Villa with private pool for minimum of 8 people...

[StevieP]

Bit of a long shot but can anyone recommend a nice villa somewhere in Europe(ish) that will accommodate 8 people?

Looking for next year's summer holiday and we usually go with another family of 4 so I'd like a nice villa somewhere warm, ideally not too far from a beach and variety of restaurants etc. (will be hiring a car)

I know we can look at the Air BnB types but would rather book with a travel agency!

Any recommendations?

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

There's a fair few available on Gozo mate, it's a little island off the side of Malta and one of my favourite places to visit.
We hired a car this year but normally just made good with the local transport, its pretty decent and very well priced.

 

[Hodders]

We've used Pure France many times and every one of the houses has been great.

 

[bazzabear]

Villaplus generally have some good large villas. And the best thing about their website is that their search engine filters and sorting are much better than any other I've found. They also consistently describe the air-conditioning well, down to exactly which rooms have it - which most seem to do everything to avoid telling you. Oh, and they have floor plans!
They've got more and more expensive the last few years though. We've ended up with an AirBnB one for next year (7 people, 5 bedrooms).

Solmar on the other hand are even more expensive, and their search is a bit rubbish.

 

[Richie]

Unless its for a short weekend, I wouldn't use a hotel again. Been doing villas for about 12 years (with private pool) and definitely the way to go. Its like being in your own house but in better weather

 

[Bickaxe]

VillaPlus.
Used them last year (Lanzarote) and had a great time. Would use them again but I was out-voted so its all-inc this time.
We had an issue with the pool which the local rep had someone out within an hour and the issue resolved by the end of the day (heating pump failed).

 

[Brok]

We have used VillaPlus a few times, including for larger Villas and they have generally been excellent. One thing to note is they are Villa only so you do not have the ATOL protection you get from a package deal.

We've stayed in a couple in Olhos D'Agua in the Algarve - the resort itself is fairly small but has a decent selection of restaurants and the beach is also quite close. Its between Albifuera and Villamora and Uber operates in the area so getting around is easy even without a car. About 15 euros one way to both destinations depending on surge pricing. There are also local taxis that operate from ranks at the main destinations so we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get around. Apolonia (Portugal's version of Waitrose is the best analogy) do delivery and their website can be used in English, and there is another supermaket about a 10 minute walk (Intermarche) and a small local supermarket a bit closer as well.

Villa Eve

Nice modern villa with open plan downstairs area - the rooms upstairs are not massive but were well kept. The pool area needs some TLC with the pool edging coming away in places and a hot tub that no longer works (although this is not advertised so unreasonable to expect it). The pool table has seen better days but that's pretty common as they get left out in all weather. The air con in the lounge area was temperamental but worked well enough for us. It was average elsewhere, just had to run it for a long time but it got the temp down eventually.

Villa Soni

More traditional interior, especially downstairs and the lounge area in particular is quite dark. Has a massive master bedroom with the rest being average in size. The pool is about as large as you will find in a villa at this pricepoint and the pool area was well kept. Air con worked perfectly everywhere. It's just around the corner from the Villa above.