“Villa Achileas Chrystalia. Latchi,
No sign posting. Property down unmade roads. We were assured that the villa was sign posted.
Property not clean. Gruesome under beds and sofas.
Stuffing coming out of sofas.
Poorly equipped kitchen.
No baking trays, dirty frying pans, only one shelf in oven, no toaster or grill pan, a very dirty sandwich toaster.
Disgusting drawer under cooker with instructions for who knows. I wouldn’t have put my hand in to find out.
Dangerous electrics. Bedside lamps without bulbs, wrong plugs, and plugs loosely held together with tape.
Rusty bbq.
No hot water in the kitchen and although the owner showed us how to work the tap, the process took six minutes.
Downstairs hand basin leaking badly. If it had been cleaned the cleaner would have noticed. Owner did rectify this halfway through the holiday.
Bedrooms were advertised as having balconies. No furniture on the balconies though so standing only.
Supposed to be three umbrellas for shade around the pool. Only two, one of which was held up by a broom handle.
Customer service was disappointing. Basically told to sort the issues out ourselves.”
“Villa Alisa (Francia) - Puerto Del Carmen
* Villa electrics are dangerous! - Electrics throughout this villa require inspecting and maintenance
Bedroom lamp black power cable dangerous - crackling/ arcing sound - light turns on and off with slight touch of the black mains cable to the lamp and not the cable switch or mains plug - dangerous
Bedroom main lighting turns off and on depending on whether you are using the bedside wall mains sockets or not - bizarre and dangerous
The utility room wall mains socket is loose and easily comes away from the wall - when removing the iron we had to hold the socket firmly with one hand to stop the socket and its internal wiring coming away from the wall and remove the plug with the other hand - it is loose and very dangerous
All wall mains sockets are filthy and grimey
* Villa front gate - no security or access lighting to the villa or gate at night in the dark - gate arch wall has single block of x3 switches at waist height which do nothing and do not work - block's plastic cover is also off and so there is no protection from the elements, also means in the dark you are unable to see the villa gate lock or bolt lever to insert the villa gate key, push open the villa gate or walk securely through the villa gate entrance
* Villa front gate - extremely difficult to open - RHS section of the gate sticks/ does not open properly and requires brute force with an adult shoulder to open - requires lubrication and maintenance
* Villa front gate - again extremely difficult to open particularly in the dark, as you have to stretch your arm through the gate, use one hand to move a slider bolt bar right and push with brute body force the RHS section of the villa gate to gain access to the villa grounds
* Villa keys are unlabeled - both villa keys - x1 for the villa gate and x1 for the villa front door are exactly the same visually and so it is hit and miss if you use the correct key for the correct location each time
* Table tennis - the table tennis table and accessories should be disposed of and a new one purchased by the villa owner - the tennis table and accessories are an utter disgrace - the table it is extremely warped and marked all over, when the table surfaces should clearly be flat and not totally weather worn - you cannot play table tennis on this table tennis table - why is it not covered from the elements as with other villas? - the table tennis bats and balls are in a poor condition/ shape and require replacing
* Pool table - the pool table should be disposed of and a new one purchased by the villa owner - the pool table is an utter disgrace - x3 of the x15 balls are missing - the top felt surface has large rips and is totally weather worn - you cannot play pool on this pool table - why is it not covered from the elements as with other villas? - the pool table and table tennis table were x2 of the mandatory requirements when we we were searching for a suitable villa
* Toilet door - the toilet door handle is broken and loose and you are required to slam the door firmly to close the toilet door
* Bedroom window brown plastic shutters - the RHS bedroom shutter mechanism is broken and so the shutters do not open and close correctly
* Villa toilet paper and bin - there was a distinct lack of toilet paper in the villa for x7 nights stay - we used less than x3 humans would expect to use over this period of time and ended up having to use our own paper hankies over our last x3 days - there were no bin bags
* Villa vacation time reduced - we paid a very large amount financially for this villa until vacation at 10am on the final morning - the villa cleaners however, tried to gain access to the villa at 0930 last morning, with no warning or knocking - this was outrageous and frightening - we were finalising our suitcases inside the villa, when we could hear someone attempting to unlock the villa front door at 0930 - our keys were in the door and so they failed - I had to cautiously open the villa front door to ascertain who and why someone was trying to enter the villa
* Villa cleaners - as we were loading our car before 0930 - 1000, outside the villa gate on the final morning, we had to avoid a long and large rolling pool of deep dirty water and rubbish bags all along the villa paths and the villa gate with our suitcases and belongings, as the cleaners swept the villa path with a large amount of water/ hoses and water brushes
* Toilet seat loose - the toilet seat is very loose and requires repair/ replacing
* No soap or shower gel - no soap of any form existed in the villa which you would expect for basic cleanliness
* Ensuite shower drain cover not attached - the silver metal floor waste water cover is loose, not attached and is highly dangerous - we slipped numerous times whilst showering
* Ensuite window view 'plant' - the 'plant' (what can only be described as a long unsightly dead looking branch like stem) on the outside of the ensuite shower glass wall next to the brick wall, is a disgrace and is foul to observe - it requires disposal and replacing - the area also has what appears to be pipes and or electric cables with blue tape on them - bizarre and all unseemly
* Lounge wall large canvas painting - the lounge wall large canvas painting requires disposal and replacing - it is meant to be a large black and white canvas tree terrace only, but is covered with large splashes/ brush strokes of white decorating paint - unsightly and disgraceful
* Utility room iron - the iron plate is covered in some kind of black brown mess - the iron plate needs cleaned or replaced as villa users cannot risk ironing their clothes with the iron in this condition
* Beds - all beds were too hard for a good sleep, pillows were small, inadequate and smelt profusely damp
* Replacement villa towels - during our stay in the villa, the towels were replaced mid-stay, but the replacement towels all smelt very damp and were so thin that they were inadequate for their purpose
* Villa paint and decoration - the villa requires painting and decorating throughout - it is obvious the inside of the villa looks very tired with the white gloss paint flaking off throughout
The villa is very tired and requires suitable maintenance, decoration and item replacement
One is most definitely under the impression that James Villas and the villa owner are more than happy to take money from the villa holiday occupier, but not care about safety or maintaining the villa and at a condition suitable for this cost
We would not stay in the villa again and do not recommend it”
“Where do I start. We moved into Dolce Vita Villa, Son Bou, Menorca.
Monday 26th, unpacked and within 30 minutes, 2 strangers enter without notice. They told us to leave as the balcony is collapsing. The maintenance man said this been this way for some time, the agent said it’s only just happened. Bear in mind we have just unpacked all of our belongings. We were then downgraded and separated into 2 villas. Bear in mind this villa was £550 a night, James Villas is giving us a £40 a night, Travel Lodge service. We were told we can move back into the villa Friday morning following a phone call on Thursday afternoon. Well it’s Friday now, all packed up ready to move. 50 minutes before moving back over, taxis arranged, airport transport rearranged. We receive a call to say we can not move back. This is twice they have left it till last minute, messed us around and no apologies, the agent finds it funny, laughing. we had to constantly chase James Villas for updates throughout the week, promised calls back, yet nothing. Mangers would not deal with it and palmed it off to the lower ranking members. Compensation or not, this has ruined our entire holiday. We had adults and children, we can not split them apart like they made us do. I WOULD AVOID AT ALL COSTS!”
“Great location. We have had many villa holidays in Coral Bay & honestly this villa has been the worst which is such a shame. Nice modern villa in great location but definitely not being maintained. From the aircon leaking (after previous guests reported this). We arrived at 4am with water streaming out over one of the beds. Iron had water pouring out of the bottom (dangerous) bed in the ground floor bedroom collapsed even if you just sat on it. Washing machine flooded the kitchen floor. Shower in downstairs bathroom flooded the floor. Some patio doors didn’t lock properly. Maid service once in 2 weeks & pool cleaned twice in two weeks. We bought our own net (as non provided) to clean the bugs & leaves from the pool. No Gardner in two weeks so leaves constantly blowing into the pool. Dinning chairs all ripped & sunloungers torn also. Such a shame as this could be a lovely little villa. We did report some issues which were resolved but didn’t want to spend our days trying to contact James villas through their call centre as there was no James villas reps in Cyprus.”
“Following a two week holiday At Villa Bini Cala Menorca , which started with a number of issues including a damaged seal on fridge freezer , still not changed when we left , not surprisingly due to age of the Fridge, as told by the person looking after property, seal missing on shower causing flooding on floor, slip hazard, was replaced eventually, nearly a week later, black mould in pool where tiles are missing ,hose damaged on shower unit , again not repaired when we left , the real disappointment was the 1970s style outside seating which was uncomfortable and so far behind the times , I would not visit this villa again , especially with the £4500 cost for the holiday .My frustration with James Villas is the lack of customer support, they just passed the complaint on to local management company , I booked with James Villas not the owner of the property so James Villas should deal with issues , especially safety concerns, but our issues prove to me that they do not inspect or monitor condition of villas throughout the season , happy to take your money though , due to the covid situation this was not the villa we originally booked , which was a higher standard, we were offered this as a compatible villa , definitely was not, we have used James Villas many times , not sure We will again, and won’t be recommending them”
“a real proper caring company , unfortunately due to the re classing of Portugal it is no longer possible for the four of us to go on holiday next week. sadly James villas have refused to move or even refund our trip, we have had the villa booked since 2019 and have stuck with them through covid , along with their price hikes only to be mocked by losing all our money.”
“I Have just lost my deposit with James Villa Holidays.
The time had arrived to pay the final balance on my holiday, I called them and asked as we aren't allowed to travel at the moment what is their policy for refunds? I was told by Sophie that as of the moment they would need to take my full balance and see what happens 7 days before the date of my holiday.
In other words she was asking me to give them more money in hope that I may get it all back, if I didn't pay up in full now they would take it as a cancellation of my holiday and I would loose my deposit.
After I expressed how disappointed I was with this they offered to move my deposit to a holiday next year I agreed to this and the holiday was a little cheaper (it was June rather than July) however Sophie then asked me to pay yet MORE MONEY as a deposit when I questioned this her response was "well the deposits have gone up for next year" an absolute joke.”
“I could no longer stand to see those Bluenoses sitting at the top of the league and hearing them all going on about the very overrated James. So, I put on my full kit (plus shoes) and settled down to watch the greatest team in der werrrrrld take their place back on the top of the Prem and push those bitter Blues off their perch. Then it all went wrong and we got hammered 7-2? This is not the Villa that I expected and I am far from happy with this service. You brochure says you have Villas for the whole family, yet my whole family is crying today. My nan is jibbing the bingo tonight as Blue Betty will be there. It says your Villa will help me relax? RELAX! I was proper livid kidda. How could I relax with all them goals going past the mighty reds? Is this a joke to you? You really have no idea about what type of Villa that I expected. And calling yourselves 'JAMES VILLAS' is just taking the mick. Do you not think naming yourselves after a Colombian bluenose and a jammy Brummie team would upset the greatest fans ever? Well I will never use your firm again. I am now giving up on a Villa and going to google some toffees.”
