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Costa Brava Villas : Casa Aloe : Comments

Feedback on Casa Aloe





----- Original Message -----
From: Barry Edmondson
To: charlie@villasbarcelona.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 7:17 PM
Subject: Re: Casa Aloe - August 20 to September 3, 2005

Hola Charlie,

Casa Aloe? Well, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The house was very large, too large for just the three of us really, but we enjoyed the space and the location.

Vallromanes is a little like the English Lake district, but with sun! It is ideally placed for visiting Barcelona. There is plenty of parking at El Masnou and the trains into Barca are regular, swift and reliable. If we'd wanted beaches there was plenty, but we preferred the pool at Casa Aloe.

Roadwork's near the airport resulted in me taking the N11 ring road round the city, but the end result is the same, the road is an easy drive and toll free! I even used it for the return journey to the airport.

Between the shops in Vallromanes and those in Alella, there was everything we wanted and even my Catalonian colleagues commented on the superb quality of meats available from the Butchers in Alella, when they visited for a bar-b-q one evening.

Personally, I couldn't fault the place and Nuria gave us a very good briefing at the start of our stay.

If I have one negative comment, it is that everyone in Vallromanes has a dog. Some families have several, and at night there were times when my wife found it absolutely impossible to sleep for the noise they made. (This was enough for her to possibly consider another location next time.)

It may also be worth mentioning to future customers that all the local restaurants are closed in August. This didn't cause us any great concern, but may others. However, Barcelona, as ever, is always open! Apart from the first evening, when we sampled hailstones that caused devastation in Gerona and made us realise what the storm drains are for, we had glorious weather.

I'd be interested to see what other properties you have available in or around Barcelona, that are in a quiet location. I would not hesitate to use your services again; it was a pleasure doing business with you.
Saludos!
Barry



----- Original Message -----
From: Paul & Jackie Leigh
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 5:43 PM
Subject: Casa Aloe in April, 2005

Hi Charlie,

Just got back from Casa Aloe and want to let you know we had great time.

I thought you might like to some feedback because Nuria and her family deserve all the success they will generate from their house and our comments may help them and you in the future.

The house is close enough to Barecelona for a day trip (park at El Masnou and go by train; its cheap and quick) but far enough away to have that true countryside feel. The Montseny national park is pretty close and we found Alella an abosolute delight (the local wine there is also good).The best supermarket is just north up the coast from El Masnou. The local general store is just for bits of stuff really.

Nuria and her family were very helpful and the house was very clean.

The house is in a good location although there have been some new houses built very close and infront of the house. This has led to some lack of privacy on the balcony but not around the pool (which is where I guess it really matters).

It took quite a bit of getting used to the personal belongings that are still in the house as this is not usual in holiday lets. However, this did not detract from our enjoyment and infact added to the fascination of the house. This may however not suit others.

Since we are coming back in July, could we ask that a baby high-chair is available. Also, we found the baby cot unstable and the sides kept collapsing if leaned on by the baby (a bit dangerous really).

Many thanks, Paul Leigh, England



----- Original Message -----
From: Robin Sinclair
To: tourism@catalonia.net
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2005 11:20 AM
Subject: Casa Aloe, March 2 to 9, 2005

Dear Charlie,

Have just returned from a memorable week at Casa Aloe. Many thanks for your gift and greetings; please convey my thanks to the owners. We were most impressed with the house which has huge family holiday potential. It housed three generations of Sinclair's with ease. The gardens, pool and barbeque area in the warmer months would have added yet another dimension to an excellently appointed property.

We celebrated the anniversary at Can Jonc restaurant just outside Allela; spectacular setting with its sea views and the food was good too. I left with a very contented wife!

Granollers is not for us and we trained into the centre of Barcelona from El Masnou; parking is no problem and four trains an hour into and out of Placa Catalunya made our sight seeing very easy. We only scratched the surface of your city in two days and vowed to come back for more.

We explored Vallromanes golf club. Very impressive club house and they do take green fees. They hire clubs,trolleys etc but do require handicap certificates. You can add golf to the facilities offered at Casa Aloe. We left literature and course plan in the house.

This was our fourth Charlie Williams property; all have been central to excellent holidays in Catalonia. Many thanks for your expertise and very personal service which is much appreciated.

Kind regards.
Robin Sinclair



----- Original Message -----
From: The Urquharts
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 9:01 PM
Subject: Re: Can Aloe, 9 to 23 October, 2004

Charlie,

The holiday was wonderful, the villa was superb, the weather outstanding (10 minutes rain in 2 weeks !!) and Catalonia again fantastic.

The villa was very spacious (sometimes we had trouble finding the kids), clean, well maintained and had a very 'at home' feel because of the decor/furnishing/artwork etc. The pool was great, very big for a villa pool, but was getting a bit cold in October. The location was also fantastic, Valleromanes was surprisingly tourist free! It seemed that we were truly in the real Catalonia, amongst the locals. Yet, only 10-15 minutes in either direction from the motorways, so if you missed the rush hour you could make it right to the centre of Barcelona in 25-30 minutes.

Can you please also say thanks to Nuria, we missed her on the last day, but it was great to spend our holiday in such a welcoming villa.

Thanks also to yourself, we were impressed at the efficiency of your responses, and the friendly and helpful way you dealt with all of our needs.

Please feel free to include our comments on your site.
Thanks & all the best,
Graeme & Morag.



----- Original Message -----
From: Hanna Oxborough
To: tourism@catalonia.net
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 2:29 PM Subject: Re: CASA ALOE - July 2004

Charles,

We spent a week at the Casa Aloe and had an excellent time. The villa is furnished to a very high standard and we were all very impressed with each room and the swimming pool. We felt that it was excellent value for money. There were 8 of us staying in the villa and it was spacious enough for us all to have our own space. All in all a lovely villa and pool in a good area.

There were building works going on to the villa which could be a little distracting at times but were not a real issue to us. (Charlie adds here the reassuring news that the building work nearby is now finished)

The area was lovely and we all had a great holiday & thanks for your help in arranging the villa.

Kind Regards
Hanna Oxborough



----- Original Message -----
From: Les Williams
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 9:35 PM
Subject: Re: Casa Aloe - 23 to 30 October

Hello Charlie

Just got back from Casa Aloe. It certainly lived up to expectations & we had a great week.

A couple of suggestions which might be helpful for other people:-

1 The directions to the house were good up to the last bit. It would be better to read ' when you reach the Vallromanes sign you have to turn left towards the village. After about 150m there is a sign for the restaurant called La Noguera and just beyond this you turn left. After about 100m you come to a T junction where you turn left. You follow the road round - it turns to the right and then goes up a very straight and quite steep section for about 200m. Where there is a 'cede right of way' sign turn left into Pau Casals.

(Your directions to the A-19 highway also need modifying - when you go down past the restaurant, you turn left when you reach the main road)

2 We found the easiest way into Barcelona by train to go to El Masnou and take the turning into the port. There is a very good car park right by the station where there are frequent trains into Barcelona - right into Catalonia Square. There are also very good restaurants in the port/harbour - underneath the main car park - and a short walk past the yacht club brings you to a very acceptable beach. We found Granollers very busy and difficult to park.

3 In other houses we have been in, the owner has left basic information on where are the nearest shops, supermarkets etc. A comment book for users is also useful as this provides the opportunity to pass on useful information on restaurants, beaches etc to people who follow.

A very enjoyable holiday and I would highly recommend Casa Aloe. The accommodation is first-class & it is very easy to get into Barcelona or drive up (or catch a train) to the Costa Brava (Blanes), although we found the beach walking north from the car park at El Masnou harbour very good for young children with the restaurants in the harbour close at hand for lunch. The nearest supermarket we could find was Champion in Granollers, but there is a very good general store & an excellent bakery in Vallromanes.

Many thanks for all your help. We found your information very useful & helped us to make the right decision in the selection of the house we rented.
With best wishes
Les
(Charlie adds: the owners and I are sorry the welcome package with local info was not there for you. I will be sending this info to future renters in an email so guests have that before arrival. Also, I revisited Casa Aloe on November 23 and will completely rewrite the directions to the house with much more detail to avoid confusion.)



----- Original Message -----
From: Tracey J Rose
To: tourism@catalonia.net ; tourism.catalonia@wanadoo.es
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 2:15 PM
Subject: 10 to 24 July

Hello Charles,

We had such a great time at Casa Aloe that we now want to return next summer with some additional friends. Unfortunately, they can't take the last 2 weeks in August as holiday so Casanova De Ferrando is not an option for us

Can you let me know if Can Portell and Can Micos are available during July and August 2005. We are keen to get somewhere booked a.s.a.p There will be 13 in our party 3 families of 4 and 1 extra adult. There are 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls.

Look forward to hearing from you
Regards,
Tracey J Rose



----- Original Message -----
From: Danielle Schwartz
To: 'Charles Williams'
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2004 10:41 PM
Subject Casa Aloe, Sept 29 to Oct 6, 2004

Hi Charles,

I was able to get directions just fine. Thank you.
I'm actually already back home.

We had a wonderful time at Casa Aloe.

Thanks again for all your help and please tell Noria how much we enjoyed her casa. Best,
Danielle



----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Miveld
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2004 12:28 AM
Subject: Casa Aloe

Dear Charlie

As you know we stayed at the villa in the last two weeks of September 2003. We had a wonderful time and I can't recommend the Casa Aloe and your service highly enough. Like most people who usually book their holiday accommodation through travel agencies I suppose I was slightly dubious about renting on the web but the villa was perfect for us, both in terms of the facilities and the location. It's about fifteen minutes drive away from the train station in Granollers so we parked the car and took the train into Barcelona and Sitges. Barcelona is fabulous but I’d certainly recommend a visit to Sitges (as you said on your website). The beaches and the museums were marvellous.

Of course we spent a few days just doing nothing, which is where the villa came into its own. The weather was constantly in the high twenties and the pool was the place to be ! Vallromanes is handy for supplies and the walk into the village was very pleasant. Luckily for us there was a music festival taking place while we were there so we could salsa down to the supermarket. All in all it was a great experience and just writing about it now in rainy, windswept Liverpool makes me smile !

Best wishes to you and yours.
Tony Miveld



----- Original Message -----
From: Caroline.Rubensson
To: tourism@catalonia.net
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 1:22 PM
Subject: Staying at Casa Aloe

Dear Mr Williams,

A while ago you wrote to Mr Mikael Lindeberg and asked for a word or two about our stay at Casa Aloe.

We were some friends that stayed at Casa Aloe in Vallromanes the last two weeks in July 2002. I am sure we could not have found a better place. The house was beautifully situated in the countryside and only a short drive (20 minutes) away, were the coast with its long sand beaches and El Masnou from where you easily could catch the train to Barcelona. The owners of the house were very friendly and welcoming and the house was well equipped with everything we needed. We had many relaxed days by the pool and nice barbeques in the evenings.

Our rental cars took us north to Figueres and Cadaques as well as south to the wineyards of Torres among other places.

All questions we had before coming to Catalonia was quickly answered to by Mr Williams and everthing was coordinated excellently.

Best regards,
Caroline Rubensson

PS. While writing this and thinking back about the holidays lights up the day now when it is dark and cold here in Sweden.


----- Original Message -----
From: Alan Reilly
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 10:32 AM
Subject: RE: Casa Aloe - July next year

Hello Charles

We had such a good time this year we want to do it again next year so we are looking at 6th July (Sunday is this correct or should this be the 5th Saturday) to the 19th July (2 weeks)

Many Thanks

Alan Reilly

Charlie adds that they have booked for two weeks next summer!

----- Original Message -----
From: Cook, Dominic
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 7:00 PM
Subject: RE: Casa Aloe, May 31 to June 7

hi charles,

it was lovely - exactly what we were after - quiet relaxation.
i thought your service worked very well.
the owners were super
the acomodation was fantastic.
if i had one critisism it was the place was too big! with too many rooms! almost a bit spooky. and it was more of the family home with everything still on the shelves etc rather than an apartment designed to be rented. but some people might prefer that.
hope that helps
cheers
dom


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