2010 and ready to go!

2010, a new year for QV and which also marks the return of Margaret Rees to Quality Villas!

Margaret began Quality Villas back in 1986 and as the company enters its 24th year of business has decided to step back in on a part time basis, given her son-in-law, John, has decided to travel the world and take some time out.

Margaret has various projects lined up for 2010, including a special members club for previous clients of our company; a mailing will follow in the new year with details of this and how you can be a part of it and enjoy certain special benefits.

Quality Villas remains a private, independent company with the same ownership throughout its history and since its inception. We offer a hand picked portfolio of villas with pools in France , villas in Italy , villas in Morocco and villas in Mauritius . Please call us on 01442 870055 or visit us online for more information.

All talk here at Quality Villas

Monday 23 November marked our Annual General Meeting here at Quality Villas. It is really our end of season meeting and we discuss how we can improve what we offer to our clients for the following year. Our staff come from far flung parts of the world (well France and Italy anyway) and together, we make our future plans!

Many items were discussed and should come into force in the coming months to enhance our offering, including exciting new villa additions.

One key point we would like to make is that our overseas staff live near the villas we offer and visit them often: our local knowledge is unparalleled. Our managers are happy to talk with clients interested in a little 'deeper' knowledge about a potential chosen villa, region, town or even activities to do nearby. If you would like to take advantage of this, or to discuss your villa plans for 2010 with one of our UK based staff (who also visit the regions often and the villas we feature) we would be delighted to hear from you.

Our French vacation villas and Italian vacation villas are available to view online at any time. Or please call 01442 870055.

New villas for 2010

As autumn is traditionally a time in the office to settle up the season just past, to promote the next year coming and to generally tidy the office (ok, we mean really the Christmas tree will arrive and we will be getting festive!) but we also take on new villas and many more will be hitting our websites in the coming weeks.

A new villa is always an exciting event for us. We love bringing new areas to our programme for our customers to try (for example Puglia last month) but also in tried and trusted areas, new villas offer new opportunity and something different.

One such example is Villa Arco (shown above). Sleeping 5, located just outside the village of Palaia in Tuscany, this property is elegant, well furnished and has modern conveniences such as air conditioning. With only a couple of weeks so far rented in 2010, this property is sure to rent fast. High season prices £2280 per week.

If you would like to find out more about this house, or to be kept advised of other new villas coming on line, we would of course be happy to add you to our mailing list.
We look forward to offering you a Tuscan holiday villa or French villa rental soon.

Escape the chills!

If you are currently turning up the central heating as autumn cold sets in, you may like to consider that just a short flight away, Morocco is still an accessible and warm destination.

We have pricing and availability now for 2010, however in order to celebrate the new season of 'winter' rentals with our clients, we would like to propose Villa Amanjena, a luxury villa just 25 minutes outside Marrakech with spectacular scenery all round.

Included in the rates are maid service 6 days a week and a housekeeper who will prepare breakfast and either lunch or dinner for you. Click here to see our villa in Morocco

Currently available:
3 Nov-19 Dec 09 at £4450 per week
19 Dec-2 Jan 10 at £5900 per week
Price for the complete property, all utilities, sleeping 8 + 2 children.

If you have not received your 2010 brochure of French and Italian villas, please call us on 01442 870055 or click to visit our Italian properties to rent online or our French villas .

Puglia - southern Italy as our new venture

This week marked our first venture into Southern Italy with a staff visit to Puglia. This up and coming region is in the heel of Italys 'boot' and is famous for its Trulli houses (with conical roof) and white stone. Served by both Ryanair and British Airways, entry airports are Brindisi and Bari. It is also possible to make the journey from Naples.

We have selected a number of high grade properties that will be appearing on our website very soon, click here for our Italian villas . If you would like to discuss booking a villa in Puglia with one of us who knows the region, or Italy in general, we would of course be delighted to hear from you.

New pricing, new brochure and more...

Inching ever closer, after what feels like months of hard endeavour, is the Quality Villas brochure and pricelist for 2010!

Our usual clients will of course receive a copy automatically, however if you have not previously dealt with us and might be interested in a brochure, please click for a french brochure (a request form will open).

The other slight snag is the forthcoming postal strikes that seem about to be forced upon us. Given that all of the brochured properties are also featured online (click here for villa France or here for a villa in Italy ) we would naturally invite anyone thinking of a villa holiday for next year that wants to find a way to beat Royal Mail to contact us online, or to call us at 01442 870055.

We look forward to hearing from you whichever way you decide!

Italian preview

With the new brochure due out any day now, 80 pages of luxurious properties will shortly be in print. The website however contains a wealth of information and many more villas.

Castagnaccio is one such villa that is featured on the website only. Sleeping 9, this attractive propery is located in the Garfagnana area of Italy (bluntly speaking to the north of Lucca/Pisa). Located on a 25 acre estate, this is a very homely Italian property, ideal for families (large flat lawns...) and stunning views. An additional annex has just been created, meaning in high season the property sleeps 9, but can accept rentals for 7 at other times of year.

The rental rate per week is from £2100-£3280 (based on 9 persons) but in low season is from £1560 per week for parties of 7.

Please click to view this Italian holiday villa online.

Or click for our French villa range.

Booking ahead and looking ahead

Although the UK is enjoying some glorious September sun (as I write anyway), thoughts will inevitably start to turn towards annual festivities as Halloween, Bonfire Night and of course Christmas!

This year, many of our regular clients decided to book late, in light of the unexpected economic issues. Regretfully, many villas were booked up by other nationalities who were less hesitant, meaning regulars returning to us later in the year were often unable to secure their first choice properties.

Contracting is almost finished here at Quality Villas, meaning we have full pricing available in most cases as well as fairly open availability schedules in our villa programme.

If you would like to reserve your villa early for 2010, placing a deposit (thus enabling you to sit back, knowing your summer holiday is already nicely arranged ahead of time) we would of course we very happy to discuss any options with you.

We look forward to hearing from you.
Tel 01442 870055 or info@qualityvillas.com

Click for French villas or Italian villas

Keeping warm this winter with Quality Villas!

There has been an obvious transition from summer to autumn in the past few weeks...whilst the trees still have their leaves, the presence of scarves and pullovers is an indication that sun bathing opportunities in the UK at least will be limited for this year anyway!

Fortunately, Quality Villas now has a rather special winter programme in place, offering villas in Morocco and Mauritius. For either of these sites, we recommend visiting us online : Morocco villas here and Mauritius villas here.

In the meanwhile, as a thought provoking suggestion, we would like to mention villa Dar L'Oussia. This is a lovely property right next to the beach, south of Agadir, with a charming private pool, sleeping 8. At £2340 per week and with Easyjet flights starting this autumn from Gatwick (4 November onwards on Wednesdays and Saturdays), this villa offers an ideal chance for winter warmth. Morocco is of course just a short flight from the UK.

If this villa or one of our other 'winter' destinations has appeal, please do call us 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email at info@qualityvillas.com

Almost ready...

For anyone currently looking ahead to booking their villa for 2010, naturally we are able to take forward bookings at any time.

Furthermore, our new look brochure should become available in mid October - if you have previously booked with us, you will receive a copy automatically, however if you would like to add your name to our mailing list in order to ensure you receive a copy as soon as they are 'off the press', please email your address and details to : info@qualityvillas.com or call us on 0044 1442 870055.

Our website is of course year round! Please click if you wish to visit our selection of French villas or Italian villas.

A good time to enjoy Provence

Autumn is of course a break from the main holiday period of the summer, also known as a shoulder season or mid period. Aside from the technicalities of how to describe it(!) this means effectively prices are significantly reduced compared to the main July-August time but one can still enjoy the same villa and the same surrounding towns and villages, but less crowded!
The weather is still generally very good - often the season for enjoying the great outdoors and the pool can run into early October, so in many ways a September stay is a great way to holiday.
A suggestion from us is the villa 'Les Fontaines' sleeping 8, near Carpentras in Provence. This delightful house is located near the village of Pernes-les-Fontaines with shops, bars and restaurants in proximity.
The villa is currently offered for £3215 per week (was £3530) in September.
If this villa is of interest to you, or you would like to speak to one of our friendly sales team to discuss holiday options, we invite you to call us on 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email on info@qualityvillas.com - we look forward to being of service to you. http://www.qualityvillas.com

France in September

September has long been one of my favourite months so it is no surprise that I think it is one of the very best times to visit France. Not only will you get to enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm weather, but the tourist season is beginning to wind down which means cheaper travel, fewer crowds and villas offering great value for money.

September marks the beginning of grape harvest season in France and in the medieval and picturesque town of Saint Emilion the wines of Saint-Emilion have been well recognized and respected for centuries. A celebration honouring the harvest of these very special grapes takes place in the middle of the month with open air festivities.

This month is a great time to check out the many vineyards around the country and go wine tasting or join in the local Vendange. The Vendange is great fun even though a bit strenuous the superb open air lunch and lively chatter dispels all that plus its fascinating to see how the grapes get to your bottle of wine.

We still have some availability at our villas in the wine regions of France. Why not call us now to discuss your French villa holiday in September. If you would like to speak to a specialist regarding our villas or where best to visit, do visit us online to view our French villas with pools.

Gill Woolsgrove, Area Manager South West France

A last gasp to Umbria?

Amongst one of several late availability/special priced villas in our programme for 2009, is Villa La Colomba, a luxury villa in Umbria.

Sleeping 12 persons, located just outside Todi with stunning views across beautiful Umbrian countryside this villa is ideally poised for the latest of late getaways. Available from 8-15 August at £3000 for the week (was £5600). The property is a restored cottage, divided between a main villa and an additional small cottage in the grounds. There is a grocers, bakery and bar within a mile, whilst Todi and Orvieto as well as a host of magical Umbrian towns are within easy day trip range.

Our staff are ready to book you into this villa if you want to make that late escape!
The forecast in Umbria for next Saturday is 32 degrees, warm sunshine!
Tel 0044 (0) 1442 870055 or email at info@qualityvillas.com

The rain returns...

As I post the latest missive to the blog, the rain continues to come down and flashbacks to the last two wash out summers are a sobering reflection of bbqs that remain in the shed, unused garden furniture and bored children!

Fortunately Quality Villas still have a number of unsold villa weeks, not many however, but we are still placing clients at this moment, including some very short notice departures. France and Italy naturally benefit from better weather here than in the UK, Tuscany for example at the time of writing (23 July at 2.30 pm) was bathing in 34 degree heat, the south of France at 32 degrees! The outlook for the following 7 days are also similar...

If you are still interested in a late escape to the sun, our staff are on hand to discuss with you any requirements you may have.
We have a wide range of family friendly villas across both programmes and in many cases reduced rates. We look forward to hearing from you!
Tel 01442 870055 or email on info@qualityvillas.com

Our latest special offer...

Luxury in Italy...

Tenuta D'Oro, a magnificent property sitting midway between Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio hosts 10 persons on a large private wine estate. The owners have just revealed a very special offer for the remaining unsold weeks of 2009.

The usual rental for the villa during July and August would be £13,660 with daily breakfast included.
However from 18 July - 29 September 2009, the house is offered for £11,900 per week with chef services included for lunch and dinner also.
Grocery items to be prepared and cooked for lunch and dinner are at additional cost, the chef services however are included.

The house itself is set against a verdant green background of olive groves and vines, near Orvieto in Umbria. For more details on this luxury Italian villa , please click here.