www.villasbarcelona.com: Villa rentals in Barcelona and Costa Brava

a bird´s eye view of this extraordinary property! showing main building, BBQ backed gazebo for outdoor meals, pool house, and large private grounds

This one gets a big thumbs up from me! Beautiful house and garden, great views, excellent location, 5 kms from historic lakeside town of Banyoles, 20 kms to Girona, 35 kms to the beaches, and a very low rental rate for what you get: 12 bedrooms , 9 bathrooms, and 3 WCs, large private pool and grounds and many extras. NB: for extra large groups, keep in mind that Mas Dalt is only a lovely 10 minute walk away!

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Put your cursor over the photos for additional descriptions.
  • a huge independent self-catering villa of approx. 1100m2
  • divided into 3 fully furnished apartments with 5,4,and 3 bedrooms each
  • total of 12 bedrooms: 8 with private bathrooms, 4 bedrooms with shared bathroom, plus 3 WCs
  • beds for more or less 24 guests, all double beds are large (150x190cm)
    • the pathway down to the pool and poolhouse in the olivegrove is lovely
  • central heating, so comfy year round
  • 3 full kitchens, 3 living rooms (1=80m2), 3 separate terraces, 3 dishwashers
  • outdoor BBQ gazebo seating 25+ for outdoor meals
  • 5 TVs, 3 CD/radio/cassette players, 2 washers, 1 clothes dryer.
  • altitude: 200 mtrs, 5 kms to Banyoles and lake, 20 kms to Girona, 35 km to sea
  • new game room with billiards, pingpong & babyfoot, football pitch with goalposts
  • new pool (12 x 5 mtrs.) with 16 lounge chairs & poolside WC
  • current rates: July & August high-season rates: 5030 Euros per week, mid-season, September, October, April, May, first 3 weeks of June: 4050 Euros/week, low-season: 3240 Euros/week
  • low-season weekend rates: 1650 Euros plus 500 Euros per extra night

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    the front of the house from the driveway in, with the gazebo on your left, and the other covered terrace on your right

    Location: 2 kms from Camós and 5 kms to Banyoles, on Km 5 on the GIV-5147 road, to be exact. To give you an idea: bBetween Girona, Costa Brava´s historic capitol city, and the elegant medieval lakeside town of Banyoles, there is a 4-lane highway. Running parallel to this highway to the south and hemmed in by the Serra Llonga mountains, is a winding back road with a few nice old stone villages and some renowned local restaurants. Camós, the nearest town to Can Tapies, is about 2 kms away - a 20 minute walk from the house. From the elevated hillside position of Can Tapies you have wonderful views from the Pyrenees down to the coastal plain stretching out to the east, and behind the house, a huge private woods on the 15 hectaire property. Banyoles is a market town with a pleasant 12thC old town with lots of museums and historic buildings, surrounded by a newer part of town with a dozen or so supermarkets - it seems everyone is the Pla de L´Estany region does their shopping here (see my Travel Info on this area). The area is pleasant and well-situated, the environmentally protected lake at Banyoles a exceptional gem, Girona´s old town is a short drive away, and the beaches are only about 25 kms away as the crow flies.

    the opposite angle now, with the downstairs arched porch BBQ area and the upstairs terrace for the 4-bedroomed apartment

    The house: . Situtated about 1 km of fully paved road from the secondary road I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the wide driveway leads to the esplanade in front of the house, where there are a couple of outdoor covered sitting/dining areas. The first is a sort-of gazebo with 4 tables and 24 wicker chairs perched above the pool area, which is set in an olive grove a terrace level below. The views from here are magnificent, 240º views north from the Pyrenees down east to the coast. The other outdoor sitting/dining area here is beside the built-in BBQ (see photo below). The main entrance to the house consists of a series of stone chambers leading to the different apartments, all quite atmospheric and the walls have ancient farm implements on display. From this downstairs hall there is a door leading to the new playroom, where the garage was, and three separate stairways going up into the three different apartments.

    the terrace just above the garage, can be shared between 5 bedroom and 4 bedroom apartments - both have direct access from the main living-dining rooms

    Apartment 1: The largest of these apartments is just up a rather grand flagstone staircase with wrought-iron ballustrade opening onto a large banquet hall 80m2 seating about 14, but with a couple of extra planks of wood on tripods this table can seat over 30 guests. Behind the table is a nice sitting area with leather sofas and easy chairs, and beyond that large terrace, partly covered, overlooking the driveway and pool areas below. Once again the views are spectacular. There is a separate walk-in kitchen with normal sized fridge, dishwasher, and a breakfast table seating 5. There is also direct access to another terrace from the kitchen. This apartment has 5 en suite bedrooms, 3 of the bedrooms have double beds (150x190cm), and two very large bedrooms have a double bed and two single beds, each. So there are beds for a total of 14 guests.. Four of the en suite bathrooms have showers and the fifth has a bathtub. Oh, there is also a very handy WC (with toilet and sink) just off the large salon and dining room, so you don´t have to go to your rooms to go.

    Apartment 2: on the same floor but with a separate entrance from the aforementioned 5 bedroom apartment is the 4 bedroom apartment, which also has a central dining/living room with a dining room table seating about 10 or so, the living room with fireplace and TV and exit to the main terrace, and a separate kitchen with a breakfast table for 6, with large refridgerator and dishwasher. This is the same large terrace as the 5 bedroom apartment, and you can in fact walk from one apartment to the other on the covered part of the terrace. This 4 bedroom apartment was orginally conceived as the caretaker´s house and so the owners only put one bathroom in, but it is a large bathroom, separated into two parts, the bathroom door opening onto a anteroom with a large sink, and beyond that, another door leading to the toilet and the shower stall. Two bedrooms here have double beds (again, all double beds are 150x190cm), one bedroom has two single beds (90x190cm), and the fourth bedroom is a small room with just one single bed, so this part of the house has beds for a total of 11 guests.

     

    the terrace for the 3 bedroom apartment at the back of the houseApartment 3: is orientated towards the back of the house, and has a large flagstone private terrace you can see photographed here to the right. This flat has a large kitchen/dining/living room with a fireplace and TV and the dining room table here seats 10 guests. The kitchen here has a normal sized fridge and a dishwasher. The 3 bedrooms here are all en suite, with private bathrooms, 2 bathrooms with shower stalls and one bathroom with a bathtub. One bedroom has a double bed, and two very large bedrooms have 2 double beds each, so there are beds in this part of the house for 12 guests. Do remember that 2 large rooms has 2 double beds each. This apartment also has a very handy WC (with toilet and sink) just off the salon.

     

    a close up of the BBQ area under the arch - see third photo above

    So you see, Can Tapies in fact has beds for 37 guests if you filled every bed, not to mention the cots that are available for babies! However, this house is licensed for 2 guests per room, so for 24 guests in 12 bedrooms, plus maybe a baby or small children.... There are 9 bathrooms and 3 WCs.

    The outdoors: the new 12x5 meter swimming pool is on a terrace just below the house with a fairly wide lawn and some shade trees, 16 deck chairs, and a small WC and changing room and small table for 4 under a porch beside the pool. Oh, and there is also a poolside shower, and the owners have bought a ping pong table which gets moved around from place to place. There is also a washroom downstairs with two washing machines and a clothes drier and a sink for hand washing.

    the impressive main stone entry hall which leads to the 3 apartments is decorated with farm implements and is very atmospheric - a sort of museum of or hommage to rural Catalonia

    In short, Can Tapies is wonderful property in a priviledged location. The comments from past guests couldn´t be better so far and I am sure this property is going to be a big success. It helps that the owners, who live about 1 km away just off the main road, are genuinely kind and helpful, and always willing to add improvements to their two houses. I can´t wait to get Comments for the website from families who have rented for this coming summer!

    Be sure to put your cursor over the photos to read a descriptive text of what you are seeing.




    another shot of the pool from the house the pool has a dozen or so loungechairs and a covered porch with WC and shower the pool area has a good-sized playing field amidst old olive, pine, and oak trees this is what I am calling the gazebo, a covered porch with 4 round tables and chairs seating 24 plus, the views are great, taking in all Pyrenees to the coast at historic Torreolla de Montgris mountain and Roses Bay let´s make our way into the house now. here´s another shot from the downstairs entryway, this a sitting area amid ancient stone walls the 4 bedroom part of the house has an 80m2 diningroom/salon/kitchen and direct access to the large terrace just above the garage the same salon from the other angle the kitchen in the 4 bedroom part of the house the long diningroom table in the 4 bedroom part of the house can seat 25 guests the 5 bedroom part of the house has a nice living room with leather chairs and shares the large terrace just above the garage and also has a private terrace just above the arched BBQ porch kitchen in 5 bedroom part of the house this is a detail from the diningroom at the 5 bedroom part of the house the kitchen in the 3 bedroom part of the house has direct access to the terrace out back - see left of photo one of the bedrooms another bedroom another bedroom another bedroom another bedroom the game room has billiards, babyfoot and pingpong

    Why inland farmhouse rental?

    Not only is it simply nicer to stay in an old restored farmhouse, but also …

    • eco-tourism helps preserve traditional ways of life
    • agro-tourism revitalizes depopulated villages
    • sustainable tourism controls the environmental impact (of tourism)
    • package tour operators leave little to nothing in local economy
    • mass tourism is an abomination - just look at so much of our coasts!
    Catalan Tourism Authorities

    This sign indicates that the Catalan Tourism Authorities regularly inspect and license the property. We have also visited and recommend all the properties we have selected for our listings.

    general view from the pool el guapero de marras not included the side of the house from the side of the pool