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Costa Brava Villas : Mas Anes : Comments

Feedback on Mas Anes







----- Original Message -----
From: griet stockman
To: charlie
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 12:15 PM
Subject: Summerholiday request for next year

Dear Charlie,

Hope you are well !

Last summer we booked a holiday through your services at Mas Anes near Gerona. We had a great time and would like to repeat this wonderful experience next summer.

Could you maybe check for availability?

This year we need a bigger house. We're 9 adults, traveling with 4 children and 2 babies.

Our travelperiod : two weeks between 22 july and 12 aug.

7 or 8 bedrooms would be perfect.

do you think you can help us out?

Thanks a lot - again for your service last summer!
Griet Stockman



and again from Griet:

Dear Charlie,

No prob to put my comment on the site. I can even elaborate :

Last summer we stayed in Mas Anes for 2 weeks. Upon arrival we received a warm welcome from the owner, Kima who gave us an extended tour of the lovely house.

We were 8 adults, travelling with 4 small children. All was in place for them and us to have a wonderfull vacation. The pool was refreshing, there were lots of toys available for the children, the rooms were spacious, the kitchen was well equiped and the garden was very relaxing. When staying in Mas Anes, you would have trouble finding negative aspects. It's true that you need to cross an industrial park to get there, but there's not a sign of any activity when on site. You can't hear, smell or see the factories.

For shopping and site-seeing, Gerona is nearby. Barcelona is within reach. We also tried several beaches all very proximate.

When looking for a totally relaxing, secluded and relaxing holiday this is the place'

Hope I could be of help!
Griet Stockman



----- Original Message -----
From: GRAEME MACKENZIE
To: 'villasbarcelona'
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 6:27 PM
Subject: RE: MAS ANES, deposit received and final details text

Charlie

Thanks, we had a wonderful time. Mas Anes was perfect for our needs with 3 families consisting of 7 adults and 5 children (aged 7,6,6,4,3).

I suspected that Mas Anes would be “a hidden gem” and I was right. Beautifully restored farmhouse in extensive, mature and attractive grounds. 5 mins from the airport and yet not on the flight path (we never felt disturbed by planes). Gorgeous pool with lockable gate (meaning total peace of mind). The outside eating area was nearly perfect. The bedrooms were all very attractive with lots of character. We used the whole house and with 3 families there were more than enough separate areas to sit and read or meet in relative private. The bathrooms were adequate. A new shower in the upstairs communal bathroom with a good screen would make a difference. The downstairs shower was fine but is probably due an update. These are small points because the overall impression is stunning. The house coped well with 35oC +. One had to make sure you opened the windows early morning and late evening to cool the house down and then keep it very closed up during the day. That lifestyle is so different from the North of England that you have to relish and enjoy it. If you did this then the temperature was pleasant. The fans in every room are essential.

The kitchen is a great size. The cooking area is limited because of a enigmatically low cooker hood/extraction fan which makes stirring and minding pans difficult and leads to the occasional swear word as you bang you head. The extra slot in the top which is covered with a loose chopping board is irritating and probably would be best filled in or a further hob added. Generally the hobs were not up to large pans for large numbers. The oven on the other hand was fantastic and showed the hobs up! More chopping boards are needed. The provision of fridges is great with more than enough fridge and freezer space. The washing machine and dishwasher were great. I think the dishwasher needs mentioned in dispatches as it managed to produce excellent results even when packed full.

The gardens really are the best in terms of options for children of the ages we had. Football, playhouse games, bat and ball, running around and hide and seek were all enjoyed. The sandpit produced some excellent art! Good lines for drying clothes.

The lounge is full of character and I liked the ambience. The pendant ceiling lights are slightly odd and fragile looking and not ideal with lots of people in the house coming and going. We used the CD player but it is a bit old and a simpler one would be better. The TV was fine but used only twice in 3 weeks.

The provision of towels and sheets was excellent.

We did have one clean for bathrooms and floors but the house seemed to cope well with heavy use and not seem dirty.

The Spanish electrics are well known to us! Britain really does have the best plugs in the world (hardly a much of claim but true none the less). We had 3 total “trip outs” into blackness. We wondered if it was the right hand lamp in the granary bedroom because it gave someone a shock and when we stopped using it the “trip outs” stopped. Better than last year in Begur in a modern house when we got shocks from the dishwasher and the kitchen surface! Spain, we can do a deal, we’ll have your weather, food, friendliness and all round perfection and you can have our plugs.

Riudellots is a small village in an excellent situation for exploring the whole of Costa Brava and hinterland. Perhaps slightly far from our favourite beach at Empuries but great for Girona (however still 20 mins, this one once you get parked and walk in). The industrial area one drove through was neither here nor there as the house is situated in a lovely rural setting. There is no danger of being disturbed and disturbing anyone. The village has few amenities as such. The small supermarket was adequate but usually not open when we wanted it. Cassa de la Selva (6-7K) provides an excellent large store and prices were good. We did not eat out in the environs as such. The village is probably not worth a hot stroll from Mas Anes but we were not really that interested in that as such. I feel we should have perhaps explored Riudellots a bit more but with temperatures as mentioned we decided not too and head for the coast or hills. The advantage of a drive to the day’s activities is that you can cool down in the aircon! This year we reached Vic and Ripoll and the Pyrenees which eluded us last year from Begur. We took the train from Caldes de Malavella (10 mins away) to Barcelona and this was an excellent service. Again that eluded us last year from Begur as it seemed too far.

All in all one of the best holidays ever and Mas Anes contributed significantly to this.

Graeme
MACKENZIE



----- Original Message -----
From: Les Clayton
To: villasbarcelona
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:46 AM
Subject: Re: how was it?

Hi Charlie,

The concerns about the location through an industrial estate are not an issue with no disturbances at all. Kima could not have been more helpful, hospitable or patient(our ETA changed about 4 times due to traffic!!). The pool area was excellent and was well used and thoroughly enjoyed by us all. The main cause for concern was the mosquitoes. Though the web sites plainly states the rural nature of the property, you will find that most, if not all people from the UK have not experienced this sort of level of mosquitoes or how to cope with them. It was only after speaking to the guy who came to do the gardens that we were able to buy the correct items to allow us to enjoy the area to the rear of the property in the evening without being completely attacked !!!!! The geckos on the walls were then a source of amusement as they took their fill of everything that flew and we could also enjoy the rural night sky, beautiful. Instructions on how to minimise the effects of this number of mosquitoes needs to be explained to new arrivals if needed.

With having two cars, everything was within a reasonable distance with the furthest journey being a trip to Port Aventura with the kids. The numerous trips to the coastal towns were not an issue and we very quickly got our bearings using the non motorway roads.

In summary,

The house was as explained.
The pool area was beautiful.
Kima was a very nice lady.
The industrial estate is not an issue.
All local attractions are within driving distance.

On a personal feedback for yourself, your service is top drawer and I will be using it again in the future.

This link may amuse you and Kima, my brother racing the kids at Mas Anes http://www.youtube.com/watch

Regards
Les



----- Original Message -----
From: "Hannibal Sökjer"
To: "'villasbarcelona'"
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:39 PM
Subject: June 22 - July 6, 2007

Hello Charlie,

We intended to send a report on our stay when we returned to Sweden. But you know how time goes by ..... I Sweden summer was wet and cold. Our children and grandchildren repeatedly commented that we were all lucky to have had such a nice stay in Catalunya.

This is just a quick answer to your mail. We were quite surprised to hear that you had received a "hate letter" as we enjoyed our stay very much, the house, the pool, the large lawn etc. We were 14, 8 grownups and 6 children, aged 2 to 15 years. We were not bothered by the trains passing by, nor by the factories we might see between some of the trees in the carefully planted hedges. We enjoyed Ruidellots de la Selva in spite of it´s rather industrial appearance - no tourists - we were recognized in the local shops from day 2. The proximity to the airport and to the motorway was just perfect. The 4 families had one car each with easy access to Barcelona, Girona, Montserrat, the coast, Figueras, (outlets) and the like.

What bothered us a bit was that there were double beds in stead of twin beds, but we already knew it from the photos. We found the house and garden more attractive in reality than on the photos on the website!

We were quite happy with our contacts with Kima.

One of our sons have published some pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/artrim/sets/72157600645552378/ If you give us more details of the complaints we may elaborate on details.

Regards Angela and Hannibal



----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Wells
To: villasbarcelona
Cc: Stuart Durrant
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:09 PM
Subject: Re: Mas Anes, end August, 2007

Dear Charlie,

We enjoyed our time at the villa and found Kima to be a very welcoming and charming person.

The villa itself is probably the best and certainly the biggest that we have stayed in over the last four or five years of holidays.

We had no problems with meeting Kima and finding the villa and we thought it was particularly nice to be shown round by the owner who obviously loved the house and wanted her guests to enjoy it. We liked the spaciousness of the villa which was great for relaxing and the children loved the pool (although the it needed some draining to prevent the surrounding grass from getting waterlogged).

The immediate surroundings (industrial estate, cement works and railway line) were perhaps not ideal but we were forewarned by the website and the landscaping is effective in shielding the villa from the nearby development. But to be honest this didn't affect our enjoyment of the villa and the holiday in general.

We favour quiet poolside holidays with a mixture of home cooking and eating out with one or two excursions along the way so Mas Anès suited us very well. Perhaps the French party were looking for something different.

We were aware of being the last booking of the season and Kima mentioned a large French family who stayed before us and who she thought had enjoyed their stay.

If we are nitpicking a simplified version of your local guide with lists of local restaurants, market times and local amenities and attractions would have been helpful for "at a glance" activity planning, although we did enjoy the detailed reviews too.

The coast is scenic and Barcelona is a great place to visit. The locals were friendly (particularly in the local restaurant) and on balance it was a good choice.

There was a feeling that we were house-guests rather than holiday makers as this was clearly Kima's home. Some people might not appreciate this but we were quite happy and we hope that Kima won't be discouraged by the negative comments of the French party.

We are happy to be quoted on the website.

Just finally, we were impressed by the personal feel of the website and the contact we've had with yourself and Kima.

We hope this helps.
Best wishes, Paul & Claire Wells.



----- Original Message -----
From: Stuart Durrant
To: charlie@villasbarcelona.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 9:05 AM
Subject: Mas Anes

Charlie

Paul Wells has forwarded a copy of the e mail he sent to you. My family was the other half of the Wells booking and I can only reiterate everything Paul has said.

We all found the villa really comfortable and Kima particularly welcoming. Please pass on our warmest thanks to Kima for a most enjoyable stay

Kind Regards
Stuart



----- Original Message -----
From: Raftery, Colin C SITI-ITIPEM
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 12:36 PM
Subject: RE: Mas Anes, July 30 to August 13, 2005

Charles,

I would just like to take this opportunity to left you know how we went on at Mas Anes. What a great property. It’s huge, it’s full of character, the pool area is superb. As you drive up to the property it soon becomes apparent that the photographs on the website don’t do justice to the property. Then as Kima shows you round from one great room to another you soon become aware of what a lovely place this is. There are lots of rooms and features that are just gorgeous.

Kima is fantastic she greeted us with a lovely welcome pack of essentials then helped guide us to the best large supermarket that was still open at that late hour on a Saturday. She also help reunite us with our missing luggage and was always at the end of the phone whenever we needed anything. Which thankfully wasn’t very often.

The pool area and the views of the surrounding countryside are spectacular, huge areas of ground around the property if you feel energetic or just want a large tree to shelter under in the slight breeze that helps keep the temperature just right. Mas Anes is ideally situated within a short drive of some very fine Spanish restaurants, easy reach of Gerona, the coast at Tossa De Mar and with Barcelona only an hours drive away.

The light industrial estate that you drive through before heading off down the country track doesn’t affect the stunning views or your feeling of remoteness. The property is very well equipped to a high standard, with everything you need to make your stay hugely enjoyable. A gem in the Spanish Countryside.

Regards,
Colin



----- Original Message -----
From: Steve
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: Mas Anes, August 15 to 29 - how was it?

Hello Charlie

Apologies for not replying sooner, it has been a busy time getting back to work and children settled at school and university.

I would like to thank you and Kima for a great holiday. Firstly, I would like to thank you for all your help and prompt replies to my emails with all the questions we needed answering. It was reassuring that there was that contact there whenever we wanted to know something. I would also like to thank you for the guide you have collated which was in the house. We used it quite a lot for a very honest opinion of where to go and what to do in the area.

Kima was great in meeting us near the house, and then showing us round her lovely home. It was good to have that personal touch so that we knew where everything was, and how things such as the alarm worked.

I could not fault the house at all. Considering there were two families with teenagers and young children, there was plenty of space for everyone. The house is very well equipped and has that special Spanish touch. The grounds were lovely and very spacious. I appreciated you being honest about having to drive through a small industrial estate to get to the house, but it is a very quiet industrial estate and the house itself is in quite rural setting so it did not bother us. The bedrooms in the house are very spacious and comfortable, and I especially liked the living room and the outdoor seating area which we used a lot! The local supermarket came in handy and although it was small, it was very well equipped with everything we needed.

There is plenty to do in the area - in fact we did not have enough time to do everything we wanted. We especially liked Gerona - the Cathedral and old town is lovely and we enjoyed a Spanish lunch sat outside. We also took the drive you recommended from Tossa de la Mer which was very windy and scenic. And, of course, it does not take too long to get to Barcelona and we all enjoyed watching Barcelona FC vs Juventus one night!

I am unsure why there have not been many bookings this year because I cannot fault the house. Maybe the setting is putting people off, or it could be that with allowing one whole day for cleaning, it always moves the bookings forward another day. The British are very keen on Saturday-Saturday bookings because of work commitments so that may be something to consider. I suppose it would be difficult to improve on the photos because the rooms are so large!

Once again, thank you for a great holiday - the kids loved the pool. I will certainly use your site again for booking another Spanish holiday in the future.

Regards.
Kim Lofthouse



----- Original Message -----
From: Colin, Fabrice
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 8:54 AM
Subject: RE : Mas Anès, MAY 21 TO 28, 2005 - how was it?

Charles,

No point, Mas Anes is a great Villa. We have to admit Mas Anes was not our first choice as the photos are, our view, less attractive than other's one's on your web site. In fact we were very positively surprised when visiting the house, well decorated, furnished , equiped and very confortable. And owned by a very welcoming lady! The garden and the outside terasse are beautiful as well wheras when visiting the web site we had the feeling the house was not 100 % renovated and far less confortable than it was. The picture of the pool is a bit confusing as well. The beautiful dark blue mosaic of the pool ( Ususally light blue) is not the traditional picture of a pool people usually expect (a note under the picture explaining why it appears so dark could be added). We remember we were not 100% sure our choice was ok before renting and part of this bad feeling was certainly linked to the photos. We believe nicer photos ( Blue sky, large view of the house.....) would certainly help. You could also highlight that the villa can host a large group in very confortable conditions (enough bathrooms and plates!)

Best Regards

Fabrice Colin



----- Original Message -----
From: Raftery, Colin C SITI-ITIBCE22
To: Charles Williams
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 4:46 PM
Subject: RE: Mas Anes, july 30 to August 13, 2005 - how was it?

Charles,

A bit snowed under at work at the moment but when I get chance I will do a proper write-up for the web. The holiday was superb, Mas Anes is fabulous. We didn't think the pictures on the Web do justice to the actual place. We had a nightmare journey over but that was to do with British Airways, Iberia and Europcar. We arrived about 4 hours late minus about half of our luggage. But Kima was great and we were all sorted out by mid day on Sunday. Kima's husband guided us to the supermarket at 9.00 pm on Saturday so we could get enough food to see us through until Monday.

As I say will send you a full update for the web soon.

We did make extensive use of your guide to the region, between us we had 4 commercial travel guides on Barcelona, Costa Brava and Spain and none of them could give us any advice on how to get to the centre of Barcelona and where to park. Yours was right on the money, page 2 all the information we needed to drive into Barcelona and park up for a full day of sightseeing. Spot on.
Colin Raftery



----- Original Message -----
From: Allan E Jones
To: tourism@catalonia.net
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 12:14 AM
Subject: Mas Anes

Hi Charlie

Below is a brief review of our Holiday etc. Please feel free to use it on your website but not to include my email address as just so busy.

Firstly may I thankyou Charlie for your professional attitude and proficiency in the administration process necessary for renting a property, and for your willingness to be available if needed.

The owner Quima is a warm and delightful lady and has become somewhat of a friend. She is very helpful and when told the kettle was not operating properly went immediately and purchased a new one, as well as a few other things we felt would be useful to have.

Mas Anes is a wonderfuly restored country house that has a lovely feel about it. It was ideally situated for us being so close to the road into Sant Filieu, Sagaro and Playa D'Aro (20 minutes), as well as Girona Airport (5 to 10 minutes)and the main road to Barcelona (1 hour).

Despite being in an industrial area, once within the boundaries of the house you would not know it and we found it to be very peaceful and tranquil.

The House itself is very well appointed, has plenty of space and ample sized rooms.If you are looking for ultra modern then this isn't the place for you but traditional spanish - perfect.

The Pool area is a great bonus and ideal for lazing around, perfect for skinny dipping as you are surrounded by fields.

There are quite a few nice Restaurants in the vicinity, which we had much pleasure in trying out. There is a small supermarket in the town of Ruidellot (5 minutes) which had all we required for food, drink, household etc and a bakers to get one's beautiful freshly baked Croissants and French Bread. There is also a Pharmacy for emergencies to get ones mosquito spray etc). Oh and of course a hole in the wall to get one's Euro's.

All in all we had a great holiday at Mas Anes and would recommend it for large groups, families etc. We will definitely be returning soon.

Thanks to all concerned.

Kind regards

Allan and Lorna Jones and family.



----- Original Message -----
From: Alison Thompson
To: tourism@catalonia.net
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: mas anes/Thompson

Hi Charlie

Sorry I have not ben in touch before now my intention was to contact you on our return but time seems to have run away from me. Firstly on behalf of the Franklins and my family I would like to thank you for your help and advice. The villa was better than we expected and from the first time we went in with Kima we felt very at home and comfortable at ten o'clock at night the nice cold beer in the fridge was a lovely touch.

We were aware before we went of the position of the villa but we did not find the noise(usually in the morning) from the ind. Estate or the train too introusive. The pool was superb and many a good game of volleyball was played during the holiday. As we were a group of 10 with 6 children there was plenty of room both inside and out with ample space for a game of cricket and loely grass round the pool to relax on.

We enjoyed many pleasant evenings on the large patio area having bar b qs and not have to worry about disturbing the neighbours. All the bedrooms were nicely furnished and with plenty to choose from everyone was happy.

We used your local guide book almost daily and took your advice on places to go to or to avoid. We found the area really interesting with plenty to keep everyone occupied I think we fairly covered the area. We seem to have done everything from watching Bareclona play Milan at the nou camp(especially popular with the boys) definatley a wonderful experience(being a footballing family) and to be recommended if at all posible, to spending an inteesting !! morning in the Slavador Dali Museum.

After reading the guide we visited the medeval town Besalu very nice we also visited Cadaques which was very pretty and we enjoyed a lovely freshly made sandwich sitting on the harbour watching the boats bobbing up and down.After reading your book the children insisted we visit the olympic lake at Baynoles and after hiring bikes for an hour they set off as if we wre in the tour de France and we ended up cycling round the lake twice to make sure we got value for money!!!. After which we all needed a nice cold beer by the lake and the children all enjoyed a swim, not content with cycling and swimming we reurned later to row the lake well recommended. The costal road to Tossa de Mar proved slightly challenging to some of the group who felt slightly ill by the time we got there but we were suitably pleased with Tossa as we were expecting something more tacky and enjoyed a nice evening meal. We also managedan afternoon at Aquadiver and a more Karting followed by a visit to the Ruins atEmpuries (alot bigger than expected) and a swim. The beach at Tamariu was well worth visiting and on our laast day settled for a beach day after Kyaking(from your info but unfortunatley we had a really big thunder storm and the day was cut short. As you can tell we managed to get around and loved both Girona and Barcelona and would recommend this area to anyone but for families with teenagers it was ideal with plenty to entertain them.

I can only praise you for being so honest about the villa but we found it more or less perfect very well equiped and homely.Please pass on our thanks to Kima for letting us stay there and thus having a wonderful holiday.

Charlie if at all possible we would welcome any suggestions for other properties locations which we could consider for next year. I would certainly recommend the Villa to others.

Sorry if I waffled on but I was trying to illustrate what a lovely two weeks we spent at Mas Anes.

If you want any other comments details please contact me

Thanks Alison Thompson
(On behalf of Stephen Joe Sam and Laura Thompson, David Judith Ellie Tom and Martha Franklin)

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