by the town & is closed for renovation! The “nature park” which we were told was quite beautiful & looks like a lake on the map is really a rice paddy. None the less we saw lots of Herons & other birds. We also enjoyed the Friday market. Everyone is very friendly & helpful. While we were here, there was a little carnival at the Placa with rides the kids enjoyed. We also got to experience a Summer solstice celebration (Sant Joan), which involved burning huge bonfires on the beach & making wishes. We loved the beach the most & appreciated the beach stuff (towells, buckets & cooler). We too appreciated the starter pack as we arrived hungry, hot & tired! Thanks so much!
Anne Graham June
Enjoyed every minute of our holiday, the house is lovely & comfortable & clean. The roof terrace we enjoyed the most. Thanks for the starter pack – most appreciated. Thank you.
Vera & Alan May 04
We have enjoyed your comforable & clean house. The roof terrace has been well used; we read six books during our stay, including Derek Lambert’s “Spanish Lesson”. We visited Gandia, Denia, Javea, Calpe & Altea. Enjoyed the restaurants you recommended. The welcome food was much appreciated.
Anya Walton & Eamon Joyce April 04
Many thanks for the use of your home. We’ve had a lovely time in Oliva. The Easter processions were incredible. We have now finalised the purchase of our own home & hope to spend many more happy times in Oliva.
Lorraine & Roy Hunt March 04
Your house is very welcoming & comfortable – Lovely house, nice neighbours, great town. What more could we ask for. Do try “Fuegos” restaurant – very good food, great atmosphere.
Chris & Linda October/November 2003
A wonderful house & super roof terrace with views to spend our two weeks. A lovely welcome & the pack was very handy. The house has all the facilities one could ever want. We are really enjoying Oliva once again, the weather until today 30/10 has been wonderful, except for some very heavy rain on Saturday 28/10 – we chilled out with one of your DVDs & a bottle of Vino Rosado. We are enjoying the opportunity to practice our Spanish. The Friday market is superb, everyone very friendly & helpful. We are negotiating the purchase of our house in Oliva on Carrer San Blai, crossing our fingers all goes well & feeling quite excited. After contact with Mike & Brenda by e-mail & phone, it was a pleasure to meet them today 1/11 in the flesh & invited then for a drink in their own house.
Phil & Jude October 2003
Thank you Brenda & Mike for letting us use your place in the sun, despite the lack of sun & too much rain! Good Bars & Restaurants following your guide, Bar Pelut & La Rustica being two of our favourites. Good base to visit the wonderful area. Thanks for the welcome pack, a lovely thoughtful gesture.
Lyn & Russell - September/October 2003
We have very much enjoyed your house, thank you Mike & Brenda. Especially the roof terrace were we have spent many happy hours, wish we had one at home! We haven’t ventured very far, preferring to explore Oliva & its beaches (our favourites were Aqua Blanca & Terra Nova). Unfortunately some the restaurants we fancied trying (Bar Pelut & Rustica) were closed for the holidays, but we very much liked Oli Ba Ba & we also spent a lot of time sitting outside the Bar Cafeteria La Placa, our favourite bar. Thanks for all the helpful information you left & for your website, which we thought was really great. Thanks, to you & Gina for the food & drink which was waiting for us when we arrived. We would have been lost without it as it had completely slipped our minds that we would be arriving on a Sunday when the shops were closed.
Lesley & Rob - September 2003
Thanks very much to Brenda & Mike for a really enjoyable stay in Oliva. We loved the house & immediately felt part of the old town. The house is beautifully renovated & so comfortable - the welcome pack was much appreciated. Like other guests we explored the area but spent much of the time resting on the roof terrace. We are off to explore inland Spain now – refreshed & ready for anything. Thanks again.
Ali & Merron - September 2003
We found Casa San Rafael on the internet & were delighted to find that the house more than lived up to the pictures & information on the website! It is truly a lovely house, tastefully renovated with all mod cons & a wonderful roof terrace for enjoying breakfast, evening meals & drinks. We were made to feel really welcome, even though our hosts were absent – so a big thanks to Brenda & Mike for this (especially the wine etc on arrival).
The house is a perfect base for a get away from it all holiday & gives you a small taste of Spanish life away from the crowds of package tourists! The places we visited included Valencia, Murcia (very nice – better than expected from the descriptions in our ‘Rough Guide to Spain’, we also visited Oliva, Denia & Javea beaches, a walk in the mountains (inland from Pego – lovely). Having a car was great for accessing more hidden away places & we would definitely recommend a stay in San Rafael to really unwind & enjoy the comforts of home in a corner of Real Spain.
Ray, Margaret & Stephen - August 2003
Lovely accommodation, we have been very comfortable here. We managed to keep cool even in the very high temperatures thanks to the ceiling fans & the roof terrace. Even in the three weeks we have not been to all the places we would have liked to have seen.
Oliva beach is lovely, sea warm & beach uncrowded. We would have liked to do more exploring on foot, but high temperatures kept up close to where we parked the car. Terra Mittica was a good fun day, we expected long queues but it was surprisingly quiet. Guadalest & the animal sanctuary make a lovely day out. Valencia is an interesting city but like most of the other towns it closes for the afternoon. Our stay in this quaint street in the old part of Oliva has given us some insight into the ‘Real Spain’ & the ‘Spanish way of life’ that can’t be experienced on a package holiday.
Allan & Susie - August 2003
We had an excellent hoiliday and it was very hot and very sticky! but all made very bearable with the quality of the accommodation. Your house is lovely and is by far and away the best holidy accommodation we have ever had in either Spain or Italy and we will recommend it to anyone who is going to that part of the country.
We found Oliva to be a nice size of town with the old part being very much the kind of place we like to stay, a good selection of restaurants and overall not too busy.
Martin, Linda, Mark, Fiona & James - June/July 2003
We hade a great time in Oliva. The village is in a good situation for travelling up and down the coast and also for going into the mountains. The local food was good and the locals were friendly. The shops in the town provided everything we needed but the supermarkets were'nt far away. We visited Denia,which was lovely, it has a castle with lots of archaeology and a fantastic view over the harbour and beaches. A bit further along was Javea which we managed to catch on market day! Most afternoons we went to the local beach at Kiko camping which has white soft sand and is ideal for small children as it is very shallow and sheltered. The ruined castle up above the house makes for a lovely evening stroll and you can look across the town out towards the sea. The house was spotless and very well equiped, we were especially grateful for the washing machine and the fact that there was a bath and a shower! It was lovely to find a bottle of wine and a note from Mike and Brenda when we arrived (also the tea and coffee!).
Mark & Caroline - June 2003
Brenda, it broke our hearts to have to leave Oliva yesterday morning. Your town house is beautiful and we had a wonderful week of gorgeous weather.
We drove into Valencia on the Wednesday, managing to park at the City of Arts and Sciences. We spent some time shopping and sunning ourselves in Gandia; took trips down the coast to Denia/Xabea and Altea (a marvellous town); and took a day trip to Xativa, which was great.
Cathy & Jason - May 2003
We spent our honeymoon here. Oliva & this house are wonderful. Though not here, we feel Brenda & Mike were wonderful hosts - thanks for all the travel tips.
Oliva is truly a rare gem. The perfect romantic hideaway and close to many fun days out. Friendly neighbours and townspeople helped make this a trip we’ll never forget. What a way to start married life! Thanks Brenda & Mike
Nancy & Vincent - April/May 2003
Many thanks for allowing us to use your Spanish home for our holiday. We know why you love it so much. It is such a special place. We had a lovely two weeks-busy-as lots of family were staying in Denia and Gandia, as we celebrated the wedding of our nephew, with his beautiful Spanish Bride. We appreciated “our own space” at San Rafael. Thank you Brenda & Mike for allowing us to use your beautiful home; it is a restful place to stay. We visited many beautiful places; favourites for us were Valencia & Denia.
Emma & Victor - April 2003
The old town of Oliva sits below the ruined castle of Santa Ana, it's narrow streets taking you into both the Christian and Moorish past - from huge blue domed churches on almost every corner to the astonishing sight of the steeply-ascending Calle Hoz.
Calle de San Rafael sits in the midst of this historical town, but within 10 minutes walk of the new town, with it's shops, bars and restaurants, and 30 minutes walk to the sea through fragrant orange groves.
The house is very comfortable, with every modern convenience - good supply of hot water for bath and shower, a washing machine, iron etc.....
Although there is no outside access to a garden or patio - this is a town house in a narrow street - there is a large roof terrace from which the view is wonderful! Sitting with a bottle of wine, olives and some fresh fish from the daily market makes the trip from kitchen to roof (2 flights of stairs!!) well worthwhile.
Such lovely local produce makes self-catering an attractive proposition in Oliva. Mike & Brenda offer good facilities for this with a full size oven, and ceramic hob. And if the effort of cooking becomes too much there's an ample selection of places to eat out!!
The bedrooms are large and airy - and comfortable. In spite of overlooking the street there is little noise to disturb holiday slumbers. And then, there's that bathroom!! Has to be seen......
Calle de San Rafael is a good base from which to see the area - both inland and coastal. Car drivers might have a problem with parking, but will be able to explore further afield. If, like us, you prefer not to drive on holiday then local transport is cheap and plentiful..... and always adds an element of excitement.
A lovely holiday home - highly recommended.
Pete & Jan - November 2002 to March 2003
We were the first visitors in San Rafael and we stayed for 4 months while buying our new house in Spain. The house is very welcoming with everything provided for ones comforts. Mike & Brenda were most helpful throughout our stay. The kind neighbours, friendliness of San Rafael and the close proximity to the town made a very pleasant introduction to Oliva.
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